Natural Resources Defense Council | The Green Economy Post: Green Careers, Green Business, Sustainability

A High-Risk Energy Boom Sweeps Across North America

By Yale Environment 360 on October 5, 2010 Comments Off on A High-Risk Energy Boom Sweeps Across North America Argonne National Laboratory, Bakken, Canadian pipeline builders, carbon rich-sands, Circle of Blue, Colorado, ConocoPhilips, Department of Energy, detroit, energy industry, ExxonMobil Canada, fossil fuel reserves, gas fields, Grays Harbor, greenhouse gases, hydrocarbon development, Keith Schneider, Lynn Helms, mineral rights, Natural Resources Defense Council, North Dakota, North Dakota Department of Mineral Resources, oil companies, oil fields, oil production, oil shale reserves, Pam Sharp, Pembina Institute, Randy Udall, renewable energy, tar sands, Utah, Washington State, Wyoming

Energy companies are rushing to develop unconventional sources of oil and gas trapped in carbon-rich shales and sands throughout the western United States and Canada. So far, government officials have shown little concern for the environmental consequences of this new fossil-fuel development boom.

LEED For Neighborhood Development: Update and Free Certification Exam

By Jessalyn Dingwell on December 6, 2009 1 Comment carbon emissions, carbon footprint, Climate Change, Congress for the New Urbanism, corporate social responsibility, density, energy efficiency, environment, environmental, EPA, foot traffic, global warming, green building, green certification, green economy, green infrastructure, green jobs, green professionals, greenhouse gas emissions, LEED, LEED for Neighborhood development, LEED ND, mother nature, Natural Resources Defense Council, nature, neighborhood design, new urbanism, public transit, renewable energy, sidewalk, smart grid, Smart Growth, solar energy, sustainability, sustainable building, U.S. Green Building Council, USGBC, vehicle miles traveled

The Green Building Certification Institute (USBGCI) is accepting applications from professionals interested in taking the LEED AP Neighborhood Development beta exam and potentially earning the credential for free. You must submit the application and required documentation online by December 15th. The final, balloted version of LEED for Neighborhood Development was recently released with a few interesting changes including new requirements for certification of at least one green building, walkable sidewalks, increased density, and an allowance for minor construction such as boat access ramps in green buffer areas that encourage human interaction with nature.

The Greenest Cities in America

By Tracey de Morsella on July 31, 2009 4 Comments 000 clean energy sector jobs by 2015. Sacramento Municipal Utility District, air quality, AL, AR, Arlington Heights, Austin, Austin Energy, AZ, battery-swapping, Bellingham, bike lanes, biodegradable, Boston, Boston Redevelopment Authority, Burnsville, CA, CA. Sacramento plans to add 20, California, canopy cover, carbon offset, Chicago, cities Madison, clean air, Clean Energy Incubator, CO, compostable disposable food service ware, conservation, CT, Denver, edible urban gardens, electric-car charging stations, energy audits, energy conservation, energy efficiency, energy production, environmental standards, EPA, EPA Smart Growth Program, Eugene OR, Fayetteville, FL, for the Environment, Fort Collins, Gavin Newsom, generate jobs, Geothermal Energy, GHG, global warming, green building; recycling, Green cities, green concrete, green jobs, Green Medium Cities, Green Small Cities, Green Town Challenge, greenest cities, greenhouse gas emissions, greenness, Greg Nickels, How Green is My Town, Huntsville, hydroelectric, hydrogen-powered, hydropower, ICLEI, IL, incentives, kyoto protocol, landfill, Laredo, large cities, LEED, light rail, Living Cities, Local Governments for Sustainability, MA, Madison, Mission Viejo, MN, Mountain View, Nanosolar, Nashua, Natural Resources Defense Council, NH, Norwalk, NRDC, Oakland, passive cooling, plug-in charging stations, polystyrene foam, protect the environment, Redmond, renewable energy, reuse, rooftop gardens, Sacramento, San Francisco, San Jose, Santa Rosa, Sarasota, School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Scottsdale, Seattle, Smarter Cities, SMUD, solar manufacturers, solar panels, solid waste, Solopower, Spokane, Springfield, SunPower, sustainability, Sustainable Business, Tallahassee, The Denver, transportation, trees, TX, U.S. Green Building Council, Underwriters Laboratory, urban rehabilitation, urban sprawl, US Conference of Mayors Climate Agreement, WA, Washington, wastewater, water quality, WI, wildlife refuge, wind turbines, Wisconsin, Yale, zero-waste

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) recently announced their list of the greenest cities in the United States and have released their findings on a new web site, called Smarter Cities. The survey includes all cities in the United States with populations larger than 50,000. Smarter Cities is considered to be one of the nation’s most comprehensive and robust database of U.S. urban progress toward sustainability. Seattle ranked number one and San Francisco ranked number 2 among the 67 large cities that were evaluated. Madison, Wisconsin placed firstand Santa Rosa, California came in second among the 176 medium cities that were surveyed. Among the 402 cities that were evaluated, Bellingham, Washington came in first place and Mountain View, California came in second.