Placemaking | Grist

Sprawling Over the Past

Alabama city destroying ancient Indian mound for Sam’s Club 4
Posted 4 months ago By Sue Sturgis
City leaders in Oxford, Ala. have approved the destruction of a 1,500-year-old Native American ceremonial mound and are using the dirt as fill for a new Sam's Club, a retail warehouse store operated by Wal-Mart.
Are new nuclear plants the answer? No.

Oh, those sexy building codes: More powerful than 100 nuclear plants 2
Posted 4 months, 1 week ago By Edward Mazria
All of the other emissions-reduction approaches in the House climate bill pale in comparison to what the building energy codes will accomplish. Without them, we simply cannot meet the greenhouse-gas emissions reduction targets called for in the bill. We won't even come close.
little green houses for you and me

The case for a national building energy code 10
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago By Lane Burt
Our current system of setting building energy codes has not been very succesful. The codes provision of ACES could fix that.
Hippies Cast a Long Shadow

Treasure hunting during building demo 1
Posted 4 months, 2 weeks ago By Ken Ward
One of the joys of demolition (in addition to anger management) is the hunt for treasure. When pulling apart old walls and closets you just can't help dreaming about unearthing a cache of old coins or silverware (I've found both).
Trip the light rail fantastic

Seattle light rail finally opens doors to passengers 4
Posted 4 months, 3 weeks ago By Sarah van Schagen
It's been a long time coming, but starting this Saturday, it'll be "all aboard!" when Seattle's light rail trains pull into the station.
Razing Arizona

GOP: Solar powered jobs can go to hell (or at least limbo) 2
Posted 5 months ago By Osha Gray Davidson
Republicans in the Arizona legislature took political grandstanding to new heights last week when they literally stopped time. Somehow, a solar bill escaped the time-space continuum vortex and landed on the governor's desk nonetheless.
Showing the Flag

Fourth of July musings on symbols, patriotism, and identity 3
Posted 5 months ago By Ken Ward
As Ken Ward and his family march forth with their greenovation project at the JP Green House, they make sure the U.S. flag is part of their plans. No kneejerk patriotism, this display is an effort to reclaim the sort of unity needed to face the climate-addled future ahead.
The issue is not growth or no growth, but a better world

Growing a better world 5
Posted 5 months, 1 week ago By Gar Lipow
Questioning growth has been the obsessive focus of many for decades. Questioners make important points. Gross Domestic Product (GDP) has been, at best, a very rough proxy for wellbeing, often not even that. For this and other reasons many liberals, progressives, and leftists consider a "steady state economy" part of building a good society. For all that critics of growth get right, they focus in the end on the wrong thing, on growth rather than waste.
Recycling a House

How we found 133 Bourne St., and how we almost lost it 3
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago By Andrée Zaleska
Andrée Zaleska explains how she and Ken Ward bought the JP Green House just as the real-estate bubble was bursting, how their own bubble burst not long after, and how they got back on their feet.
Love in a time of cataclysm

Fighting climate chaos with a hammer and a heart 4
Posted 5 months, 2 weeks ago By Ken Ward
Activist Ken Ward finds that his emotional responses to the climate crisis vary wildly, from despair to hope to anger. But one feeling remains constant: his love for partner Andrée and their JP Green House undertaking. He explains -- and invites others to share their experiences.