Category: Eco

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Ways to adapt urban areas to climate changes

/ Eco, Green, Sustainable / /

Every city comes with different traits regarding local climate, population and demographic aspects. Consequentially, each city requires individualized approach regarding preparation for climate changes and ways of creating sustainable, energy-efficient environment. Here are some of the measures that are proven as effective in most cities.

Energy conservation

Energy conservation action plan should refer to both, domestic energy consumers and public energy consumers. Economical financial strategy should use taxes and subsides to stimulate and discipline energy consumers to turn to saving energy. This particularly means rewarding everyone who turns their private property into eco-friendlier environment by using solar panels, rainwater collecting and reusing systems, planting trees or vegetated areas and many more methods. On the other hand, use taxes and special fees for big energy consumers to limit their daily use of energy.

Recycling and reusing

More than a half of overall waste people produce contains organic waste and may be reused or recycled. It is smart to build facilities for recycling all the recyclable materials collected at one populated area. Along with recycling systems, there should be facilities for turning waste directly into energy using various chemical reaction, but making sure to provide filters to decrease direct pollution emerging as a result of these processes. The city officials should provide special containers for diverse sorts of raw materials, including the places for exchange of used stuff among people.

Turning transport greener

One of the biggest sources of pollution and consequentially climate changes affecting the whole planet is individual and public transport. When it comes to choice between train and airplane, choose train whenever you can. When it comes to choosing between car and any other form of transport, opt for walking and cycling as two most green forms of transport. If you truly need a vehicle, your city government should provide well planned transport infrastructure for public transport.

Go pro-active locally

All the measures for preventing further climate deterioration are welcome, but probably won’t suffice at this level of pollution. Turning to direct actions is necessary. Organize local activities to plant dozens of trees, construct rainwater collecting systems, set dumpsters at major points in downtown and go cleaning nearest beaches or soiled fields.

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Summit to spur action on global warming

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They say that one of the biggest problems of this modern, anti-intellectual age isn’t the actual discussion regarding whether, for example, climate change is real and so alarming as claim or not, but the fact that too many people, even officials, are taking science facts for granted. Consequentially, weave reach the moment when climate change dangers are becoming obvious and clearly threating, thus it is probably our last chance to gather experts’ forces and make thorough action plan on how to take control over it. Copenhagen is hosting city for one of the greatest gatherings of experts and political officials who will try to discuss the matter, address all of its aspects and come up with precise projects. More than 80 countries are represented at a climate change summit in Copenhagen which is intended to spur politicians into taking action on global warming. The scientists are warning that sea level could rise by more than a meter by 2100, three times the average predicted by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in its report in 2007. Climate change offers us a chance to change how we think and how we organize  our lives, and a chance for towns and cities to take a lead and become more socially and economically responsible.

So how do you go about creating a sustainable place? This website demonstrates that it can be done, with practical examples from around the world on the big issues:

  • Energy – reducing carbon emissions and ensuring security of supply.Every town and city should produce an energy strategy that maps current and future needs and prioritizes a range of low-carbon, sustainable energy sources. Copenhagen has had a strategy to reduce energy consumption and dependence on oil since the 1970s and a network of efficient district heating and power schemes that use energy from waste, wind, ground and spare heat from industry.
  • Making buildings comfortable, safer and cheaper to run.Towns and cities need to do more to improve the energy efficiency of existing buildings, which produce about 45 per cent of the UK’s carbon emissions. In the UK Woking has pioneered the development of a network of over 60 local energy generators to power, heat and cool municipal buildings and social housing and has cut its carbon emissions by 77 per cent since 1990. Malmö in Sweden aims to reduce carbon emissions by 25 per cent by 2012 through a range of design and planning interventions.
  • Creating streets fit for people.Towns and cities need to integrate transport and planning in urban areas to reduce the need to travel, make places better connected and make walking, cycling and public transport attractive and easy options. Ashford’s integrated sustainable development strategy is helping the town absorb growth with infrastructure including a permeable network of streets, good public transport and green public spaces. Copenhagen has integrated its transport and public space policies to encourage an increase in walking and cycling and a decrease in car use.
  • Rethinking waste.Attitudes to waste have to change and it needs to be seen as a resource to be reprocessed into something useful or treated to recover value or energy rather than something that is thrown away. At Hammarby in Stockholm, recycling networks are integral to the design of the whole place. Waste and biomass provide energy for residents and business.
  • Planning for a shortage and excess of water.Cities and towns need to take a strategic view of water supply and storm water. The East London Green Grid aims to create a network of open spaces with the potential for managing surface water and flood risks and generating energy.
  • Moderating the urban heat island.Cities and towns are warmer than surrounding areas because heat is stored in concrete and tarmac and traffic and poor air circulation between tall buildings compound the problem. In August 2003 35,000 people across Europe died unnecessarily from heat. Green spaces are protected at strategic places across Stuttgart to allow cool airflows, improve air quality and reduce the heat island effect.
  • Making green spaces work for people and wildlife.Urban green areas can be a significant source of sustainable food, help community cohesion and protect biodiversity. Benwell Nature Park in Newcastle is now a focal point for community that helped create it and Warrington has pioneered the establishment of urban forestry.
save-the-planet

