Click on the headline (link) for the full text.
Many more articles are available through the Energy Bulletin homepage
Coventry to ‘dim’ city’s street lamps in British first
Louise Gray, The Telegraph
Coventry will become the first city in Britain to adopt the new technology at a cost of £250 million.
All 28,000 street lamps will be replaced over the next 25 years and connected to a central control room that allows computers to turn lights up or down.
The scheme will allow the council to turn lights up to full beam on accident black spots or dangerous streets. It could even be used to provide better lighting after a football match and then turned down during quiet periods like the Festive season.
Coventry City Council hope to cut their carbon emissions by 40 per cent and reduce energy bills.
But residents are already concerned that when lamps on suburban streets are turned down, the elderly and families could be put at risk.
Others warn that turning up lights will leave them unable to sleep at night.
Clifford Howe, 75, said: “I can see it could keep residents awake, we have got a street lamp outside our house so it comes straight in through the window, so I wouldn’t want them brighter….
(17 February 2010)
Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Hatch Massive Plan to DeCarbonize Chicago
Lea Bogdan, Inhabitant
Renowned architecture firm Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill (AS+GG) recently completed the investigation phase of a massive plan to “decarbonize” Chicago’s Loop. The firm’s goal was to assess variables such as the age, use, condition, and energy consumption of the 500 buildings in this central core area of the city. Carried out in cooperation with the Chicago Climate Action Plan, the monumental project calls for a retrofit of half the city’s commercial and residential buildings to result in a 30% reduction in energy use by 2020. AS+GG took on this tall order with very well thought-out, research based, holistic ideas that beg to be implemented.
The breadth of the initial phase of the Chicago Central Area DeCarbonization Plan proposes eight key strategies to meet the city’s carbon reduction goals. The first, “Buildings,” discourages new construction, and focuses on retrofitting existing structures to increase their energy efficiency, raising the value of aging building stock and tapping into the potential to transfer excess energy loads back to the grid. “Urban Matrix,” promotes residential use of the Loop area by convert outdated office buildings into homes, schools and other services. Their “Smart Infrastructure” strategy explores energy generation, storage and distribution. “Mobility” assesses public transit and connectivity. “Water,” examines resource conservation, “Energy” highlights new and existing sources of power, and “Waste,” looks at the city’s system for processing, reducing, recycling, and disposing of garbage. Lastly, “Community Engagement” outlines ideas for involving the city’s inhabitants in the greening process.
Several concepts were presented with these strategies, such as plans to create a below-grade walkway system that would make city pedestrian friendly in extreme weather conditions. There was also an idea to use the Loop’s underground tunnels for an air-powered waste disposal system. Extensions for the Chicago River walking and biking paths are also called for. We love that they also suggest publishing a standardized textbook for all city schools that would teach urban design and decarbonization for public school students…
(22 February 2010)
http://www.smithgill.com/#/work/by_city/chicago
Imagining a Carbon Neutral Seattle: A Collection of Ideas
Sarah Kuck, Worldchanging
Monday afternoon, the Seattle City Council announced that Seattle will aim to become carbon neutral, and explore whether it can realistically commit to hitting that target by 2030, which would make it the first carbon neutral city in the United States.
If Seattle can in fact lead the way toward North American climate neutral cities, it may well have an impact far greater than the size of its population would suggest. It may, for instance, help accelerate the race towards a bright green future already engaged by cities like Vancouver, Portland and San Francisco. It may even help spur further action in internationally leading cities like Copenhagen, Melbourne and Stockholm. Since much of the innovation needed to achieve ecologically low-impact prosperity is urban innovation, accelerating this race is in everyone’s interest.
…Let’s imagine 10 moments of an average day that might be different in a carbon neutral city. The following are a collection of ideas, from my point of view. They are a thought explorations in how I think carbon neutrality will benefit cities and the people who live there. Even if your city has not announced carbon neutrality as a goal, you too can think about just how different your city would be in a bright green future.
