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By Simmons Buntin, October 12, 2009 5:30 pm

New Haven Green in New Haven, Connecticut

The American Planning Association has just released its list of Great Places in America for 2009.  The organization’s flagship program celebrates places of exemplary character, quality, and planning. Places are selected annually and represent the “gold standard” in terms of having a true sense of place, cultural and historical interest, community involvement, and a vision for tomorrow.

APA Great Places offer better choices for where and how people work and live. They are enjoyable, safe, and desirable. They are places where people want to be — not only to visit, but to live and work every day. America’s truly great streets, neighborhoods and public spaces are defined by many criteria, including architectural features, accessibility, functionality, and community involvement.

The Great Places are divided into three categories:

• Great Neighborhoods
• Great Streets
• Great Public Spaces

Great neighborhoods include Bungalow Heaven in Pasadena, the Haymarket in Lincoln, Nebraska, and Downtown Franklin Historic District in Tennessee, among others. Great streets include Broadway Street in Skagway, Alaska, Front Street in Traverse City, Michigan, and East Newberry Boulevard in Milwaukee, among others. And great public spaces include New Haven Green in New Haven, Connecticut, the Great Rounds in Minneapolis, and the Central Square in Keene, New Hampshire, among others.

There are many lists of great places to live and the like, and APA’s Great Places in America is at the top of the list of those to read (and be sure to view the short slideshows for each place, as well).

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By Simmons Buntin, October 4, 2009 4:53 am

New Report Identifies Top Threats and Recommendations to Protect Parks

Winter clouds over Saguaro National Park east of Tucson. Photo by Simmons Buntin.

11 Climate-Related Dangers in Parks in AK, AZ, CA, CO, FL, ID, IN, MD, MT, NJ, NY, ME, NV, NM, NC, ND, TN, TX, UT, VA, WA, and WY.

Editor’s note: Video is available at: http://www.vimeo.com/nrdcbroadcast/videos

Denver and New York (October 1, 2009) — Climate change from human activity is the leading threat to wildlife, plants, water and ice in 25 of America’s national parks, according to a new report by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and Rocky Mountain Climate Organization (RMCO).

The report, National Parks in Peril, comes on the heels of the introduction of clean energy and climate legislation in the U.S. Senate, as well as Ken Burns’ national parks series on PBS, which has put parks in the center of America’s national conscience.

The RMCO/NRDC report outlines 11 climate-related threats and the needed remedies for the following national parks (in alphabetical order):  Acadia National Park; Assateague Island National Seashore; Bandelier National Monument; Biscayne National Park; Cape Hatteras National Seashore; Colonial National Historical Park; Denali National Park and Preserve; Dry Tortugas National Park; Ellis Island National Monument; Everglades National Park; Glacier National Park; Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore; Joshua Tree National Park; Lake Mead National Recreation Area; Mesa Verde National Park; Mount Rainier National Park; Padre Island National Seashore; Rocky Mountain National Park; Saguaro National Park; Theodore Roosevelt National Park; Virgin Islands National Park/Virgin Islands Coral Reef National Monument; Yellowstone National Park;Yosemite National Park; and Zion National Park.

“As a country, we need to ensure that our parks have a future that is as promising as their past,” said Theo Spencer, senior advocate for the Climate Center at the Natural Resources Defense Council. “Clean energy legislation is now moving in Congress that would help preserve our national treasures, while creating more jobs, economic growth and national security.”

The report outlines climate-related threats in 25 parks spanning 22 states. The top risks include: loss of snow and water, rising seas, more extreme weather, loss of plants and wildlife, and more pollution.

“Climate disruption is the greatest threat ever to our national parks. We could lose entire national parks for the first time, as Everglades, Ellis Island, and other parks could be submerged by rising seas,” said Stephen Saunders, president of the Rocky Mountain Climate Organization and the report’s principal author. “To preserve our parks, we need to reduce the heat-trapping gases that are threatening them, and begin managing the parks to protect resources at risk.”   

Remedies, which are outlined in the report, include enacting comprehensive clean energy legislation, including reducing carbon pollution by at least 20 percent below current levels by 2020; increasing investment in energy efficiency; and accelerating the development of clean energy technologies. The National Parks Service also needs to prioritize this issue by enacting policies to mitigate the impacts of global warming; and should have more funding for research and to reduce the effects of climate change.

Bill Wade, chair of the executive council of the Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR) and former superintendent of Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, said: “National parks are often referred to as the ‘canaries in the mine shafts’ when it comes to climate change. By their very characteristics and locations, impacts and effects of climate change are noticed in national parks first and are a forewarning about what will happen elsewhere. That’s why this report is particularly important.”

