News items for May 22, 2023

Flats and houseplexes built on single lots, mixed in with detached homes. Source: Lanefab. 

• 1. A fairer election system in AK helped more independents win office

  Open primaries and ranked choice voting likely led to greater political diversity in the Alaska legislature, while their effect on age, gender, and race was less apparent.

  Sightline Institute Election Reform

• 2. Video: Rethinking how to measure cities

  We rarely get to calculate the productivity of a piece of land, but these numbers matter when it comes to counting infill housing development.

  The Urbanist Urbanism

• 3. Everyone needs these for electric vehicles

  It’s not clear who will secure the rights to mine the critical minerals necessary for the energy transition.

  The New York Times Mining

• 4. Opinion: Seattle’s proposed tree ordinance is the legislative equivalent of a chain saw

  Will the proposed Tree Protection Ordinance move the city towards urban canopy goals?

  The Seattle Times Trees

• 5. How some elected officials are eroding local democracy

  Republican leaders in three states are targeting Democratic communities and institutions.

  Vox Democracy

• 6. The past, present, and future of Canadian farming

  An older generation of farmers are ready to retire, but finding successors for the family business poses a challenge. While corporate megafarms are acquiring farmland wherever possible, a younger generation of farmers strives to secure their own growing space.

  CityNews Vancouver Agriculture

• 7. Podcast: The trouble with net zero

  An interview with Holly Jean Buck, a scientist who has spent years exploring the nuances and limitations of the net-zero framework.

  Volts Net Zero

• 8. ‘Granny flats’ play surprising role in easing CA’s housing woes

  The demand for accessory dwelling units has gone through the roof.

  Washington Post ADU

• 9. Getting power to the people

  Colorado passed new laws offering state tax credits for adopting clean energy technologies to add to existing federal ones. Minnesota is set to pass similar legislation.

  Inside Climate News Inflation Reduction Act

• 10. What fertilizer path keeps food cheap and the world cool?

  In the modern world, food means fertilizer—and fertilizer means carbon emissions.

  Anthropocene Agriculture

More News from May 22, 2023

• Recycling centers could be making our plastics problem worse

  Breaking down plastics can generate polluting microplastics that wind up in water or the air, one study finds.

  The Washington Post Plastics