This may surprise you: Barclays Capital says Atlanta will emerge as one the best markets for new homes over the next few years. The reason? “Regions that have pushed foreclosures through the pipeline quickly should see demand for new homes earlier than those that have allowed their backlog to grow,” a report released Friday by…
Now that declining budgets have reduced the outlook for federal largesse, what big ideas might help to continue growth among solar, wind and other clean energy industries? With the help of his sources in the “the renewables and efficiency space,” Climate Progress’ Stephen Lacey came up with five priorities for “business-oriented” policies that could keep…
Longtime environmental leader John Sibley III is joining Southface Energy Institute as a senior policy fellow, I learned today at the Sustainable Atlanta Roundtable. An Atlanta native and Yale-educated lawyer, Sibley has a long track record of playing at the highest levels in Georgia environmental politics and policy. He’s a former president of the Georgia…
Atlanta has foreclosed property and shuttered banks galore, as well as one of the largest park deficits of any metro area in the country. Ambitious as it sounds, a team at the Georgia Tech Research Institute is working on a solution for all those problems. Kevin Caravati, a senior research scientist at GTRI in Atlanta,…
Early indications show that the renewable energy industry stands to lose some serious ground in the debt ceiling deal that has gripped Washington for the better part of a month. The first warning sirens sounded as July came to an end and House Republicans unveiled their wish list for environmental cuts. But as July turned…
The real estate market is undergoing the most rapid period of change in a generation — and the shift is decidedly urban. A succession of recent studies have found there is an under-supply of urban-style housing — attached and small-lot, single-family homes — on the scale of about 13 million units. On the other hand,…
The City of Atlanta will dip its toes into a potentially controversial issue late Thursday as the Council’s City Utilities Committee holds a public hearing on permitting rainwater harvesting systems designed to provide water inside the home. The move would give the city a tool to reduce the amount of water residents use, while it…
I was shocked and saddened to learn via a touching e-mail that Marlin Gottschalk, director of the Georgia DNR Sustainability Division, has died. In my occasional interactions with him, I found Gottschalk to be a warm, knowledgeable man with a integrity and a sense of humor. He headed the state Environmental Protection Division air quality…
Suzanne Burnes, a veteran environmental program manager, will become the new leader of Sustainable Atlanta on June 1. The nonprofit — formed in 2007 to partner with the city of Atlanta on environmental policies and programs — has been without an executive director since its founding executive director Lynnette Young left last December. Burnes brings a…
Gov. Nathan Deal has appointed three new members to the State Licensing Board for Residential and General Contractors. The board was created in 2004 to regulate construction contractors. Here are Deal’s three appointees, with descriptions provided by the governor’s office: William “Bill” L. Duck Jr.: Duck is the building official and Director of Inspections and…
