February 2012
5 posts
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January 2012
7 posts
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High Resolution Image of Earth
The image, actually a composite of a number of satellite photos stitched together, captures the earth’s surface on January 4, 2012. The finished product, a massive 64 megapixels, is so detailed it captures clear images of Mississippi River mud falling off the outer-continental shelf. Although the river ran unusually high three weeks ago, it was far from flood stage. The brown areas seen...
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“There’s a great sense of openness and community here. It’s complex and accepting...”
– John Otte, The Pearl
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Natural Defense Instead of Military Defense
More than six years after Hurricane Katrina plowed into New Orleans and the Mississippi River delta, a plan has finally emerged to protect the area from future storms. It relies heavily on the restoration of wetlands to cut down high surges of ocean water like those that flooded the city in 2005—somewhat of a surprise, considering past efforts focused on levees and seawalls.
One of the...
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New Orleans has become a hot place to come and... →
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Louisiana's Comprehensive Master Plan for a...
“Most of the $50 billion goes to getting the Mississippi River back into the wetlands and rebuilding marshes, which has always been the only way we could fashion a future here. The projects chosen south of New Orleans put 50 percent of the river’s flow into the starving deltas so critical to fish, wildlife and flood protection. Only $12.7 billion goes to levees statewide.
The agency...
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December 2011
2 posts
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In Katrina's Wake, New Orleans Enjoys Startup Boom
New Orleans has long been known as one of America’s hardest luck cities, struggling over the years with poverty, crime and corruption and tragic disaster. But the city’s darkest days have sparked a surprising new entrepreneurial spirit.
….
The new ventures include software companies, digital media firms and industries that have developed to handle some of the problems Katrina...
November 2011
5 posts
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October 2011
7 posts
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“It is dark and silent. The city however has come nearer
tonight. With its...”
– from The Couple by Tomas Transtromer, winner of the 2011 Nobel Literature prize
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Watchunconsumption:
Could recycled plastic bottles help stop coastal erosion?
On the coast of Louisiana, volunteers have assembled and planted floating islands made from recycled plastic water bottles.
The islands are several inches thick and feel like brillo pads. They contain a series of holes, evenly spaced out, where marsh grasses can be planted. Each one holds between 50 to 60 plants a piece....
September 2011
2 posts
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August 2011
4 posts
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“It is the great spaces between the great buildings that make a great city.”
– Winston Churchill (via skim12)
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“Any agreement by Congress to cut the income security programs while leaving the...”
– Moshe Adler, one of my professors, from Without a Debt Deal, Obama Can Make the RIch Pay
July 2011
7 posts
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Watch
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June 2011
8 posts
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The American suburbs are a giant Ponzi scheme →
What we have found is that the underlying financing mechanisms of the suburban era — our post-World War II pattern of development — operates like a classic Ponzi scheme, with ever-increasing rates of growth necessary to sustain long-term liabilities.
Since the end of World War II, our cities and towns have experienced growth using three primary mechanisms:
Transfer payments between...
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May 2011
12 posts
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