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The Renewable Energy City

By Peter Newman / On January 13th, 2009
The seven key innovations of resilient cities are set as city models, which will be detailed over the next several weeks here at "Eco-Compass." While no one city has shown innovation in all seven areas, some are quite advanced in one or two. The challenge for urban planners will be to apply all of these city characteristics together, to generate a sense of hope through a combination of new technology, city design and community-based innovation, which together will create the Resilient City. The first is city model is the Renewable Energy City.
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Telling the Stories of Green Urbanism

By Timothy Beatley / On January 8th, 2009
Much of my research and writing over the years has focused on telling stories-innovative efforts at moving cities and urban neighborhoods in the direction of sustainability, at finding ways to build economy, reconnect to place and environment, and at once to enhance quality of life and reduce ecological footprints.
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The Pleasures of a Big Fat Book

By Ann Vileisis / On January 7th, 2009
Lately, I've enjoyed giving greater attention to what I eat and where it comes from. I've canned fresh local tuna, grown leafy greens and purple potatoes in my garden, baked fresh breads, learned the stories of my apples and berries, and generally taken a slow-food approach to nourishing my body. But last fall, I realized that I've been taking far less care with my mind.
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Holiday Gifts that Reflect a Commitment to Place

By Timothy Beatley / On December 23rd, 2008
As we come to the end of another holiday season, it is a fair question to ask whether, for those of us concerned about sustainability, if any of the giving (and holiday consumption) has had any sort of positive effect on places in which we live and care about. Those who view consumption as a generally positive act of citizenship will probably reply in the affirmative, but many of us are troubled by the amount of "stuff" that we buy and give and receive.
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Fireflies, Chrysler, and Auto Bailout

By Paul Ehrlich / On December 22nd, 2008
Horrible-and we thought it couldn't get worse when we were in southern Africa six months ago......Paul Ehrlich
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Vietnam May Revisit Two-Child Population Policy

By Robert Engelman / On December 18th, 2008
The government of Vietnam will decide on December 22 whether to penalize parents who have more than two children, reinitiating a coercive population policy it abandoned in 2003. "We are considering an adjustment to our policy appropriate to the circumstances of the country," Truong Thi Mai, chair of Vietnam's Parliamentary Committee of Social Affairs, confirmed on Saturday. "The Parliament Standing Committee will decide the week after next."
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Out of sight, out of time?

By David Wilcove / On December 11th, 2008
Here's a quiz for the birdwatchers out there: Which country has experienced the greatest loss of bird species over the past quarter century? (And by "greatest loss," I mean global extinctions). The answer is not Brazil, Indonesia, Colombia, or some other developing country—it's the United States. By my calculation, nine species of birds have vanished from the US since 1980 (see Wilcove, D.S. 2005. "Rediscovery of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker." Science 308: 1422-1423), by far the largest number of any nation during this time period.
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Time to break the low-meat barrier

By Ann Vileisis / On December 10th, 2008
At climate talks in Poland last week, delegates considered the issue of farm emissions. Globally farm animals generate 18 percent of greenhouse gasses—that's more than cars, planes, and buses. According to The New York Times ("As more eat meat, a bid to cut emissions"), delegates considered some technological solutions, such as converting waste methane gas into an energy source. This elegant approach has already shown great promise.
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The Crash, Peak Oil and Resilient Cities

By Peter Newman / On December 9th, 2008
How did the crash happen? Over-inflating the economic balloon with debt that was vulnerable to rises in oil price. What do we do about it? Use non-oil-based projects and approaches to generate economic growth or else we are going to make things worse. In detail....

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