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Fossil Fuel Risk Bonding
It might seem logical that polluters would be expected pay for the damage they cause, but that is not always the case. Too often taxpayers are the ones who foot the bill for an accident while the company that caused it attempts to shirk responsibility by declaring bankruptcy or stalling with litigation.Read more » -
6 Things Philanthropists Can Do to Save Democracy in 2020
Coronavirus threatens American voters’ health and safety this November. US election officials need help, now. If you have money, here is what to do to save US democracy in 2020.Read more » -
Playing Monopoly; or, How Utilities Make Money
To decarbonize, policymakers will need to fundamentally change how utilities make money. They’re now incentivized to build new pipes and wires rather than boost efficiency or make repairs. Climate-friendly energy systems like solar panels are a threat.Read more » -
Will Clear Roads and Clean Skies Outlast the Pandemic?
The demands of social distancing have caused an unprecedented substitution of virtual interactions for physical travel. Surveys by MIT and Data for Progress found that by the end of March, more than a third of US workers had switched to working remotely. In addition, half of physicians have adopted telehealth to deliver patient care. Many employers expect these changes to endure even after distancing guidelines relax, which—if the region makes...Read more » -
UPDATED: Fifteen Thoughts on the Coronavirus and Cities
UPDATE 4/17/20: Since publishing this I’ve been trying to keep up with the ongoing firehose of related stories and happenings in a big bad Twitter thread (click “show this thread” once it opens on Twitter): What did I get right? What did I get wrong? What did I miss? Threading through the 15 things…https://t.co/0ht4s9x14H — Dan Bertolet (@danbertolet) April 9, 2020 Here’s a cheat sheet to navigate the thread: 1....Read more » -
Eliminate the Senate!
Editor’s note, 2/24/20: Last summer, we wrote about a handful of Oregon Republicans leaving the statehouse—and the state—to thwart progress on climate change legislation. On Monday, they did it again. As one observer tweeted, “11 people representing just 36 percent of Oregonians are holding the legislature hostage.” We barely had time to file this one away. So, here again are a handful of suggestions from our research director for democracy...Read more » -
One of North America’s Boldest Housing Initiatives Has Reached Its End: Did It Work?
Last time, I mapped the political battleground of metropolitan housing shortages. This time, I draw lessons from an attempt to unleash abundant housing by assembling a different coalition. In the summer of 2015, long before the US national media noticed that something called the YIMBY movement had been born, before Minneapolis’s bold move allowing triplexes in its tree-lined neighborhoods of detached houses with yards and driveways, and before US presidential...Read more » -
Straight Talk, Many Angles: Ten Portlanders for Fourplexes
Opinions about housing aren’t hard to find in the Pacific Northwest. With a subject so personal, though, different angles on the issue can be. As Portland’s proposed fourplex legalization has its public hearings this week, I thought I’d talk to an array of fairly well-known Portlanders with opinions about the subject. Here’s what they said. Israel Bayer North American Director, International Network of Street Papers; author As an advocate for...Read more » -
5 Reasons Portland’s Fourplex Legalization Would Be a Big Deal
Through five years of deliberation, Portland’s residential infill project has remained a simple concept: an anti-McMansion compromise that simultaneously lowers the maximum size of new buildings in low-density areas and allows buildings to contain more homes. As the proposal finally arrives at Portland’s city council today for the first of two high-stakes public hearings, it’s also the most significant zoning reform project in the United States or Canada. Over the...Read more » -
End Apartment Bans to Save the Planet, UN Climate Report Says
Local bans on attached homes in cities are driving up energy use and helping cook the climate, the United Nations Environment Program wrote in a report published Tuesday. “In some locations, spatial planning prevents the construction of multifamily residences and locks in suburban forms at high social and environmental costs,” the report’s authors wrote. They suggest a 20 percent cut to average floor area per person by 2050. UN institutions...Read more »