LibertyLizard

Not sure I completely agree with their takeaways but I thought this was an interesting case study on the unintended consequences of housing policies designed to encourage home ownership.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/8446901

(More details, from the National Park Service : https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/wildfires-kill-unprecedented-numbers-of-large-sequoia-trees.htm )

https://web.archive.org/web/20231112162223/https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/11/12/virginia-acorn-collection-forests/

cross-posted from: https://beehaw.org/post/9478756

Exceprts from the op/ed:

The Southeast Alaska community of Whale Pass opposes a 292-acre sale of old-growth forest and instead prefers the economic benefits of tourism and carbon credits.

Despite the fact that logging will almost certainly make less money and is less than 1% of the economy of Southeast while tourism provides 27%, the state of Alaska says it’s in the state’s best interest to pursue an old-growth timber sale right next to Whale Pass. This is like turning down a multimillion-dollar offer on your home to sell it for a few hundred thousand bucks.

Furthermore, the DNR commissioner explained in a letter to the Whale Pass City Council that “while carbon offset projects will open exciting new sources of revenue for the State of Alaska once the program is up and running, projects on state land are expected to operate in parallel with timber harvests — not take the place of them.” This statement ignores the fact that carbon offsets are only worth money if you are making a real tradeoff to conserve the carbon instead of logging it.

Somehow, making a political point against the Biden administration is more important than maintaining any semblance of credibility for actualizing revenue from the newly created carbon offset program, supporting tourism, the economic sector that is thriving, allowing the community most impacted by the decision to generate immediate revenue and lead the way on carbon credits, and addressing landslide concerns.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/1221218

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.zip/post/1221217

Archived version: https://archive.ph/0OfbN
Archived version: https://web.archive.org/web/20230809012259/https://www.euronews.com/culture/2023/08/08/the-hidden-green-oases-of-naples-repurposing-forgotten-spaces-for-the-people

cross-posted from: https://beevibes.net/post/28433

The New York Times published a pair of articles this weekend highlighting the rising number of deaths of cyclists riding electric bikes. However, in one of the most impressive feats of victim-blaming I’ve seen from the publication in some time, the NYT lays the onus on e-bikes instead of on the things killing their law abiding riders: cars.

I loved the parallel between transit strategies and public health. Might be a useful approach in many areas given the resistance to reducing car infrastructure that we see in many areas.