Grist | Topics | 38 Results

RESULTS		Results 1 – 25 of 38
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Headline	Author	Published	Section
South Central Community Farm: Not dead yet In L.A., Mayor Villaraigosa plays footsie with Forever 21 over site of former farm	Tom Philpott	19 Aug 2008	Gristmill
Photo: loudtiger When I lived in New York City, I used to marvel at the weeds that would force their way up through sidewalk cracks. What a will to live, I thought: From clumps of dirt crammed between concrete slabs, these vigorous shoots fended off the hard, slapping heels of a thousand rushing city dwellers, just to claim a place in the sun. The effort to save South Central Community Farm in Los Angeles reminds me of those defiant survivors. Stepped on by the ...
Topics: business, fashion, food, gardening, green living, green space, local politics, Los Angeles, shopping (all these topics)

Let's handcuff the property cops Homeowner associations restrict eco-friendly practices in favor of aesthetics	Guest author	12 Aug 2008	Gristmill
This is a guest post from Stan Cox, lead scientist for the Land Institute in Salina, Kan. It comes to us via the Land Institute's Prairie Writers Circle. ----- Susana Tregobov dries clothes on a line behind her Maryland townhouse, saving energy and money. But now her homeowners association has ordered her to bring in the laundry. The crackdown came after a neighbor complained that the clothesline 'makes our community look like Dundalk,' a low-income part of ...
Topics: Congress, green living, local politics, placemaking, politics, state politics (all these topics)

That Holds No Water Mayors resolve to phase out city spending on bottled water		24 Jun 2008	News
Posted at 12:40 PM on 24 Jun 2008 The U.S. Conference of Mayors passed a resolution Monday to phase out city spending on bottled water. "Cities are sending the wrong message about the quality of public water when we spend taxpayer dollars on water in disposable containers from a private corporation," said San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, adding, "The fact is, our tap water is more highly regulated than ...
Topics: food, local politics, news, politics, water conflicts (all these topics)

The Daley show Hot plans rile the Chicago waterfront	Katharine Wroth	13 Jun 2008	Gristmill
Two curious things going on along the waterfront in Chicago, which Mayor Richard Daley envisions as the 'greenest city in America': a brouhaha over plans to relocate the children's museum to Grant Park, and a billion-dollar dream of a semicircular Eco-Bridge in the same area. A mock-up of the Eco-Bridge. Photo: Chicago Tribune. The $100 million museum plan was handily passed yesterday by the city council in what sounds like a stereotypical example of ...
Topics: Chicago, local politics, placemaking, urban planning (all these topics)

Cities	David Roberts	07 May 2008	Gristmill
Why don't candidates who claim to be interested in climate change talk about cities more? That's where the rubber is hitting the road: Officials in King County and other places are rethinking the way their communities grow and operate, all with an eye toward reducing their overall carbon footprint. After decades of policies that encouraged people to move out to the suburbs in pursuit of larger homes and bigger backyards, some policy makers are now pushing aggressive ...
Topics: ecological footprint, local politics, placemaking, politics, urban planning (all these topics)

How cool is your county? Counties lead on global warming as federal feuding continues	Josh Dorner	23 Apr 2008	Gristmill
Here in D.C., we're deadlocked (thanks largely to Republicans beholden to Big Oil) over no-brainers like taking back $13.5 billion in giveaways to Big Oil in order to fund the extension of key clean energy tax incentives and forestall a crash in the renewable energy industry. Meanwhile, cities, states, and counties continue to take the lead in putting in place the kind of progressive, innovative policy solutions that we can only dream of at the federal level for the t ...
Topics: energy, energy at home, energy efficiency, local politics, politics, Sierra Club (all these topics)

Building green, one city at a time Eager municipalities hopping on board	Katharine Wroth	02 Apr 2008	Gristmill
In case you haven't noticed, it's officially the Year of Green Building. And while some areas have had eco-standards in place for a while now (helloooooo, D.C.!), the fevah is spreading in cities across the U.S. Take a gander at a few places considering formal green-building guidelines this spring: In a move described as a 'watershed time, a wonderful thing,' Chula Vista, Calif. voted yesterday to approve mandatory green-building standards for homes and business ...
Topics: green building, legislation, local politics, placemaking, politics, urban planning (all these topics)

Think globally by thinking locally	JMG	27 Mar 2008	Gristmill
A new study bolsters the importance-of-place arguments made by people like Wendell Berry: the strongest way to get people to engage with the problems and to act responsibly for the global environment is to focus on the threats to their own place).This doesn't really surprise me -- but it does prompt me to change my signature line to "Save your community -- cut greenhouse gas emissions 5% per year."Appeal To Americans By Making Global Warming A Local Issue - Study Resul ...
Topics: climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, local politics, placemaking, politics, scientific research (all these topics)

