Dodging a Bullet on the Highway 37 Redesign

Dodging a Bullet on the Highway 37 Redesign

by | Sep 30, 2021 | , , ,

To help keep Highway 37 open despite heavy storms and rising tides, planners are assessing a wide range of options from elevating the road to rerouting it. But zeroing in on the right redesign may be trickier than anticipated. New research shows that, with sea level rise, protections for this troubled North Bay road can worsen flooding and economic damages as far away as the South Bay. The good news is that this work can also identify Highway 37 redesigns that avoid these catastrophic impacts.

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Bi-Coastal Experiment with Oysters & Infrastructure

Bi-Coastal Experiment with Oysters & Infrastructure

by | Sep 29, 2021 | ,

While the weather is top of mind for many, others are riveted to congressional antics over the long-awaited massive spending bill designed to fix the nation’s roads, bridges, and broadband as September evaporates. We’ve rarely heard the word “infrastructure” bandied about so much. But for those devoted to designing all things climate-ready and habitat-friendly, infrastructure brings to mind oysters, marshes and willow-topped levees, not potholes.

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Cleaner Air, Fewer Health Hazards from Bay Area Refineries

Cleaner Air, Fewer Health Hazards from Bay Area Refineries

by | Sep 28, 2021 | , ,

In July, the Board of Directors of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District voted 19-3 to amend its Regulation 6, Rule 5, requiring fossil fuel refineries under its jurisdiction to reduce particulate matter emissions from their fluidized catalytic cracking units (“cat crackers” in refinery parlance), a major point source of pollution. The move gave the Bay Area the nation’s most health-protective and stringent regulation on particulate emissions, a recognized health hazard.

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