With environmental (e.g. desert tortoise) and political (NIMBY) questions raised about centralized renewable energy generation, it’s worth noting that we can generate a lot of...
If you live in the Twin Cities, your internet connection is slower and more expensive than small town Monticello due to a reliance on big...
This initiative was announced in September 2009 with the goal of using 100,000 household-sized combined-heat-and-power gas units to provide grid electricity and home heat. The...
Small-scale renewables will get a boost in a new feed-in tariff proposal by Reps. Jay Inslee of Washington and Bill Delahunt of Massachusetts. The authors...
There’s a renewable energy policy with a record of incredible success, so why aren’t we using it in America? Our April 2009 paper briefly explores...
The New Rules Project features several programs and initiatives, including: The Hometown Advantage, Telecommunications as Commons Initiative, Biofuels and Plug-in Hybrid Electric Vehicles, and Climate...
Some federal policies encourage sprawling development (for instance, the federal income tax home-mortgage interest deduction encourages sprawl because it provides the largest benefit to those...
In 1993, the city of Lancaster developed an innovative model for assessing impact fees on new development. Known as the Urban Structure Program, the model...
Hasselt, the capital of the Belgian province of Limburg, has a population of 68,000, and is the regional center for a population of 800,000 people....
In July 1999 significant amendments were added to Chicago’s landscape ordinance, making it stricter. For instance any new parking lot of 3,000 square feet or...
In the heart of downtown Tucson, Arizona, a city of nearly 500,000, one can view the Milky Way with the naked eye. Tucson and Pima...
Through the implementation of light pollution reduction design and technologies and an off-site mitigation plan, Springfield, Vermont will be home to a new state prison,...
Initially outdoor light ordinances were adopted by communities with research observatories at the urging of astronomers. But star-gazing is not the only reason for regulating...
Oakland, California (pop. 400,000) passed a zero waste resolution on March 7, 2006. The city directed its public works department to come up with a...
Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) is a growing approach to recycling and waste reduction. In May 1997, the state of Maine started considering actions to control...