Tag Archives | climate change

Models for tackling climate change at the regional level

By on April 18, 2013 in Environment

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the next regional plan (called ThriveMSP 2040) may be one of the most significant pieces of policy that gets made in Minnesota in this decade. Every ten years, the Metropolitan Council looks at how the “systems” of our region are performing (land use, transportation, water, wastewater, [...]

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When Cities Get Serious About Climate Change…

By on March 26, 2013 in Environment

A recent comment on Streets.mn planted a seed in my head. The discussion was about the utility and futility of buses vs. streetcars, and for some reason I was particularly struck by (fellow writer and Minneapolis sustainability program coordinator) Brendon Slotterback’s statement about BRT: If we build A-BRT, we can always go back and put [...]

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carter with solar panels

Solar access, land use and 30-year planning

By on January 10, 2013 in Environment, Land use

By law, every community in the seven-county metro is supposed to adopt a comprehensive plan that includes “an element for protection and development of access to direct sunlight for solar energy systems”.  This requirement dates back to 1978, when there was an oil crisis and gasoline was $1.30 per gallon (or, close to what it [...]

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Baby steps towards a stronger regional plan

By on November 29, 2012 in Environment, Governance, Plans

Have Metropolitan Council members been reading streets.mn?  Of course, I’d like to think so, and the draft principles and goals the Committee of Whole discussed on November 7th reflect some of the ideas you’ve seen here, and generally represent an improvement from plans of old. While it’s hard to read a lot into a goals [...]

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How should the next regional plan address climate change?

By on September 20, 2012 in Environment, Infrastructure, Land use, Plans

  You could argue the update of the regional framework now being undertaken by the Twin Cities Metropolitan Council (now called Thrive MSP 2040) is the most significant piece of land use policy that will be developed this decade.  The framework guides the development of various policy plans, which in turn shape the development of [...]

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Using bikes for serious emissions reduction

By on December 16, 2011 in Environment, Transportation

According to the European Cycling Federation, if the whole of the EU cycled like the Danes, they could achieve significant emissions cuts. If the EU cycling rate was the same as it is in Denmark, where the average person cycles almost 600 miles (965km) each year, then the bloc would attain anything from 12% to 26% of its [...]

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Taking local action

By on December 8, 2011 in Environment

Over at Grist, David Roberts lays down the brutal logic of climate change: With immediate, concerted action at global scale, we have a slim chance to halt climate change at the extremely dangerous level of 2 degrees C. If we delay even a decade — waiting for better technology or a more amenable political situation or [...]

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