News & commentary on sustainability, activism, urban planning, politics, and our world.
In my graduate studies in city and regional planning, one thing became very obvious to me: cities, by definition and at their best, are densely-populated places. However, with the rapid rise of automobile use, North American cities have been on a low-density trend. Think about it, big vehicles for every individual require tons of big [...]
I recently saw a rough cut of a superb new documentary, WikiRebels, which chronicles the formation of WikiLeaks, and delves into the history and motivations of the various people who founded the organization. It is an engrossing story of how just a handful of dedicated people have changed the world, and have brought so much [...]
Earlier this month the fisheries minister of Belize announced that all forms of trawling will be banned in Belize effective December 31, 2010. Oceana, especially Oceana’s vice president for Belize, Audrey Matura-Shepherd, led the push to get bottom trawling banned, opening an office in Belize to tackle this matter last year. Additionally, UNESCO has been [...]
Ten years ago Portugal decriminalized the use of all drugs in the country. The laws were changed so that addicts were sent to drug treatment, therapy and counseling, instead of prison. The progressive shift in ideology treats drug use as a public health problem, not something to be channeled through the courts and criminal justice [...]
What are the biggest benefits of bicycling? Of course, there are the environmental benefits and the fact that bicycling is many times cheaper than driving or even riding transit. One more obvious benefit, however, is that it is great for our health. A number of doctors and other health professionals, approximately 150 of them, recently [...]
