Simple definitions of peri-urbanization range from the spatial fringe that surrounds the city to more compound ones involving socio-economic processes and dimensions. This historical binary of rural and urban often serve as a barrier to understanding peri-urbanization. Peri-urban regions are complex and interact through distinct geographical and chronological dimensions and ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in October, about Architecture, Design, Economics, Population
The Princeton Review has recently come out with their first rating of the greenest universities after ranking 534 institutions and profiling 368 of them. Along with a non-profit environmental marketing agency called ecoAmerica, the Princeton Review based their rankings on a scale of 60 to 99, where a score of ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in August, about Education
Less than two weeks ago, Al Gore dispensed an audacious goal for the U.S. to use 100% renewable energy for all of our electricity needs within the next 10 years. A group out of the UK seems to have coordinated their message with Gore's speech, as if they ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in July, about Clean Technologies, Climate Change, Energy Saving, Politics
We are all blog readers. On a daily basis, we peruse our favorites to gain a reasonable insight to important issues and current news. However, blogs are often not the most suitable medium for in-depth coverage of heavy disciplines (‘often' being the key word, as I have learned more about ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in July, about Education, Media
More than a year ago, on May 4, 2007, the city of Greensburg, Kansas was hit by an EF5 tornado (that was nearly 2 miles wide) that destroyed 95% of their residential and business sector. While tragedies such as this one have been more commonplace (or more reported) in the ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in June, about Architecture, Events
For some time now, there have been reports on the declining honeybee populations across America. Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD occurs when bees leave the hive and die) has been recorded in 35 states and other countries. Although the verdict is not out on the primary force behind their regression, we ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in May, about Agriculture & Food, Environment & Wildlife, Industry
A wonder of diversity, going up in smoke A recent report published by Greenpeace (“Burning up Borneo”) was released detailing the actions of Unilever in the rainforests and peatland forests of Borneo. According to Greenpeace, Unilever, a company containing some of the world’s largest brands such as Dove, is ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in May, about Consumerism, Deforestation, Environment & Wildlife, Industry
The upward mobility of the discipline of sustainability – and its ample amount of similar/creative names – within education is becoming evident. Since the Agenda 21 agreement in 1992, progress towards higher education in sustainability has been slower than expected. However, in my researching, more universities are establishing undergraduate and graduate ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in April, about Education (4 comments)
Lately it seems that all forms of paper have converged for the solitary purpose of attacking my sanity (or I have just become more cognizant of the fact that paper is all over the place!) The paper mainstream -- catalogues, junk mail, paper bags, and phone books -- continues to find me ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in March, about Climate Change, Consumerism, Recycling
With hand held devices becoming commonplace in our personal and business lives, we are constantly in search for outlets, adaptors, and batteries. Whether we like it or not, cell phones, MP3 players, PDAs, iPods, and other 5V acronym devices adorn our bodies as if it were a Christmas tree. If ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in February, about Clean Technologies, Consumerism
Editor's Note: With this post we welcome Riley Smith to the writing team. Riley is based in North Carolina and will be focusing on issues related to energy, education, deforestation, transport, and sustainability. Welcome Riley! As I was home for the holidays, one of the more significant green agenda ... keep reading
Written by Riley Smith in January, about Consumerism, Education
