Environmental
Reports for OKALOOSA COUNTY 
Earth
View - A fascinating, real-time look at our
home from above...
Smart Growth -
Solutions to Urban Sprawl
- In communities across the
nation, there is a growing concern that current development patterns-- dominated
by what some call "sprawl"--are no longer in the long-term interest of
our cities, existing suburbs, small towns, rural communities, or wilderness
areas. Though supportive of growth, communities are questioning the economic
costs of abandoning infrastructure in the city, only to rebuild it further out.
They are questioning the social costs of the mismatch between new employment
locations in the suburbs and the available work-force in the city. They are
questioning the wisdom of abandoning "brownfields" in older
communities, eating up the open space and prime agricultural lands at the
suburban fringe, and polluting the air of an entire region by driving farther to
get places. Spurring the smart growth movement are demographic shifts, a strong
environmental ethic, increased fiscal concerns, and more nuanced views of
growth. The result is both a new demand and a new opportunity for smart
growth...
Note: This is a series of articles
on
the
problem
and
solutions
of
Urban
Sprawl
Agency
Cites Growing Danger of Erosion Along U.S. Coasts -
In a report to Congress, the Federal Emergency Management
Agency said yesterday that a quarter or more of houses
within 500 feet of the United States coast may be lost to
erosion in the next 60 years, putting intolerable strain on
the federal Flood Insurance Program...
"Urbanism,
Suburbanism and the Good Life" - Today, in
cities across the nation, as populations shift and inner
cities search for new identities and purpose, the advent of
telecommuting offers many people greater choice and
flexibility in workplace routine. Cities and local
governments are struggling to cope with the increasing
sprawl fueled by a prosperous economy and a mobile society...
ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION - THE NEW
SOCIALISM? - In 1990, the economist Robert Heilbroner expressed genuine surprise at the
collapse of socialism. Writing in The New Yorker, he recalled that in the debates over
central planning in the 1930´ and 1940´, socialism seemed to have won. A half century
later he realized that he had been wrong...
Rising
Seas, Coastal Erosion, and the Takings Clause: How to Save
Wetlands and Beaches Without Hurting Property Owners
- In the next century, the majority of America's publicly
owned tidal shorelines could be replaced by a wall, not
because anyone decided that this should happen but because
no one decided that it should not. Throughout the United
States, housing developments are being built just inland of
the marshes, swamps, muddy shores, and sandy beaches that
collectively comprise the "public trust
tidelands." Because sea level is rising and most shores
are eroding, the water will eventually reach these houses
unless either the houses are moved or somehow the sea is
held back...
Archive
of Environmental News - July
2000