NewsWatch: Sustainable Communities -- Cities Sue to Block High-Speed Rail, Bicycle from London to Paris, More ...

NYC Achieves Greenhouse Gas Reductions, But Not With Transportation
The Bloomberg administration released its annual greenhouse gas inventory last week, presenting some great environmental news: The city’s annual greenhouse gas emissions decreased by 12.9 percent between 2005 and 2009. But inside the report is a worrisome statistic for sustainable transportation advocates. Barely any of that decrease is attributable to a greener transportation system. In fact, greenhouse gas emissions from private cars actually increased by 1.86 percent over those four years. Streets Blog

Look Into the Mirror and Say: Ahhh
Sitting in front of your computer could soon be the fastest way to receive a medical check up, replacing visits to the local doctor. Massachusetts Institute of Technology student Ming-Zher Poh has created a pulse-monitoring system that works on a low-cost, low-resolution webcam. A version of the system built into a mirror has been developed which displays pulse rate at the bottom in real-time, and work is underway to add respiration and blood-oxygen level monitoring using the same technique. Gizmag

Balloon Can Lift Entire Buildings
The Skylifter  is a helium balloon sky-crane capable of moving and placing equipment and prefab buildings in remote areas. Currently often the only way to get equipment into remote areas is by helicopter, and the largest ones are only capable of  transporting 20 tons. The Skylifter promises a payload of a whopping 150 tons and a range of 1240 miles. Inhabitat

Bicycle From London to Paris
The Avenue Verte is an idea -- perhaps a dream --- for a traffic-free cycle path, safe enough for a child, linking London and the French capital. So far only the outline of the route has been decided. The route is easy and surprisingly enjoyable. BBC

Human Waste Power Plant Online in UK
The biomethane project that turns human waste into green gas that we featured in May  has now gone live. The project is now converting the treated sewage of 14 million Thames Water customers into clean, green gas and is pumping that gas into people's homes. Gizmag

Cities Source of Toxics in Bay
Rainwater runoff from downtown sidewalks and suburban gardens dumps more toxic chemicals into San Francisco Bay than the large rivers that drain vast tracts of farmland in the Central Valley, according to a new study. San Francisco Chronicle

California Cities Sue to Block High-Speed Rail Line
Last month, several California cities, including Menlo Park, Palo Alto and Atherton filed a lawsuit against the California High-Speed Rail Authority to stop the proposed rail route between San Francisco and Los Angeles. San Jose Mercury News