Smokestack

Louisville’s Waterfront Park is up for a major urban development award. The park is one of five finalists for the Rudy Bruner Award, which describes itself as a “search for examples of the often overlooked excellence [in urban areas].”

Waterfront Development Corporation President David Karem says just being a finalist is great news for the park and for Louisville.

A new study says that Louisville businesses, food distributors and residents are going out of their way to eat local food, and would eat more if they could.

The study was commissioned by non-profit Seed Capital Kentucky and conducted by a consultant in New York. It use both quantitative and qualitative methods to survey residents, restaurants, grocery stores and food distributors.

A new study says the heat that’s released from buildings and transportation in major urban areas can affect the temperature in cities far away.

The study was published Sunday in Nature Climate Change, and is the first to look at the effects of waste heat on temperature changes. The researchers found that the heat that’s released from buildings and cars in urban areas in the northern hemisphere can raise the temperature by about one degree Celsius.

A few months ago, I reported that a new Metro Government app to encourage citizens to participate in cataloging the city’s tree canopy was available on iTunes. Now, the city’s tree commission has revamped the app, and changed its focus to ash trees.

A Louisville non-profit has filed to amend its pending lawsuit against the Ohio River Bridges Project, arguing the federal government should have taken greenhouse gases into consideration.

The University of Louisville’s energy-saving efforts are going even better than expected.

U of L is in the middle of a long-term project to cut the university’s energy consumption and carbon footprint. The effort was launched in 2009, and since then, workers have been updating lighting, heating and cooling systems, and reducing water consumption.

Now, the university is reporting that a progress report shows significant savings already. From U of L:

An environmental group in Indiana is concerned about pending legislation and executive orders it says could reduce the state’s ability to protect the environment and public health.

Jesse Kharbanda is the executive director of the Hoosier Environmental Council.

During the month of January, WFPL aired nine features on the issues posed in regulating toxic air emissions in Rubbertown—and the past, present and potential health concerns of residents. Here's a collection of those stories.

Louisville's Air Program Marks Successes, But Health Concerns Linger

A federal appeals court has rejected a request from the Environmental Protection Agency to reconsider its August decision to vacate a major air pollution rule.

The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule is designed to reduce the amount of pollution that blows across state lines. It places limits on the sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides produced in 28 states, including Kentucky.