Green Options » Urban Sprawl

U.S. Military Allies with Golden-Cheeked Warbler to Fight San Antonio Sprawl

Tina Casey — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 15:10:12 +0000

In one of the strangest alliances in military history, the U.S. Army at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio has joined with the golden-cheeked warbler to fight urban sprawl near the Camp Bullis Military Training Reservation. Camp Bullis is a training ground for U.S. Army, Air Force, and Marines combat troops, and for medical units. The 27,994-acre reservation includes 6,500 acres of prime habitat for the golden-cheeked warbler, which is on the endangered species list in Texas and the U.S.

The Economics of Urban Sprawl- What’s Happening to Our Farmland?

John-Paul Maxfield — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 20:00:28 +0000

If you are from Colorado and have made the drive along I-25 over the last five years from Denver to Fort Collins or Denver to Colorado Springs, you have undoubtedly noticed it. The irony of vast corn fields and pastures surrounded by construction sites and tract housing. Productive pastures once grazed by livestock replaced by bulldozers clearing the way for development and progress in the form of roads, houses, and malls. As one farmer put it, “we’ve gone from growin’ corn to growin’ houses.” Colorado is not the only state facing this issue, consider these facts from the American Farmland Trust,

California Bill to Curb Urban Sprawl and Cut Carbon Emissions

Meg Hamill — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:32:09 +0000

[This is a guest post by Meg Hamill, who works at an environmental nonprofit called LandPaths, in partnership with the Sonoma County Open Space District of Sonoma County, California.]

Here’s a few sobering statistics: For the past twenty years, the number of miles driven in California has increased at a 50% faster rate than the rate of population growth. In the Bay Area alone, residents drive enough miles to get to the moon and back every day. Passenger vehicles are thought to be responsible for about 30% of all the state’s heat-trapping gasses.

>>More on California environmental policy at RG&B

Last Monday, the California State Assembly passed a bill, that if approved by the Senate, will become the nation’s most far-reaching attempt to curb urban and suburban sprawl. Interestingly enough, the main goal of the bill is to reduce the amount of time Californians spend commuting in their cars, and in turn reducing carbon emissions. The bill aims to accomplish this goal by promoting housing development near already existing industry and job sites. State Senator Darrell Steinberg, a Democrat sponsoring the bill, said that he expected the Senate to approve the measure soon, however Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has not made public whether or not he will offer his support.