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The White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) has shared its updated recommendations for modernizing the process of environmental reviews using new digital technologies. The 78-page report issued last week includes recommended steps and other guidances to complement projects pursued... View full entry
A new report driven by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) and Yale University's newly-formed Yale Center for Ecosystems + Architecture (Yale CEA) has recommended drastic reductions in the industry’s use of certain construction materials as it faces the environmental headwinds of sector-wide... View full entry
Nearly one year after breaking ground in Pasadena, construction is in full swing for the Resnick Sustainability Center on the Caltech campus. [...]
When completed, the new complex will serve as the physical hub of the Resnick Sustainability Institute, which has existing at Caltech since 2009.
— Urbanize Los Angeles
Following a $750 million donation from The Wonderful Company owners Lynda and Stewart Resnick in 2019 to Caltech, plans to construct a new 80,000-square-foot research facility were put in motion. Designed by Yazdani Studio, the Resnick Sustainability Resource Center broke ground in May 2022 and is... View full entry
The Biden administration on April 19 restored key regulations in the National Environmental Policy Act, which requires review of federal projects to assess their likely impacts on climate change and nearby communities. The changes to the NEPA rules will go into effect in late May, and could mean proposed infrastructure like highways, pipelines and railways take more time to get approved. — Construction Dive
This move reverses changes made by the Trump administration, which loosened the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in 2020 in order to accelerate projects by shortening the time used to gather environmental information and community input. According to Construction Dive, construction... View full entry
In September 2019, Lynda and Stewart Resnick, owners of LA-based The Wonderful Company, donated $750 million to Caltech to support further environmental sustainability research. This enabled plans to construct a new 80,000-square-foot facility called the Resnick Sustainability Resource Center... View full entry
Last week the Los Angeles Cleantech Incubator (LACI) and its partners released the Zero Emissions 2028 Roadmap 2.0 which seeks to accelerate the deployment of zero-emissions electric cars, buses and trucks, and charging stations across Los Angeles. "Our Roadmap 2.0 charts a course... View full entry
Air pollution worsened in the United States in 2017 and 2018, new data shows, a reversal after years of sustained improvement with significant implications for public health.
In 2018 alone, eroding air quality was linked to nearly 10,000 additional deaths in the U.S. relative to the 2016 benchmark, the year in which small-particle pollution reached a two-decade low, according to researchers at Carnegie Mellon University.
— The Washington Post
The Washington Post reports that "concentrations of the pollutant have risen about 5.5 percent since 2016," and points out several contributing factors that the Carnegie Mellon study identified: increased natural gas use and vehicle traffic, risen severity and frequency of wildfires, and the... View full entry
In a recent article in The Guardian, architecture critic Rowan Moore asks, "So what would architecture look like–more importantly, what would it be–if all involved really and truly put climate at the centre of their concerns?" It's true, the architecture profession has created a... View full entry
The world’s greatest rainforest – which is a vital provider of oxygen and carbon sequestration – lost 739sq km during the [month of May], equivalent to two football pitches every minute, according to data from the government’s satellite monitoring agency. — The Guardian
Deforestation of the Amazon rainforest has accelerated at a drastic clip since far-right Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro was inaugurated in January 2019. The Brazilian government takes monthly satellite observations to survey the deforestation, and it found that logging rates increased... View full entry
Environmentalists are celebrating a precedent-setting vote Thursday by the California Coastal Commission to tear down a seawall protecting an oceanfront home in Laguna Beach.
After the previous owner received retroactive approval for the previously unpermitted seawall, Jeffrey and Tracy Katz bought the home on Victoria Beach. They performed an extensive remodel, which was completed in January and increased the value of the home from $14 million to $25 million.
— The Orange County Register
Under the 1977 Coastal Act, beachfront properties are required to have substantial setbacks in order not to interfere with the natural flow of sand along the coast. Built in 1951, prior to the Act, the property in question was allowed to put up a seawall in 2005 under the condition it be removed... View full entry
In honor of Earth Day today, we look at the latest in sustainable architecture revealed in 2018 so far. Working with our natural environment, upcoming green projects range from sculptural electric charging stations to the world's largest single-domed tropical greenhouse. Our future is being shaped... View full entry
McGregor Coxall will participate in developing phase one of the master plan for the Shipwreck Coast site in Victoria, Australia. Drawing millions of visitors per year, Shipwreck Coast is home to monumental limestone formations where approximately 638 shipwrecks are believed to have occurred. ... View full entry
Australia's creative team for the 16th International Venice Architecture Biennale has been announced at events in Sydney and Melbourne. Baracco+Wright Architects will collaborate with artist Linda Tegg to cultivate and nurture thousands of temperate grassland species within the pavilion alongside... View full entry
Melbourne, Australia has been ranked as the most “liveable” city in the world for the seventh consecutive year by the Economist Intelligence Unit.
The EIU’s benchmark annual report titled “The Global Liveability Report 2017,” ranks 140 cities in order of best living conditions.
Melbourne’s 97.5 score is down to perfect assessments in health care, education, and infrastructure, as well as hitting over 95 in stability, and culture and environment.
— qz.com
As in previous years, the top 10 list is mostly comprised of major cities in Australia and Canada, while Vienna — once again — barely misses the first spot by 0.1 percentage points overall. Auckland, Helsinki, and Hamburg manage to claim some coveted spots at the top for their respective... View full entry
With layered narration from writers and the input of a climate scientist, the 40-foot long table installation known as "Indoor City" designed by Founder Rome Prize Fellows Phu Hoang and Rachely Rotem (MODU) with Jonathan Berger, Hussein Fancy, Christoph Meinrenken, Jack Livings and Matthew... View full entry
