Earth Talk: Ocean sprawl

Roddy Scheer

We are all familiar by now with “urban sprawl”—the uncontrolled spread of urban development into areas beyond the city. But environmentalists warn that the next frontier in sprawl is ocean sprawl, where the proliferation of fishing, shipping, tourism, resource extraction, energy development, military exercises and other human activity has begun to call into question just how vast our oceans really are.

Earth Talk: Cheaper natural gas lowering carbon dioxide emissions

Roddy Scheer

Carbon dioxide emissions are indeed lower than at any time since 1994, according to data recently released by the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). But if you think that the rise of the hybrid car, our embrace of public transit, walking, biking and those new windows on the house are behind the trend, think again.

Andy Schmookler: Would you want to know

Contributors

I want to speak to the conservatives in this area. I know from experience that you are good neighbors, and that you make an admirable local society. But I am concerned about what’s happened with you in the larger political world. It’s not about your conservative values, which I regard as mostly valuable to America.

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Augusta Aquatics pool builder to speak at Roanoke construction conference

Contributors

Tim Coleman, owner and managing partner of Augusta Aquatics, a Fishersville, Va.-based pool building company, will speak at the November meeting of the Blue Ridge Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute on Nov. 21, at Taaza Indian Restaurant in Roanoke, Va., at 117 Duke of Gloucester Road.