Most of humanity today lives an a metropolis. Is all climate local? Cities are the locus of many of the world's unique environmental, social, and economic problems. But they are also demonstrating a unique talent for applying smarter technology and policy to create a better future.

"STOCKHOLM — Population growth and water stress are driving Earth to a food and environmental crunch that only better farming techniques and smarter use of the ecosystem will avert, a UN report issued on Monday said."

"Brooklyn's Gowanus Canal, labeled 'one of the most contaminated bodies of water in the nation,' isn't just a filthy Superfund site. To urbanites, it's a little piece of the outdoors."

"Nearly 200 communities across the United States have been awarded new federal grants to clean up old contaminated industrial sites and transform them into new, job-creating developments."

The rehabilitation of San Francisco's Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is bringing pressure on the minority population of the area.

"Southern California's Imperial Valley produces about 80 percent of the nation's winter vegetables. But years of drought, and a population boom in the Southwest, now threaten the water supply in the desert region — and all those cheap winter greens."

The oil and gas industry is slurping up available groundwater in parts of South Texas where population growth is exploding and global warming may diminish rainfall. There may be a serious crunch ahead.

Water managers, farmers, electric utilities, skiers and some 30 million water users breathed a sigh of relief in recent weeks with news that snowpack in the basin of the Colorado River was better. The relief may be temporary. The drought that has plagued the region for 11 years may become the new "normal."

"Changes in Iowa's weather patterns, landscape, cities and farms have rendered some of the state's most trusted flood prevention safeguards outmoded and inadequate, a review by The Des Moines Register shows."

"A once-unthinkable day is looming on the Colorado River. Barring a sudden end to the Southwest’s 11-year drought, the distribution of the river’s dwindling bounty is likely to be reordered as early as next year because the flow of water cannot keep pace with the region’s demands."

The Senate Banking Committee on Wednesday, September 22, will hold a hearing on the National Flood Insurance Program, which is teetering under some $19 billion in debt. The NFIP is set to expire Sept. 30, just as the hurricane season reaches its height. Congress has allowed the NFIP to expire four times already this year.

"Continued climate change will drive Mexican farm workers to migrate to the United States in greater numbers, environmental experts predicted on Monday."
 

"The eco-conscious city plans to build more than 680 miles of new bikeways in the coming two decades at a cost of $613 million."

"California last week became the first state to integrate green building practices .... not everyone is thrilled about it."

State lawmakers in some states are overriding local ordinances that ban drying laundry outdoors. While some people like clotheslines as an energy-saver, others think them an eyesore.