Land Use
Right now, most cities are designed around cars. Streets, businesses and housing developments are built around the needs of the car. But in a carbon neutral city, cars are no longer king. Experts in this area say that land use policy and zoning laws could be designed with people in mind, to bring us nearer to the people we want to see, and the goods and services we need to live and work. Though these new plans, development would be more compact, people would walk where they need to go and green spaces would proliferate. Imagine living close by the grocery store, bus stop, and gym.
…Transport
Right now, most people spend inordinate amounts of time in their cars (and in Seattle, cars are the major source of greenhouse gas emissions). But in a carbon neutral city, innovations in transportation help to shift the focus from moving the most cars the farthest distances in the least time, to getting the most people to the places they want to be most effectively. Transportation now focuses on efficiency, access and safety. Less driving can save our families a huge amount of money and we can read, play games, work or talk with a friends while we get there.
…Water
Like energy, most people rarely think about where their water comes from, how it gets to our faucets or where it goes once it leaves the sink. Also, similar to energy, most people rarely think about how much water it takes to produce our food and consumer goods. But in a carbon neutral city, it’s something everyone will think about because they will have more information and access to the resource. Here, every raindrop that falls on a building is used, an each drop is recycled and used again onsite. Water use is clearly marked in our homes and on the things we buy. Innovators tell us that we will be able to capture all our water on site and reuse it before we send it away. Transparency specialist say we’ll know what we need to to choose the best products.
…Food
Right now, most people get in their cars and drive to the grocery store. The food sold inside has traveled thousands of miles to end up on the shelves and we know little to nothing about the resources or labor it took to produce it. But in the carbon neutral city, we’ll live so close to food sellers you can walk there. Farming innovators say that, with the exception of a few international products (coffee, chocolate, etc), most of the food available will come from nearby farms, if not from farms within the city itself. More people will grow their own food. Educated on the physical and climate affects of meat, most of us choose only to eat locally raised chicken on special occasions.
…Consumption
Right now, most products have a 30-minute to three-year lifespan. Most goods eventually end up in landfills — here or in foreign countries with more lax environmental laws — or even in the ocean. In a carbon neutral city, cradle-to-cradle designers create goods with their next use in mind. The time between its creation and death are no longer the most interesting parts are a products lifespan. What happens next and what it will become in its next life are the more juicy design tasks. Here, products are less toxic because they have to be used longer and over again, are not designed to break but to be fix and are meant to be shared and hacked.
…Justice
Right now, some people in our community are forgotten and neglected. Societal myths are deeply woven into the fabric of everyday life, and those without care and attention are there because they want to be, aren’t good enough or made serious mistakes. But in the carbon neutral city, it’s essential to include and support everyone. Bright Green City philosophy states that equality is an essential part of creating sustainability. Research shows that people who are taken care of and shown respect are able to think beyond their basic needs, and have the energy and motivation to take care of themselves and others. Carbon neutrality is only possible through equality.
…Waste
Right now, waste is a thing most people throw Away. This Away is a place we don’t have to think about, nor are we affected by. Most people live their whole lives without ever thinking about the impacts of their waste. Empty packaging, uneaten food, dead batteries and out-of-date technology are tossed to the great Away. But in carbon neutral cities, we are all aware that there is no Away. Each item is design to be reborn as something new or is capable of decomposing. Compost masters work together at composting centers to create new organic material, reuse specialists collect and redistribute larger items and technology workers are trained to retool and upgrate technology and small items effortlessly at maker stations.
…Business
Right now, most business people are taught to let the bottom line trump all other concerns. Making money is the sole purpose of any venture and not much should get in a business’s way when trying to make as much money as possible. In a carbon neutral city, business people are taught to care about the triple bottom line: people, planet and profit. Success here is not just measured by how much money that company can make, but also by how much good they can do for the people and places they operate in and for. Here, people reward companies that support carbon neutrality as a business goal.
…Civics
Right now, my feeling is that most people feel disengaged from politics. We feel like our votes barely count, and even if we do we’re merely choosing between which candidate is less evil. Everyday, more people grow more cynical about this process. But in the carbon neutral city, people must show up to make it work. We realize together that to be engaged and optimistic is a powerful political statement. We find ways to plug in locally, become more involved and make the system more transparent. More things feel possible because they are….
(23 February 2010)
