Tree canopies represent more than pretty plants. Urban forests are at the center of a national conversation over civil and human rights, the wealth divide and public health – and President Trump’s foreign relations. This is the broader conversation as Atlanta considers a rewrite of its tree ordinance.
Climate change mitigation is the No. 1 priority named in the sustainability program approved unanimously by Fulton County’s Board of Commissioners. The measure is strongly endorsed by environmentalists and members of a citizen panel that contributed to the document.
The start of the 2019 Atlantic hurricane season finds Georgia facing ever-increasing dry conditions, even as Republicans have gotten personal in the battle over federal relief for Hurricane Michael – a record delay of 34 weeks after the storm.
That thud heard across the country was response to a landmark report from the United Nations that shows human society is at risk as 1 million plant and animal species are on the brink of extinction.
Atlanta’s potential tree ordinance is nearing completion, as next week the city is to convene the second and final round of city-wide public forums before a final draft ordinance is to be presented to the public in July or August.
The outlook is bright for transit funding in a spending bill that on Thursday cleared a U.S. House Appropriations subcommittee. However, chances that it has a prayer of becoming law have crumbled amid the latest round of discord over the Democrats’ calls for investigations into President Trump.
The Fulton Fresh Mobile Market begins delivering produce the Tuesday after Memorial Day, and its route reminds that food deserts existing in communities generally thought of as well served with neighborhood amenities – including neighborhoods in or near Alpharetta and Chattahoochee Hills.
By Guest Columnist NICOLE KENNARD, a Georgia Tech graduate and doctoral researcher at Grantham Centre for Sustainable Futures, University of Sheffield
“I got out!” An overwhelming feeling of relief and achievement washed over me as I went up to the stage to receive the piece of paper I’d paid for in my own sweat and sanity over the previous four years….
Although I had a few job offers in engineering before graduation – from companies including Michelin and Boeing – I turned them down in the hopes of pursuing a career in sustainable community development.
As the sea turtle nesting season heads toward its zenith in June and July, Cumberland Island has hosted the most nests so far this year – even as environmentalists try to block development efforts on and near the island.
A 7.1-acre food forest is slated to open shortly in Atlanta as a place where the public is welcome to come and pick to eat whatever catches their eye. The idea already has spread around the world– a town in England even offers communal food grown in a cemetery.
Metro Atlanta’s signature initiative to retool the way people live, work and play is being reinvented this year to promote evolutions in smart technology, green infrastructure and housing affordability.
As amazing as it may seem after heavy rain on Sunday and previous weekends, federal reports show the cumulative rainfall in metro Atlanta is about on track for this time of year, while moderate drought conditions are emerging in portions of Middle and South Georgia.
The ongoing effort to retool Atlanta’s Little Five Points neighborhood into a more pleasant place to spend time got a lift Thursday when the Atlanta Regional Commission included the neighborhood on a list of 10 recipients who will share a total of $1.6 million in study grants awarded through the LCI program.
Lost in the debate over federal money to help Georgia residents recover from Hurricane Michael is the issue of the largest government bankruptcy in U.S. history – an estimated $72 billion filing by Puerto Rico, said to be the only, “bankrupt tax haven in the world.”
By Guest Columnist ALEX MACGREGOR, an Atlanta-based transportation consultant
With each passing year, the harmful effects of global climate change are becoming clearer, and the damage is mounting.
So far, Georgia has been spared most of the headline-grabbing disasters related to climate change, like California’s Camp wildfire that killed 86 people, or Hurricane Maria’s devastating toll on Puerto Rico.
But the damage to Georgia is current, and the costs are already high.
Thank General Motors the next time a pedestrian gets ticketed for jaywalking. Thank a civic effort for showing how to create a pleasant community on the social ashes of a hamlet in New York. Armchair urban planners can consider these topics and more via podcasts of Georgia Tech’s recently concluded seminar, Redesigning Cities.
Most anglers won’t win a $100,000 purse in a fishing tournament, as a Connecticut man did at Lake Lanier in February, but youngsters can learn a bit about the sport at fishing camps scheduled this summer at the state’s Go Fish Education Center in Middle Georgia.
Amid the rising furor in Atlanta over the future of the tree canopy as trees are felled for development on a continuing basis, the city is considering allocating $1.7 million to renew contracts with two organizations that plant and help maintain trees on city-controlled land – Trees Atlanta and Tri-Scapes Inc.
On the heels of Earth Day, the friends group of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area highlighted the May 2 deadline for public comment on the proposed 2-mile Hyde Farm Trail in east Cobb County.
Metro Atlanta may be on the cusp of a building boom for data centers, according to a new report from CBRE. The energy-hungry facilities could present new challenges and opportunities in a region better known for its office and retail commercial markets.
Metro Atlanta's ongoing growth to get assist from expanded sewage plant in RoswellAugust 18, 2019 - 9:23 pm
Commuters' trip times reduced by GDOT's construction approach that won awardsAugust 17, 2019 - 4:58 pm
GSU advances research into fighting Zika virus; Dengue epidemic re-emergesAugust 16, 2019 - 12:05 pm
Column: Jewish Federation raises $19 million, names chief foundation officerJuly 19, 2019 - 7:37 pm
Column: Junior Achievement of Georgia spinoff raises $27 million to transform high school educationJuly 19, 2019 - 6:55 pm
Column: Junior Achievement of Georgia spinoff raises $27 million to transform high school educationJuly 5, 2019 - 12:03 am
