A look at how the Trump administration's assault on the EPA endangers the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes ecosystems.

Energy companies seek offshore oil for foreign, not domestic markets, for the U.S. is already nearly energy-independent, writes journalist Ben Adler in this L.A. Times op-ed piece.

Why are we still taking out food in those hideous, non-bio-degradable styrofoam containers? An L.A. Times editorial makes the case for a statewide ban.

A plant that extracts carbon from a waste incineration facility and feeds it into greenhouses to nourish vegetables has opened in Switzerland. The plant’s builder, Climeworks, plans to take the technology global.

Google’s Waze app, which helps commuters connect with carpool partners, will see its first major test run next week throughout California, including car-choked Los Angeles. (May, 2017)

The Chicago River, once a dumping ground for industry, will provide the backdrop for a 3.7-mile stretch of mixed-use development, including green space and a half-mile river walk.

The regional sign industry is lobbying to convert 8,000 Los Angeles billboards to electronic ones. This is the time, writes the L.A. Times Editorial Board, to eliminate billboards from all but two dozen high-density areas, thereby preserving Los Angeles’ “visual landscape.”

Chicago’s rails-to-trails initiative turned a former 2.7-mile freight line into an elevated greenway and has been a boon to the working class neighborhoods that it transects. The green space has made the adjacent areas attractive to high-end developers, however, and long-time residents fear being displaced by gentrification. The Chicago Tribune looks at the controversy.

Los Angeles is in the midst of a vigorous debate about the future shape of the city: proponents of recently defeated Measure S want the city to maintain its low-rise, spread-out character. David Ulin, in this op-ed for the L.A. Times, makes the case for a future, walker-friendly city of denser, higher development.

This Washington Post article looks at how climate change is disrupting the survival chances of migrating songbirds: arriving just days too early or too late to nesting areas can mean the difference between life or death.

For The Social Democrat, the built, as well as the natural environment are part of the “commons,” the common possession of every citizen. Denver, which is experiencing a population and building boom, is wisely acting to preserve open spaces so conducive to human well-being.

Taking stock of the new political dispensation in Washington, oil and gas extraction companies are not only dropping plans to install environment-protecting equipment, but are withholding penalties already levied for past abuses.

It is one of the most exciting, perhaps the most exciting, experiment in urban design in modern times. Barcelona is implementing plans to transform 77% of its urban spaces to pedestrian-only zones. The Social Democrat supports all such efforts to reclaim space for human beings from machines. Go Barcelona—show us that it can be done!