Posted in Uncategorized on Feb 24th, 2012
On February 21st, the Supreme Court in New York found that local governments are empowered to regulate hydrofracking under their delegated zoning and land use authority, despite preemptive language in the state’s Oil, Gas and Solution Mining Law (“OGSML”). To fully understand the importance of this holding, some context is helpful.
Posted in Uncategorized on Nov 2nd, 2011
Federal and state policies should encourage localities that contain neighborhoods with the potential for district energy systems and transit oriented development to rezone these areas as Energy Conservation Districts calibrated to achieve multiple objectives of sustainable development. This they should do with the support of the state and federal government. In the orchard of energy [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Oct 3rd, 2011
by John R. Nolon The news coverage of the damage wrought by tropical storms Irene and Lee describes the perfect storm caused by a rapidly changing physical, financial, and political environment. Recent flooding is only the latest convincing evidence for us laymen that the overwhelming majority of respected scientists are right about climate change.
Posted in Uncategorized on Jul 11th, 2011
by John R. Nolon Those of us who believe the overwhelming number of scientists who document and report on the existence of climate change tend to use those scientific conclusions to convince skeptics. There may be a better way. There are a number of institutions respected for their credibility and cautious approach to facts that have [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Jun 27th, 2011
by John R. Nolon In “Get Out of Town,” The New Yorker‘s Nicholas Lemann raises two critical questions: has the celebration of cities gone too far and is city life productive or merely interesting? Some facts are missing from his June 27, 2011, “A Critic at Large” column.
Posted in Uncategorized on Jan 6th, 2011
Yesterday, the presidential panel investigating the causes of the Deepwater Horizon/BP spill in the Gulf of Mexico released one chapter of its report on the critical causes of the blowout, which released over 200 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico last year. A copy of the report is available here. The report [...]
Posted in Uncategorized on Dec 2nd, 2010
by Karl Coplan The New York State Sea Level Rise Task Force draft report to the legislature is out. The report considers the impacts of sea level rise on various aspects of government planning and regulation, including infrastructure, land use, community protection, and ecosystem protection. The draft report makes recommendations about how to incorporate sea [...]
Posted in Policy and Practice on Oct 21st, 2010
David Cassuto (x post from Animal Blawg) Long ago, miners used to use canaries to measure the build up of toxic gases in the mines where they were working. If the canary died, it was time to head out because the air was dangerous. We don’t use canaries in mines anymore. Now we use polar [...]
Posted in Emerging Issues, Policy and Practice on Sep 10th, 2010
Cross post from Animal Blawg by David Cassuto I flew Business Class on the way home from my Speaking Tour in Brazil. Business Class is better than coach. In fact, I’m seriously considering renaming my child Business Class. I’ve also written several epic poems and am thinking about getting a tattoo. But I digress. I’m [...]