For the full report, including the list of the National Parks, go to:  www.rockymountainclimate.org

The report and more information about national parks and global warming is also at: http://www.nrdc.org/land/parksinperil/

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By Simmons Buntin, July 10, 2009 5:11 am

Greenpeace Makes Urgent Call for Climate Action From Face of Mt. Rushmore
Challenges President Obama to lead the world in fighting global warming

Learn more at www.greenpeace.org/rushmore (includes video)

WASHINGTON – This morning [July 8, 2009], 11 daring Greenpeace climbers hung a banner on Mount Rushmore challenging President Obama to show real leadership on global warming. The banner, measuring sixty-five feet high by thirty-five feet wide, features an unfinished portrait of Obama with the message, “America honors leaders not politicians: Stop Global Warming.” The demonstration comes as President Obama meets other G8 leaders in L’Aquila, Italy today to discuss the global warming crisis in the lead-up to UN climate treaty negotiations in Copenhagen this December.

“This monument celebrates leaders who rose to the great challenges of our past. Global warming is the greatest crisis humankind has ever faced and it is the defining test of leadership for this generation. It’s an open question whether President Obama will pass that test,” said Greenpeace USA Deputy Campaigns Director Carroll Muffett.

To highlight the issue, 11 activists completed a challenging climb to the top of Mount Rushmore, and three rappelled down, hanging the nearly 2300-square-foot banner as they descended. The activists, highly trained in rock and industrial climbing, took special care not to damage the monument, using existing anchors placed by the National Park Service for periodic cleanings. The demonstration follows a series of protests in Italy this morning where other Greenpeace activists hung banners on coal plant smokestacks calling attention to the collective failure of leadership on global warming at the G8.

“We’re at a moment in history where President Obama must show real leadership on global warming, not only for Congress and the American people, but for the world. Unfortunately, the steps taken to address the crisis so far have been grossly inadequate,” said Muffett. “While President Obama’s speeches on global warming have been inspiring, we’ve seen a growing gap between the president’s words and his actions.”

The best science shows that to avoid catastrophic global warming, governments must take action to keep global temperature rise as far below 2 degrees Celsius as possible. “Given President Obama’s pledge to follow the science, it’s troubling that his administration has not yet endorsed emission targets strong enough to keep us below that critical threshold.”

Earlier this year, the experience with climate legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, which was drastically weakened by lobbyists for the oil and coal industries and other big polluters, showed that unless the president provides strong leadership on this issue, special interests will win out over the common interest.

“Doing what it takes to solve global warming demands real political courage,” Muffett added. “If President Obama intends to earn a place among this country’s true leaders, he needs to show that courage, and base his actions on the scientific reality rather than political convenience.”

Greenpeace is calling on President Obama to use every tool at his disposal, both within and outside Congress, to strengthen U.S. climate policy with scientific integrity, and to take that policy to Copenhagen in December as evidence the U.S. will do what it takes to solve the climate crisis.

Specifically, Greenpeace is calling on President Obama to:

. Strive to keep global temperatures as far below a 2 degrees Celsius increase as possible, compared to pre-industrial levels to avert catastrophic climate change;

. Set a goal of peaking global emissions by 2015 and be as close to zero as possible by 2050, compared to 1990 levels;

. Cut emissions in the U.S. by 25-40 percent by 2020, compared to 1990 levels;

. Join and encourage other members of the G8 to establish a funding mechanism that provides $106 billion per year by 2020 to help developing countries adapt to global warming impacts that are now unavoidable and halt tropical deforestation.

Greenpeace is also calling on President Obama to attend the Copenhagen conference personally to ensure a strong, science-based agreement is reached.

For live streaming video, pictures, and footage visit: www.greempeace.org/rushmore

Contact: Molly Dorozenski (on site), 917-864-3724, mdorozen@greenpeace.org
Michael Crocker (Washington, DC), 202-215-8989, mcrocker@greenpeace.org

