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Monthly archive for October, 2011
The Daily Dig: A Foreclosure Mill’s Poor Choice of Halloween Costume
Monday, October 31st, 2011
• A law firm falling into the category of a “foreclosure mill” revealed their mind-set towards the homeowners they foreclose on with their costumes. (NYT) • An Australian court ended the strikes and employee lockout at Qantas Airways. (WaPo) • Read more ›
Jon Stewart Asks: Is the Federal Home Weatherization Program Working?
Friday, October 28th, 2011
How to reduce America’s energy consumption has been a key concern of policymakers in recent years, as such efforts can both save people money in this weak economy and also help the environment. The Obama administration has said that weatherizing Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Is China Sabotaging the U.S. Solar Market?
Friday, October 28th, 2011
• The American solar manufacturing industry isn’t as robust as expected, and many point fingers at China’s state-sponsored solar industry. (GreenTech) • Democrats introduced a bill to create a national infrastructure bank, which proposes to create the bank and fund Read more ›
Prisoners of Transit: Why Public Transportation Deserves More Attention
Thursday, October 27th, 2011
With the economy being what it is, the United States is heading into a transportation crisis for low and middle class citizens. Those able to afford cars find themselves spending more and more of their incomes on gasoline, and those Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Is ‘Transportation Poverty’ a New Trend?
Thursday, October 27th, 2011
• A report by Transportation for America found that over 64% of the elderly population in Cincinnati will be living in “transportation poverty” in 2015, meaning they will be without adequate transit access, a trend that many other cities are Read more ›
How Energy Efficient Are the World’s Tallest Buildings?
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
Energy efficient architecture has never been more popular as developers strive for eco-friendliness in the face of ever-higher energy costs. For example, Portland and Seattle are currently competing to build the most nature-inspired building, with a rating system called Living Read more ›
The Daily Dig: New $5.50 ‘Canadian Tax’ Imposed on Travelers
Wednesday, October 26th, 2011
• The U.S. has announced that any Canadian traveling to the country by air or boat will be charged a $5.50 tax. (NPR) • A bill written by the House and passed by a voice vote on Monday states that Read more ›
The 10 Best Nature-Inspired Buildings
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
From organic architecture to architectural biomimicry, many architects get inspirations for their designs from nature, and many buildings resemble things found in the natural world (whether intentionally or not). Here are some of the best nature-inspired buildings. Click here to Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Floods, Earthquakes, and Millions of Bees
Tuesday, October 25th, 2011
• In Utah on Sunday night, a truck carrying 25 million bees overturned, swarming the driver and his wife. (WaPo) • Thailand’s traditional society had better ways to deal with floods, such as building houses on stilts with boats instead Read more ›
Shovel-Ready Series: How Our Permit Process Is Costing Us Jobs
Monday, October 24th, 2011
For the past few weeks, we’ve been examining the state of U.S. infrastructure as it relates to job-creation — a critical issue that’s capturing the attention of policymakers and constituents alike, particularly as unemployment levels and crumbling U.S. infrastructure show Read more ›
The Daily Dig: NAFTA Sends First Truck Across Mexican Border
Monday, October 24th, 2011
• Almost two decades after passage of NAFTA, a Mexican freightliner truck crossed the border into the U.S. on Friday, bound for the nation’s interior. (AP) • A new immigration proposal would allow immigrants who spend at least $500,000 on Read more ›
The Daily Dig: What Happens When 5,000 Chickens Spill on the Highway?
Friday, October 21st, 2011
• On Northern California’s I-80, the driver of a chicken truck was involved in an accident that spilled 5,000 chickens onto the highway. (NPR) • Will the London transit system be able to support several hundred thousand tourists for the Read more ›
Rush-Hour Read: Can the World Handle 7 Billion People?
Friday, October 21st, 2011
By October 31, the world’s 7 billionth person will be born, according to new projections from the United Nations Population Fund. That means it will have only taken 12 years for the world to have added a billion people – Read more ›
The 10 Scariest Places to Live in America
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
With Halloween approaching, scary houses, hotels, and other locales are getting their fair share of attention. But when you think about it, there are plenty of locations many of us call home that are pretty darn terrifying. Here is a Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Are You Driving to Work on a Deficient Bridge?
Thursday, October 20th, 2011
• A new report from Transportation for America reveals that more than 18,000 of the nation’s busiest bridges, clustered in the metro areas, are rated as “structurally deficient.” (TFA) • As natural gas companies offer homeowners leases to drill on Read more ›
How to Fund U.S. Infrastructure? Reduce Defense Spending
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
A few weeks ago, former Pennsylvania Governor and co-founder of Building America’s Future Ed Rendell was speaking on a panel about the future of U.S. infrastructure. After he finished extolling the need for greater investment in large-scale upgrades and new Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Commercial Space Travel Is Here (Almost)
Wednesday, October 19th, 2011
• The first commercial spaceport opened on Monday — well, sort of. Although it’s not officially open for business yet, it will be making its first test flights through next year. (Architizer) • Can Indian Point nuclear power plant in Read more ›
Can Carmakers and Bicyclists Get Along?
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
Last week, GM announced it was pulling a print ad because it was insulting to bicyclists (the gist was that college students should buy a car rather than ride a bike in order to impress women and generally be “an Read more ›
The Daily Dig: Stolen Pennsylvania Bridge Is Found
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
• How do you know the economy is bad? When thieves steal an entire bridge to sell for scrap metal. (TreeHugger) • A 3-day Blackberry outage made roads in the United Arab Emirates significantly safer — accidents were down 40%. Read more ›
Why Do Women Hate Development?
Monday, October 17th, 2011
Ok not really. But according to a a poll by the Saint Consulting Group, women are far more likely than men to oppose the construction of new power plants, shopping malls, big-box stores, and other large projects. The poll results Read more ›
