liveable cities
Archived Posts from this Category
Just Imagine - from CNN International
Posted by davidwfox on 12 Mar 2008 | Tagged as: biomimicry, liveable cities, video
Check out a new series of short interview/documentaries from CNN International “Just Imagine”, especially the third in the series that centers Livable Cities and the role of biomimicry in solving some of our greatest challenges. More to follow!
Toxic Chemicals to be Dropped on SF Bay Area
Posted by davidwfox on 19 Feb 2008 | Tagged as: liveable cities
“Harmful if inhaled. Avoid breathing vapor or spray mist.” Not the warning you might expect on a chemical soon to be sprayed over extensive areas around San Francisco. According to StopTheSpray.org, the pesticides currently used (CheckMate OLR-F and LBAM-F) have only undergone short-term tests on rats and rabbits. The manufacturer states, “Long-term studies on the active ingredients have not been done, however, no adverse effects expected.”
The state agriculture department plans to use airplanes at night this summer to spray a farm pesticide over urban San Francisco, Marin County and the East Bay, intending to eradicate a potentially destructive moth.
The little-known proposal to wipe out the light brown apple moth, which if it became established could destroy the region’s agricultural industry, has developed increasing opposition among some residents who fear for their health.
Hundreds of people whose homes and yards were sprayed in Santa Cruz and Monterey counties from September to December have filed reports that said the pesticide seems to have caused coughing, wheezing, muscle aches and headaches, among other symptoms. Continued at SF Chronicle.
Add your voice to the concern at via a StopyTheSpray’s petition.
Official plan @ CDFA.
My Other Car is a Bright Green City
Posted by davidwfox on 27 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: liveable cities, transport
Another weighty editorial by WorldChanging’s Alex Steffen:
Today’s cars are costly, dangerous and an ecological nightmare. What if the solution to the problems they create, though, has more to do with where we live than what we drive?
Alex argues that building compact communities should be one of America’s highest environmental priorities, and says our obsession with building “green cars” may obscure other options.
Driving is often just a habit rather than a conscious choice. I lived in San Francisco for years before I ‘discovered‘ there was a serviceable option to driving, especially for downtown trips. Here’s to livable cities movement!
Do You Know How Much Water You Really Use?
Posted by davidwfox on 22 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: liveable cities, research & reports
Enter the H2O Calculator at http://www.h2oconserve.org/, a project of ICCR, GRACE, Food & Water Watch, and the Johns Hopkins University Center for a Livable Future.
“Water scarcity is a growing problem throughout the US and abroad, and it is crucial that individuals and communities make efforts to conserve and protect this precious resource. H2O conserve is a web-based project that offers tools and knowledge that enable individuals to make water conservation part of their everyday lives.”
Hear more via an interview with Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food and Water Watch at Living on Earth.
Consumer-Generated Power
Posted by davidwfox on 20 Jan 2008 | Tagged as: company, energy, liveable cities
Dutch startup Qurrent is taking the notion of consumer-generated power a step further with technology to enable neighbourhood-wide energy networks. Continued at Springwise…