Earlier this year, Greenpeace released its roadmap for slowing climate change, the Energy [R]evolution, which shows that the U.S. can cut emissions 25 percent by 2020.To read the full-report, visit: http://www.greenpeace.org/usa/press-center/reports4/energy-r-evolution-a-bluepr

~~~

For the record, Terrain.org supports a little non-violent civil disobedience.

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By Simmons Buntin, January 18, 2008 6:29 pm

The Civano Community School—which Simmons Buntin’s daughters attend—won the “Go Green with All” greenest grade school in American contest, announced today on The Ellen Show. Very cool!

Details at http://gogreenwithall.com/home/.

In addition to a $50,000 grand prize for the school, each student receives an iPod shuffle with a solar charger, and each family receives a year’s supply of All concentrated detergent.

This is the work of many good folks, but Pam Bateman, school marm, deserves special recognition.

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By Simmons Buntin, March 29, 2007 6:06 pm

For folks in the Washington, D.C. area (and a webcast, too):

Multimedia: Environment’s Connection to Conflict, CooperationExhibition Opening at Woodrow Wilson Center

WASHINGTON—Environmental issues–water, climate, land, forests, and minerals–have played a part in some of world’s worst conflicts. But these resources can also be harnessed to build peace. From April 2-20 at the Woodrow Wilson Center, a multimedia exhibit created by Berlin’s Adelphi Research will use interactive displays of photos, text, and video to address three questions:

• Why do changes in our natural environment threaten people and livelihoods?
• Does the exploitation of natural resources lead to violent conflict?
• How can sustainable development and environmental cooperation contribute to stability and peace?

On Tuesday, April 3 from 5:30-7:30 p.m., Johannes K. Haindl, Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Germany, and Lee H. Hamilton, president of the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, will open the exhibit at a reception in the Woodrow Wilson Memorial Hallway.

Also on April 3, from 3:30-5:30 p.m., an international panel will discuss environment, conflict, and cooperation in a public meeting, to be webcast live.

What: Environment, Conflict, and Cooperation: Panel Discussion ( WEBCAST LIVE ) and Exhibition Opening and Reception
Who: Alexander Carius, Director, Adelphi Research (Berlin), Geoffrey D. Dabelko, Director, Environmental Change and Security Program, Woodrow Wilson Center, and Patricia Kameri-Mbote, Chair, Department of Private Law, University of Nairobi, and Program Director, International Environmental Law Research Centre, Nairobi
When: Tuesday, April 3, 2007, 3:30 – 7:30 p.m., Panel Discussion: 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. (6th Floor Flom Auditorium, Woodrow Wilson Center), Exhibition Opening and Reception: 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. (Woodrow Wilson Memorial Hallway)
Where: Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. The Wilson Center is located in the Ronald Reagan Building at 1300 Pennsylvania Avenue.

The panel discussion is co-sponsored by the German Embassy, the German Information Center USA, the Heinrich Boell Foundation, and the Woodrow Wilson Center. The German Embassy is hosting the reception.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is the living, national memorial to President Wilson established by Congress in 1968 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is a nonpartisan institution, supported by public and private funds, engaged in the study of national and world affairs. The Center establishes and maintains a neutral forum for free, open, and informed dialogue.

Media planning to cover the event should contact Sharon McCarter at sharon.mccarter@wilsoncenter.org or (202) 691-4016.

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By Simmons Buntin, March 22, 2007 6:52 pm

A FOOD CHAIN RELEASE FROM METROFARM.COM

We know what happens with the birds and the bees. But it is the Spring of dying bees, and this leads us to ask, “What happens when there are no bees?”

This Saturday morning, March 24, at 9 am Pacific, the Food Chain with Michael Olson hosts Professors Eric Mussen from the University of California, Davis, and Jim Amrine from West Virginia University for a conversation about dying bees.

Log on www.metrofarm.com to listen on your radio, computer or IPOD.

Topics include why bees are dying in such big numbers this Spring; what might happen to the food chain should we lose our bees; and what solutions might there be to halt the die-off.

Question of the Week: What happens if we lose our bees?

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By Simmons Buntin, February 22, 2007 6:49 pm

The Acoustic Ecology Institute, http://www.acousticecology.org, has released its spotlight report, Ocean Noise: What We Learned in 2006. You can view it at http://www.acousticecology.org/spotlight_oceannoise2006.html.

According to AEI, “The oceans contain over 80% of the earth’s total volume of habitat; because of limited light penetration, many ocean species rely heavily on sound for navigation, finding food, and maintaining group relationships. For decades, human activity has been increasing the noise levels in the oceans; over the past few years, we have begun to pause and consider the effects of our sounds on ocean life. The oil and gas industry, navies of the world, and field biologists are all putting more time and money into these questions than ever before. Here’s what was learned in 2006.”

The online report of an often-overlooked environmental concern is worth investigating.

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By Simmons Buntin, February 20, 2007 5:29 pm

It’s time to step it up, don’t you think? Participate in the National Day of Climate Action on April 14.

Learn more at http://www.stepitup2007.org/.