Entries by Keith Schneider

In Oakland, Still A City With Thorns, A New Garden Emerges (Part I)

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Quality of life and economy thrives with greater care for water, energy, air, and waste. Photo © Keith Schneider / Circle of Blue Over the last quarter century, and with quickening resolve during the last decade, Oakland underwent a city makeover. Ardently supported by residents and business executives, the city steadily injected much more ecologically […]

Pope Francis Visit, VW Fraud, China Cap and Trade, and John Boehner — How They Coincide

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Circle of Blue Senior Editor Keith Schneider puts an eventful week into a global perspective. Photo courtesy Lei Han via Flickr Creative Commons On Friday, China said it would introduce a cap and trade program to reduce climate change emissions. The same week, Volkswagen admitted to installing software on 11 million of its cars to […]

Slowly, With Earth Pushing Hard, A Confederacy Of Concern Develops

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Circle of Blue Senior Editor Keith Schneider discusses how new energy-efficient, water-conserving, land-protecting operating principles are slowly becoming priorities around the world.

U.S. Clean Water Enforcement Strategy: Big Penalties But Fewer Prosecutions

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Agencies are going after polluters with smaller staffs and less money.

Sites Reservoir in Northern California Is 20th-Century Idea Trying to Fit the 21st

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New surface water storage project would be largest in California since 1979.

One Way to Ease California Drought: Recycle Wastewater For Irrigation

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Del Puerto Water District to buy a third of its water supply from Modesto and Turlock treatment plants.

Oakland’s Water Treatment Plant Generates Its Own Energy and Then Some

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Plant is at the center of a big move to also solve city’s solid waste problem.

Oakland’s Web of Waters Shapes New Economy, Civic Energy

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A nationally significant program of storm water management daylights streams, renovates a centerpiece lake, restores an estuary, and empowers a West Coast city.

California Fire Danger Mounts in Sierra Nevada Forests

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Bark beetles, water scarcity, and dying trees herald a region in ecological transition during the height of state’s four-year drought.

Water Scarcity Could Deter Energy Developers From Crossing Border Into Northern Mexico

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Proposed oil and gas development zones in Coahuila are among the driest in the Americas.

Challenged By Drought, Fire, Earthquake, and Flood, California Departs On New Path

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In response to truculent planet, conserving water, limiting climate emissions, and achieving “net zero” energy use are top priorities.

Nicaragua Canal Environmental Assessment Criticized As Scientifically Weak, Technically Inadequate

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Expert panel finds “scientifically indefensible” conclusions in 14-volume study.