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Archive for May, 2009
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Climate Change and Opportunities for Local Leadership
There are many things that local communities can do to fight climate change, both in municipal operations and throughout the community. In many cases, these actions save energy and money at the same time. From reducing energy use in buildings and improving waste management to enhancing public transportation and employing smart growth, cities have the power to create the necessary change… if they are willing to do so.
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Second Chances for Buildings and People
Second Chance, an organization in Baltimore, MD is aptly named for their faith in second chances for both buildings and people. Second Chance works with local and regional architects, builders and contractors to find old buildings that are facing demolition. Using public and private funds, they rescue wood, metal, marble, plaster, stone and other architectural pieces and give those items new life while diverting them from the landfill.
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Co-op Power in a Nutshell
With 325 members and 5,000 supporters in New England and New York over the past five years, Co-op Power has raised more than $225,000 in Member Equity to support the development of community-scale clean energy projects. Co-op Power Members have received $4,000 in rebates on bioheat, $23,703 in rebates on clean energy systems, and $319,236 in incentives for clean energy systems.
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Green Building Ordinances on the Rise
According to the U.S. Green Building Council, in 2008 at least eight states and 22 local governments endorsed green building policies. as compared with just one state in 2004. Many of the measures require new government buildings to meet the council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards.
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Rainwater Catchment Ordinance
In October of 2008, the city of Tucson, Arizona became the first municipality in the country to require developers of commercial properties to harvest rainwater for landscaping. The new measure – approved by a unanimous vote by the City Council – requires that new developments meet 50% of their landscaping water requirements by capturing rainwater.
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Zero Waste
Zero waste suggests that the entire concept of waste should be eliminated. Instead, waste should be thought of simply as a “potential resource.” Benefits of zero waste strategies include reduced costs, increased profits, and reduced environmental impacts. Zero Waste may require redesigning both products and processes to weed out inefficiencies in the use of materials, energy and human resources.
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Curitiba: City Planning at its Best
Curitiba is the capital city of Paran, one of Brazil’s southernmost states. While Curitiba faces the same problems as other cities around the world – overcrowding, poverty, pollution and funding constraints – Curitba’s city planners have come up with some creative and inexpensive ways to address them.
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NanoCity
In the northern niche of Haryana in the foothills of the Himalaya, a new hub of business, technology and education is emerging. Students from the Berkeley Group for Architecture and Planning are working on ideas for infrastructure, transportation, road networks and communication networks for “NanoCity.” The main intent is to create a livable, dense, sustainable, eco-friendly environment that can serve as a model for other developments in the region.