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Aviation: The Limited Sky

Carbon trading is a business arrangement in which someone who produces CO2 pays a fee, which in turn is used to support a project that reduces CO2. The carbon trading market is a measurable and deliverable means to offset emissions for which a person is responsible. If all airline passengers paid a "carbon tax", for example, it could have a broad impact on carbon reduction projects around the world.

Portland: A Sense of Place

Portland is a city that successfully implemented a plan for transit-oriented development. Its urban planners made the public domain more appealing and accessible by emphasizing density and pedestrian travel. These transit policies are credited with spurring urban rejuvenation in Portland and many cities, while slowing the postwar dominance of the suburbs.

Seoul: The Stream of Consciousness

Cities are population magnets, and soon two thirds of the world's population will be urbanized. People often move to cities for economic opportunities, and this requires that the public domain be more than a place of automobile passage, but an interface for commerce and human interaction. Seoul is one of those cities, set apart by its focus on creating a positive public environment.

Food Miles

Today, food travels an average of 1,500 miles from its production source to plate. Now, however, the end of cheap, abundant fuel is leading to the end of cheap food. Unpredictable fossil fuel costs and federal ethanol policy are both reshaping the global food economy.

Paris: Velo Liberte

Paris' citywide bike-sharing plan, Velib', has been so successful that the mayor wants to create a similar system for cars. Autolib', as it would be called, could offer a reliable and affordable alternative to driving personal vehicles in the city's congested streets. Some, however, feel that giving people the option to use a car in lieu of public transport is a step backward.