Following British Columbia’s recent election, climate activist Kevin Washbrook and I have an op-ed in the latest edition of Business In Vancouver magazine. We make the case that fossil fuel export projects represent a clear danger to the Northwest—and that the threat transcends the border:

At a time when scientists report atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations are breaking dangerous new records, the Pacific Northwest is considering a raft of ill-advised proposals to expand its carbon-intensive fuel exports. To date, the

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Garages and driveways are the primary entrance to this Tigard, OR apartment complex. Photo credit Brett VA.

Cars have shaped much of the North American West, including Cascadia, where drive-through restaurants, shopping centers, highway strip malls, and single-family neighborhoods miles from commercial services dominate much of the urban and suburban landscape. Less obvious to the casual observer is the impact that parking regulations have had on architectural forms.

Cities have established parking regulations, often called off-street parking minimums, for each possible land use. When you build a new house or shop, or often when you simply remodel a building or change its use, you must provide a minimum number of off-street parking spaces. These regulations are meant to address demand for parking that cannot be met by nearby on-street spaces, but they have also led to increased development costs, less flexibility for adaptive reuse of existing buildings, and some pretty unattractive architecture. read more »

Photo: The White House.

Political calculus and moral calculus unfortunately don’t always line up. But when they do, it’s time to pay attention.

When it comes to American Latinos and climate change, the numbers are stacking up in a couple ways.

Let’s start with political calculus: The latest census reveals a major shift in the US voting population. As Latino Decisions reports, the number of Latino voters increased by 1.4 million between 2008 and 2012. “In total, nearly 3.7 million more minority votes were cast in 2012, while White votes dropped by 2 million.” read more »

Serena

I cannot. contain. my excitement. for our event with Chris Jordan next week! He will doubtless rock all your socks off, and at a ticket price of just $5, he can rock all your friends’ socks off, too. Not convinced? Check out this post from earlier this week and the trailer for his film, Midway, to be released later this year.

Bonus materials: Just prior to Chris’s event, local author Charles Wolfe will discuss his new book, Urbanism Without Effort, just downstairs starting at 6 p.m. In it, he argues that to create vibrant, sustainable cities, we must understand what happens naturally when people congregate in cities before applying government policies or initiatives.

Alan

As a borderline introvert who directs an organization that tends to attract a lot of thoughtful introverts, I appreciated this how-to infographic. read more »