policy

Back in November of 2013, President Obama issued an executive order on climate preparedness. Because executive orders circumvent Congress within certain limits, they allow the president to implement action to address climate change and other issues. A few weeks ago I asked some of our authors to create their own executive orders to improve our handling of the environment. In this installment, we turn to the built environment.

Sustainability is often approached as a technical challenge, something we “should” do, for the good of the planet and for the good of the next generation. But a push toward a more environmentally responsible future will not happen unless we care deeply. Such an emotional connection comes naturally only when an activity sustains us, right now. In transportation, the Complete Streets movement has struck such a chord. It starts with the fundamental human issue of personal safety.

Dispatches from the National Parks, is a periodic blog by Robert B. Keiter, author of To Conserve Unimpaired: The Evolution of the National Park Idea More than a week has now passed since the national parks were closed, victims of a bitter and protracted political stalemate in Congress. Although nearly all sectors of American society have been hit by the government shutdown, the closure of the national parks stands out in news reports and other accounts of the impact the shutdown is having.

Katie Valentine and Ryan Koronowski of ThinkProgress uncover what oil companies (and snow) have been keeping secret. A Canadian oil company still hasn’t been able to stop a series leaks from underground wells at a tar sands operation in Cold Lake, Alberta.