Beachgoers were advised they may get sick if they enter the water along portion of three of Georgia’s coastal islands in February because of high levels of a waterborne bacteria associated with disease. The waters have been declared safe, but the warnings remind of the potential harm caused by runoff from manmade or other sources.
Tag: Environment
Posted inLatest News
Emory area could see skyscrapers under Atlanta’s proposed rezoning
Office towers of an unlimited height could be permitted on a portion of land brought into Atlanta through the annexation of Emory University and the surrounding area, according to the rezoning proposal.
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Atlanta Audubon’s growing wildlife sanctuary program now includes Briarlake Forest Park
The Atlanta Audubon Society has certified yet another public park as a wildlife sanctuary, this one near Northlake Mall in DeKalb County and the latest in the society’s fast-growing program to provide havens for birds and critters.
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Planned spaceport near Brunswick subject of second lawsuit seeking public records
Camden County and two private companies leading the effort to build a planned commercial spaceport on Georgia’s coast have kept information secret and are in violation of Georgia’s Open Records Act for failing to release the information, according to a lawsuit filed Tuesday in Camden County Superior Court.
Posted inColumns
Georgia’s solar industry lost ground in 2018; state can resume progress, GSEA says
Several new reports paint a fairly grim picture of the solar industry in Georgia, including one that shows the state lost 14 percent of the jobs last year that had been created in the solar industry. Georgia policymakers and the Trump administration’s tariffs are responsible for the downturn, reports contend.
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Planned removal of 1937 lock, dam to help fish spawn in Savannah River draws criticism
The newly released federal plan to promote spawning by endangered fish in the Savannah River north of Augusta ran smack into opposition last week from residents who don’t like a drop in the level of the river or the demolition of a lock and dam built in 1937 – two consequences of the plan.
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Tech pays tribute to fallen willow oak that dates to late 1800s
Leave it to the folks at Georgia Tech to turn the random falling of a towering tree into a learning experience and exhibit. The willow oak that stood for more than 100 years on campus has been rendered into remembrances that are on display through March 8.
Posted inColumns
Building trails can build regional connectivity, state incentives would help
By Guest Columnist, MELODY L. HARCLERODE, executive director of the Sandy Springs Conservancy
Engineers from the Union Army noted a tributary in north Fulton County running into the Chattahoochee River as “Mans Cr” or “Mars Cr” on 1864 map. Now, the nonprofit Sandy Springs Conservancy is spearheading the development of the Marsh Creek Trail along Abernathy Road in partnership with the City of Sandy Springs as the initial stage of a city-wide trail system, envisioned as, “a beautiful amenity that can build physical and civic connections in Sandy Springs.”
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New housing for endangered woodpeckers being installed along Flint River
A species of endangered woodpeckers that saw its homes in southwest Georgia blown away by Hurricane Michael is getting some new housing through a federal grant funded by Southern Co. and International Paper. The effort involves creating new nest cavities in trees and clearing debris that adds to wildfire risks near clusters of cavity trees.
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Atlanta Audubon aims to help remove invasive species, attract birds to DeKalb County park
The Native Plant and Wildlife Walk at a DeKalb County park is soon to be a bit more native. The Atlanta Audubon Society has awarded a grant that’s to help provide for the removal of invasive species, after which bird friendly species of plants are to be installed.
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OSHA ends relief efforts after Hurricane Michael; Georgia cotton remains in fields
Hurricane Michael may seem a distant memory, especially with wintry weather wrapping metro Atlanta, but the impact of the October 2018 storm remains so close that cotton awaits harvest in Georgia fields and only on Monday did the nation’s workplace safety agency return to regular enforcement duties in all affected areas.
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Breaking through the Perimeter: PATH400 to link BeltLine, areas north of I-285
A huge hurdle has been cleared that is to enable PATH400 to connect Atlanta’s BeltLine with Sandy Springs and, possibly if not eventually, the growing trails system north of I-285. As PATH Foundation noted of this first step: “Federal dollars are involved so it won’t happen overnight, but it’s coming.”
Posted inHigher Education, Thought Leader, Uncategorized
New Ph.D. Program Trains Students In Tackling Complex Urban Challenges
By Jan Nijman, Director and Distinguished University Professor, Urban Studies Institute at Georgia State University This fall, Georgia State University will offer a new Ph.D. program in Urban Studies next fall, the first of its kind in Georgia and only the second in the southeastern United States. The program will give students at the highest […]
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Retiring state property chief had immense influence over metro Atlanta for 15 years
Steve Stancil may not have a household name. But when he steps down Feb. 1 as State Property Officer, he will have affected metro Atlanta since 2003 on issues ranging from mass transit, to development policies, to future development along the Atlanta BeltLine and the future film studio/mixed use development that’s to be built in Atlanta at the old Pullman Yard.
Posted inColumns
Why save it? Just pave it – a conservation easement at risk in Morgan County
By Christine McCauley Watts, executive director of Madison-Morgan Conservancy
It sits on a little rise, Davis Crossroads does, and gives you a long view of one of Morgan County’s more bucolic landscapes. Davis descendants have farmed and cared for the land surrounding this crossroads for generations and in the last two decades have donated three conservation easements to permanently protect the scenic and agricultural conservation values found here.
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Environmental impact of future inland port cited as state plans review of freight network
The environmental review is underway for a planned inland port to be built northeast of Gainesville. Presuming it opens, the facility that’s billed as a way to ease traffic congestion in metro Atlanta is likely to be heralded as a success as the state House prepares to update Georgia’s decade-old rail improvement plans.
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Brookhaven’s new $40 million parks bond earns top credit rating; city already spending proceeds
Brookhaven hasn’t wasted a minute in ramping up projects with the $40 million bond for parks and facilities voters approved in November 2018. Just four days after Moody’s Investors Service awarded the bonds its highest rating, the Brookhaven City Council approved two contracts related to parks improvements.
Posted inColumns
Atlanta’s tree ordinance a sore spot among residents as city eyes a new code in July
Atlanta’s aged tree ordinance of 2001 looks so good that some folks say they’d be happy if the city would enforce it – until it can be updated. Meanwhile, the city says it’s on track to update the existing tree ordinance in July.
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Season opens for ‘poor man’s salmon,’ which helped Washington beat the Brits
The commercial season has opened in two Georgia rivers for a fish once known as the poor man’s salmon, a herring that some revere for its role in preventing George Washington’s troops from dying of starvation as they camped near Valley Forge.
Posted inColumns
Feds approve seismic testing off Georgia’s coast for gas, oil; environmentalists sue to halt
The federal government has authorized a company to harass animals in federal waters off Georgia’s coast in order to search for deposits of oil and gas. This testing is a first step to offshore drilling and the federal permit, plus four others, has been challenged in federal court by nine environmental groups.