If Only We Could Afford to Live There San Francisco gets even greener		07 Mar 2008	News
Posted at 3:09 PM on 07 Mar 2008 San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom got jiggy with eco-measures this week. He signed into a law a requirement that the city's taxi fleet be converted to low-emission vehicles by 2011; ordered all city departments to purchase 100 percent recycled paper and reduce overall paper use by 20 percent by 2010; and announced his support for a tidal-energy project in the San Francisco Bay, despite a recent ...
Topics: energy, local politics, news, placemaking, politics, recycling, San Francisco, wave and tidal power (all these topics)

Take It Back! No, You Take It Back! NYC mayor says he'll veto an electronics-recycling bill		19 Feb 2008	News
Posted at 1:42 PM on 19 Feb 2008 The New York City Council overwhelmingly passed a bill last Wednesday that would require electronics manufacturers to take back products for recycling. But on Friday, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg said he'll veto it -- and that if his veto is overridden, he'll choose not to enforce the law. The council estimates that more than 25,000 tons of TVs, computers, cameras, and oth ...
Topics: business, local politics, New York City, news, politics, recycling, waste (all these topics)

Georgia Breach Georgia governor eases water-use restrictions		08 Feb 2008	News
Posted at 4:21 PM on 08 Feb 2008 Despite an ongoing drought, and despite a recent court ruling that removes Atlanta's right to much of a heavily relied-upon water source, Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue is lifting a near-total ban on garden watering and swimming-pool filling in the state. "Swim, kids, swim," said Perdue, who didn't announce a start date for the eased restrictions. City and county governments, which are mandated by ...
Topics: Georgia, local politics, news, politics, state politics, water conflicts, water crisis (all these topics)

Urban Legends Cities run into roadblocks in attempts to reduce CO2		08 Feb 2008	News
Posted at 8:21 AM on 08 Feb 2008 Announcing an ambitious plan to reduce a city's greenhouse gases is the easy part; when it comes to putting goals into action, local officials tend to run up against significant roadblocks. To take just a few examples: The subprime mortgage crisis has left taxpayers across the country unable to fund efficiency-minded proposals. Across the country, homeowners' associations have vetoed plans for ho ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, local politics, news, placemaking, politics, urban planning (all these topics)

Mayor may not Climate treaty among mayors often honored in the breach	David Roberts	13 Jan 2008	Gristmill
Seven cities in the San Diego region signed on to the Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, but some didn't do much more than sign it. I imagine it wouldn't be difficult to find other MCPA participants for whom signing was little more than an empty gesture. That should come as no surprise: it's a voluntary treaty with no mechanism for enforcement or even monitoring, asking politically difficult feats of more than 750 mayors. One should have realistic expectations. T ...
Topics: climate, local politics, politics (all these topics)

Not in a Bind Mayoral climate-protecting agreement hasn't necessarily translated into action		11 Jan 2008	News
Posted at 12:44 PM on 11 Jan 2008 Mayors across the country have signed onto the U.S. Mayors Climate Protection Agreement, a nonbinding initiative encouraging city leaders to meet or beat the greenhouse-gas reductions outlined in the U.S.-shunned Kyoto Protocol. So about that nonbinding part: While some city officials have taken concrete steps to reduce emissions, others haven't followed through at all. ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, greenhouse-gas emissions, local politics, news, placemaking, politics (all these topics)

The Bush administration's hypocrisy on federalism Bushies laud state policies when excusing inaction, shut them down when they threaten contributors	David Roberts	19 Dec 2007	Gristmill
Back in 2003, the Bush administration sent a negotiating team to Milan for international climate talks. The lead negotiator, then as now, was Harlan Watson. As he always does, Watson attempted to claim that the U.S. was, despite all appearances, taking a leadership role in the fight against global warming. What did he offer as evidence? Take it away, Harlan: Finally, I would like to highlight the efforts being made by State and local governments in the United Stat ...
Topics: local politics, state politics, politics, climate (all these topics)

Transportation and climate get hitched Seattle-area voters tied the knot	Eric de Place	07 Nov 2007	Gristmill
In the Seattle metro region, voters just sank an $18 billion transportation megaproposal that would have built more than 180 lanes miles of highway and 50 miles of light rail. But so far, the mainstream press has missed one of the most important stories of the year. The real story isn't tax fatigue, it's this: perhaps for the first time ever in the U.S., a critical bloc of voters linked transportation choices to climate protection. In the run-up to the vote, a surpr ...
Topics: cars, climate, greenhouse-gas emissions, legislation, local politics, placemaking, politics, public transportation, Seattle (all these topics)