How can you personally fight climate change?

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When talking about climate changes and ecological threats becoming obvious, we usually turn to leading politicians, globally famous scientists and other officials, hoping to hear easily applicable action plans from them. Since this matter involves many complex interactions between numerous industries, politics, available fuels, ways of transportation and many more factors, it may take a while till global leaders make uniform agreement. Meanwhile, all of us are free and actually obligated to act on our own as much as we can in our private everyday lives. For example you can start using eco friendly Stone paper notebooks instead of the mass manufactured notebooks you get in the bookstore.  Here are some useful habit changes you can introduce into your routine to prevent global climate change.

Decrease your own carbon emission

Since emission of carbon and various other toxins is one of the most deteriorating aspects of pollution, the first thing to do is to lower your own contribution to the overall emission. Think of as many as possible ways of emission and focus onto those you practice and are able to eliminate or at least decrease. Car driving comes first. Modifying transport and city’s road infrastructure to be eco-friendlier is certainly a task for local authorities, but every time you drive a mile, you emit significant amount of carbon into the atmosphere. Thus, turn to cycling or walking every time you can. If you’re traveling longer distance, give up some comfort and use public transport.

Conserve energy

All strategies and action plans offering solutions and suggestions for handling climate changes usually come down to the need to provide sustainable energy for the whole planet. Therefor, saving energy is essential, even if it means just turning off your domestic appliances when not using them actively. Replace your existing bulbs with the energy saving ones. Practice to be economical and practical with all energy sources.

Reduce, Reuse and Recycle

The holly three when it comes to adapting onto climate changes. Reducing your consumption of energy and all sorts of raw materials will prevent our energy sources from running dry too soon. Reusing and recycling used stuff enhances the cycling of raw materials and decreases the amount of definite waste. If you add planting trees or at least some extra gardening onto this list, you will not only annulate negative effects, but also make direct positive effects.

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Water

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The ability to engineer water for irrigation was the foundation of civilization. The safe supply of drinking water and the disposal of foul water are essential for urban settlement. Sustainable water management means minimizing our impact on the healthy functioning of the water cycle. Although the total amount of water on the planet does not change, the way we use and manage water has far-reaching effects. So far the impact of climate change has been most visible through flooding and drought. It is clear that we need to make our places more resilient against the worst effects of climate change.

However, we should not forget that water is a valuable design resource too, improving financial value and visual amenity. Integrated design can add value to our places at the same time as we address climate change. The benefits of sustainable water management include reducing the risk of flooding, supporting cooler microclimates, reducing carbon emissions, providing opportunities for recreation and lowering environmental and economic costs. Local authorities can improve sustainable water management by establishing water catchment-based strategies, managing demand for potable water, providing and promoting rainwater harvesting for gardens and public spaces and preserving wetlands and habitats.

