“Global temperatures could rise 1.5° C above preindustrial levels by as early as 2030 if current trends continue, but trees could help stem this climate crisis. A new analysis finds that adding nearly 1 billion hectares of forest could remove two-thirds of the roughly 300 gigatons of carbon humans have
“Over the past half-century, North America has lost more than a quarter of its entire bird population, or around 3 billion birds. That’s according to a new estimate published in the journal Science by researchers who brought together a variety of information that has been collected on 529 bird species
“Cities in general tend to be hotter than their natural surroundings, thanks to a phenomenon known as the urban heat island. ‘If you have less green cover, you will almost always have higher temperatures, and greater exposure to heat,’ says Brian Stone, director of the urban climate lab at the
“According to National Weather Service data, freshwater flood losses in the United States amount to nearly $8 billion a year over the past three decades—as if the damage from a very bad hurricane were spread throughout the country. Even during tropical cyclones, however, 2 in 3 flood insurance claims relate
Increasing heavy rainfall events due to climate change will cause this situation to be a more common occurrence; increased impermeable surfaces throughout the city will exacerbate flooding, rate of water flow and thus contaminated run-off entering our city lakes. We MUST do an environmental study of how we increase density
“America is becoming increasingly and dangerously waterlogged. And it’s not just rural areas. Cities are especially vulnerable to a phenomenon called urban flooding because they are less permeable than their rural counterparts due to concrete surfaces and inadequate infrastructure. Runoff overflow can turn streets into rivers. According to the Natural
“How much thought do you give to pavement? Our cities are covered with it, but it’s not exactly a hot topic of conversation—though it should be. Pavement causes all sorts of problems including the fact that water can’t soak through it and instead runs across it, collecting pollutants and biological
“The heart of Minnesota environmental law is a substantive standard — pretty unique, it’s not in federal law or in other states — which says that if you’ve got a project with significant potential to harm the environment, and there are feasible and prudent alternatives, you have to pick the
Letter to the Editor – Star Tribune, April 22, 2019: It was remarkable to hear Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey say, regarding climate change and the environment in his State of the City address: “At the local level, we don’t have the luxury of ignoring science.” (As reported in the April
“What are the best ways for U.S. cities to combat climate change? A new study co-authored by an MIT professor indicates it will be easier for cities to reduce emissions coming from residential energy use rather than from local transportation — and this reduction will happen mostly thanks to better