The Trump administration has submitted to the White House a new definition of the “Waters of the United States,” a proposal the Southern Environmental Law Center contends could remove environmental protections from up to 60 percent of the nation’s streams and more than 90 percent of wetlands.
Peregrine falcons have joined the back-to-the-city movement that has brought thousands of new residents into Atlanta. A new state survey shows that peregrines are likely nesting in high-rise buildings from Midtown to Buckhead, rather than on the faces of canyons in the mountains of North Georgia.
The next generation of transportation technology is to be developed in Chamblee and Gwinnett County, which on Tuesday were awarded cash grants and year-long technical support from a Georgia Tech research team. They were among the four winners of the first Georgia Smart Communities Challenge.
Georgia wildlife officials are asking the public to exercise patience with Canada geese when they are land-bound in early summer. The federal government is seeking permission to destroy nests and eggs of resident Canada geese at any time of year.
Georgia has scored a major victory in one battle of the ongoing water war involving river flow into other states. However, Georgia contends that foot-dragging by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has resulted in a lack of progress on the order issued by a federal judge, according to papers filed in U.S. District Court in Atlanta.
The South Fork Conservancy has entered its second decade of protecting the natural environment along the South Fork of Peachtree Creek with plans for a new pedestrian bridge over the creek – and money in the bank to pay for building the bridge and other projects.
Georgia’s population of bald eagles has recovered to the point that the state has reduced the size of the land surveyed for nests. The shift will enable the state to reallocate money for other conservation projects, according to the state Department of Natural Resources.
Atlanta is trying to get a handle on the use of electric bicycles, which are proliferating in the city and presenting new threats to pedestrians when the pedal-assisted e-bikes are ridden or parked on sidewalks, trails and in parks. The debate is to begin Wednesday in the Atlanta City Council’s Transportation Committee.
The Atlanta Audubon Society has embarked on addressing a housing crisis encountered by the once-common chimney swifts – a lack of nesting places in tree cavities and the chimneys that gave the birds their name.
By Guest Columnist DAVID KYLER, executive director of the Center for a Sustainable Coast, located in St. Simons
Enormous burdens on Georgia taxpayers have been imposed by damage from major storms over the past two years. Such impacts over this period are estimated to have cost Georgians some $5 billion in property and infrastructure damage, evacuation expenses, and recovery/clean-up. The majority of these expenses have been imposed by hurricanes, Matthew (2016) and Irma (2017).
Metro Atlanta and Georgia are far from the finish line in the water wars. Even after the U.S. Supreme Court rules by June 30 on the case brought against Georgia by Florida, three federal lawsuits remain pending.
Georgia Tech’s planned police headquarters is designed to comply with a fairly new set of standards that aim to improve the health and wellness of those who spend time inside the building. In at least one instance, the standard is tighter than LEED standards.
By Guest Columnist EMILY WEIGEL, of Georgia Tech, with NA’TAKI OSBORNE JELKS, of Agnes Scott College, and RUTHIE YOW, of Georgia Tech.
“I didn’t know crawfish lived in Atlanta!” Peering into the palm of U.S. Fish and Wildlife biologist Tamara Johnson, a student’s eyes grew wide at the wriggling resident of Proctor Creek. Proctor is a tributary of the Chattahoochee River; it lends its name to the only watershed located entirely in city limits. And its crawfish matter … more than you might imagine.
Sea turtle nesting season has begun on Georgia’s coast. The first loggerhead turtle nest of the year was found Tuesday on Cumberland Island, and state wildlife officials expect the number of this year’s nestings to be above average for this threatened species.
The public awareness campaign for the ATL and metro Atlanta’s new transit project is starting. The central message that’s emerging is that transit will be improved even if voters don’t approve more funding via sales taxes.
By Guest Columnist MICHAEL M. SIZEMORE, founding principal of Sizemore Group and a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects
What makes a good business decision? After running a successful architecture firm for decades, I’ve learned a thing or two about what guides good business judgment, and the importance of making sound decisions in the best interest of one’s clients….
And that is why I can say with confidence that the decision to continue the Plant Vogtle nuclear expansion, despite a near doubling of its original price tag and more than five years of delay, appears to be bad business, pure and simple.
Three high school students from Atlanta and Decatur were on the team that won the 13th annual Department of Natural Resources bird-a-thon. They identified 161 bird species, the most spotted by any team.
Georgia is making headway with its efforts to reduce air pollution. Seven counties in metro Atlanta are the only ones that don’t meet federal air quality standards for ozone and they are expected to come into compliance without additional controls, according to a statement released Wednesday by state environmental officials.
The clock is ticking on the public comment period for a planned spaceport on the Georgia coast. Plans call for privately owned rockets to be launched from a site near the mouth of the Satilla River, soar at 30,000 feet over Cumberland Island, and continue toward or into outer space.
Being in a state of poverty is a major risk factor for health issues caused by air pollution in metro Atlanta. For one type of pollution, more poor people are at risk from pollution than are the elderly, or those with diabetes or those with cardiovascular disease, according to a recent report from the American Lung Association.
Today’s Census report: Non-Hispanic whites are only cohort that’s shrinkingJune 21, 2018 - 12:10 am
No ATL senators on committee to study potential state take-over of ATL airportJune 20, 2018 - 4:41 pm
Future of mobility in metro Atlanta to be designed in Chamblee, Gwinnett CountyJune 18, 2018 - 5:13 pm