Get your industrial agrodiesel here Profit motive is eating the planet	biodiversivist	18 Oct 2007	Gristmill
The opening of the Propel Biofuels public pump was a smallish affair. The crowd of about thirty people appeared to consist mostly of investors, public relations personnel, some alternative energy enthusiasts, lots of press, and at least one lawyer. Because of the twelve-hour notice, and because it was in the middle of the week, only two protesters made it. There is going to be a bigger protest this Saturday (October 20), same place, same time (high noon, at the p ...
Topics: biofuels, energy, grassroots activism, local politics, politics, Seattle (all these topics)

Tee hee A funny for word nerds	Sarah K. Burkhalter	13 Aug 2007	Gristmill
This is, I suppose, vaguely environmental, but I'm only blogging it because it's hilarious. At least if you're a word nerd like me.
Topics: local politics, politics, waste (all these topics)

Bowled Over Mayors of 29 Great Lakes cities vow to cut water consumption		13 Jul 2007	Daily Grist
Bowled Over Mayors of 29 Great Lakes cities vow to cut water consumption What's a Friday without some toilet talk? The mayors of 29 Canadian and U.S. cities in the Great Lakes region have agreed to cut water consumption 15 percent from 2000 levels by 2015, and one of their solutions is banning inefficient potties. "We need provincial legislation about low-flow toi ...
Topics: Canada, local politics, news, politics, United States, urban planning, water crisis (all these topics)

15 Green Politicians		26 Jun 2007	Main Dish
From mayors to heads of state, politicians the world over are going green. Check out our list of top achievers, then tell us which political leaders you'd nominate in the comments section at the bottom of the page. Photo: Thomas Hawk via Flickr Arnold Schwarzenegger The Governator has truly pumped up environmental action in California. He made the state a global leader on climate change by signing into law the landmark Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which ...
Topics: Angela Merkel, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Barbara Boxer, international politics, lists, local politics, politics, state politics (all these topics)

The Big Yapple World's mayors gather for climate-change summit in New York City		15 May 2007	Daily Grist
The Big Yapple World's mayors gather for climate-change summit in New York City Gone are the days when mayors chomped cigars and handed out keys to the city. Today's civic leaders face a somewhat more monumental task: saving the planet. This week, mayors from more than 30 of the world's biggest cities -- from Bangkok to Berlin, Sydney to Shanghai -- are in New York City to compare not ...
Topics: climate, climate change mitigation, local politics, news, placemaking (all these topics)

The Gothman Prophecies New York City mayor unveils ambitious sustainability plans		23 Apr 2007	Daily Grist
The Gothman Prophecies New York City mayor unveils ambitious sustainability plans New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg used Earth Day to announce plans to make his burg bloom. The comprehensive "PlaNYC" outlines 127 green dreams, including a congestion charge for lower Manhattan that would -- like programs in London and Singapore -- see drivers cough up a fee for entering the city at ...
Topics: local politics, New York, news, placemaking, urban planning (all these topics)

Fred Thompson Will he run?	David Roberts	26 Mar 2007	Gristmill
A while back, certain ... sources of mine in Tennessee (hi Amanda!) let me in on what was back then still a quiet rumor: a Republican savior is on the way. Soon to be riding to the rescue of downtrodden Republicans, burdened with a weak field of presidential candidates, is Fred Thompson, lawyer, actor, and former U.S. Senator from Tenn. He is the silver bullet Republicans have been waiting for -- smart, folksy, hawkish, impeccably conservative, morally upright, and ...
Topics: jackassery, local politics, politics, Tennessee (all these topics)

Rocky on! Anderson in the NYT today	Kate Sheppard	21 Mar 2007	Gristmill
With so much going on in D.C. today, we nearly missed this great story on our man Rocky Anderson in the New York Times today. Hey Rocky!
Topics: local politics, politics, Utah (all these topics)

Seattle's difficult decision: Cary Moon She prefers a 'people's waterfront'	David Roberts	12 Mar 2007	Gristmill
Seattle is facing a difficult decision: what to do with a crumbling highway that serves as a major north-south corridor through the city? Below, we hear from Cary Moon. Cary is a landscape and urban designer and co-founder of the People's Waterfront Coalition. The PWC's No-Highway option won second prize in a national design competition sponsored by Metropolis magazine, called 'Next Generation: Big Idea.' ----- Faced with a maddening choice between two miserable hi ...
Topics: local politics, placemaking, politics, public transportation, Seattle (all these topics)

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