Priorities for water

  • Manage surface water and flood risk
    Surface water management is becoming more challenging with a changing climate.
  • Encourage sustainable water use
    Water use is often unsustainable with high environmental and economic costs.
  • Protect watercourses
    Taking water from rivers can harm wildlife and has aesthetic costs.

Eco-friendly and sustainable environment strategies regarding water management are made to be applied worldwide, but some areas come as a priority. This includes areas affected by severe drought or flooding, areas at the primary risk due to sea levels rising, areas struggling with erosion and sedimentation or saltwater intrusion as the result of human interfering with natural water cycling and many more. Another huge and challenging tasks engages various technologies providing ocean water cleaning and removing various waste that endangers ecosystems of seas and oceans due to urban activity. Managing water utilization will impose management of land utilization, as well as careful redistribution and preserving of ecosystems depending on water areas.

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Waste

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We are producing more waste than ever before – and then we waste it all over again. This behavior is not sustainable. It loses the energy and natural resources required to make the product, and additional energy and resources are used to process the waste.

Sustainable waste planning and management reduces our use of natural resources through actions such as re-use and recycling. It also enables us to recover value and energy from materials we use. It transforms the way we see materials such as sewage, which requires high levels of energy for treatment but has potential to provide a valuable energy source. Waste is a resource, not a by-product.

The benefits of sustainable waste planning and management include reducing pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, creating jobs, reducing land required for landfill and supplying lower carbon options for energy production.

Local authorities can improve waste planning and management by building new waste facilities and using existing recycling networks.

Priorities for waste

  • Plan for sustainable waste management
    Minimizing the amount of household waste sent to landfill.
  • Deal with construction waste
    Only half of the 120 million tons of construction waste is recycled each year.
  • Turn waste into energy
    Waste to energy processes reduce the waste requiring disposal in landfill.

Waste reduction strategies include various particular actions still being analyzed and developed, but there are some major actions plans already accepted and applied by dozens of countries. Favoring products made of different materials that shorten waste and energy life cycle became general policy in many states. Construction industry produces tons of debris and waste material and this waste is currently being re-directed back into the construction process as the raw material for modified concept of construction. Special facilities are being developed to collect, recycle and reuse waste materials coming from electronic industry. Since almost 60% of total urban waste consist of organic waste, major facilities are constructed to process this waste into reusable raw material or at least to utilize it as the fertilizer or low-carbon fuel. Modern urbanistic plans design infrastructure of many cities with pre-planned places for waste collecting and re-directing into facilities for further processing and finally pushing it back into the energy cycle of the same town.

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Turn waste into energy

/ Eco, Green, Waste /

If waste cannot be re-used or recycled then it should be utilised to provide heating and/or renewable energy. Waste to energy technologies include anaerobic digestion; incineration; use of secondary recovered fuel (an output from mechanical and biological treatment processes); pyrolysis; gasification and plasma arc heating. Currently around 8 per cent of municipal waste is treated by waste to energy facilities but it is estimated this will rise to at least 25 per cent by 2020.

Waste to energy processes involve heating waste under controlled conditions to reduce the amount of waste requiring final disposal to landfill. At the same time energy is recovered to produce heat and power or gas is produced which can be used as fuel. The waste incineration directive requires any heat generated through incineration to be recovered as far as practicable. Towns and cities can meet some of the requirements of the European Landfill Directive by diverting unrecyclable waste to energy production.

These operations will only operate efficiently with good levels of emissions control if they are provided at a municipal scale. The role of waste to energy in powering the communities of the future is potentially significant, particularly as this could present a lower carbon alternative to coal-fired power.  However, such facilities would require specific urban design and management responses to accommodate them.

It should be noted that this sustainable environment strategy still has several issues and potential risks that have to be resolved before more cities accept and apply it. Certainly the biggest problem refers to potential health risks emerging as the result of waste to energy processes. Another issue refers to relatively low level of energy efficiency of these processes. This becomes even greater issue considering that waste to energy process doesn’t create renewable energy. Waste incinerations are often seen as financial burden, especially due to relatively small number of required employees. All of these issues are being analyzed in search for effective and applicable solutions.

This section explores some of these issues.