TEN SUSTAINABLE IDEAS TO IMPROVE YOUR CITY

1. Climate Resilient Neighbourhood

The City of Copenhagen wants to create a green climate resilient neighborhood in the city’s Østerbro district. In the Klimakvarter (climate neighbourhood), located in Copenhagen’s Østerbro district, planners want to prepare the city for heavy rains with green solutions at street level. The improvements create lush, green urban spaces while leading water from cloudbursts away from inhabited buildings to areas where it causes no damage. The solutions are being developed in cooperation with local residents and target both public (streets) and private areas (inner courtyards).

2. Dynamic Parking Pricing

SFpark is pioneering parking management using demand-responsive pricing to make parking easier for urban dwellers in San Francisco, while reducing emissions due to circling for parking.under the slogan “Circle less, live more,” sfpark manages parking demand in san francisco by collecting and distributing real-time information about where parking is available. To help achieve the right level of parking availability, sfpark periodically adjusts meter and garage rates. The aim is to reduce double parking and the time distracted drivers circle looking for parking.

3. Peer-to-Peer Borrowing and Lending

neighborgoods.net is a social platform for peer-to-peer borrowing and lending. need a ladder, wheelbarrow, or power drill? borrow it from your neighbor. have a bike, backpack, or sleeping bag collecting dust in the garage? lend it out, and make a new friend. Neighborgoods facilitates transactions with a reservation calendar, automated reminders, wishlist alerts, and private messaging between neighbors. Neighborgoods also keeps track of members’ loaned property. Neighbors can rate each other and flag another member’s account if something goes wrong.

4. Intelligent Streetlights

Tvilight combines hardware, a tiny intelligent module that includes sensors, wireless communication, and a dimmer that can be installed on any existing dimmable streetlight, and advanced software that controls streetlights, monitors electricity usage, and analyzes traffic data. The system detects human occupancy to control the light intensity in an area. The lights dim during off-peak hours, but when a unit detects a pedestrian, bicycle, or automobile, the surrounding lights return to full brightness.

5. Real-Time Ridesharing

SideCar is a ride-matching app that connects willing drivers on the roads with people needing a ride. Pre-screened drivers willing to make their private cars available to people in need of a ride are alerted via the SideCar mobile phone app when a ride is requested from someone nearby. If drivers accept the request, passengers are taken to their destination. At the time passengers submit a SideCar pick-up request, they receive a suggested average “donation” for their trip.

6. City Design with Daylight

A new design method is optimizing distribution of daylight in cities to revitalize buildings and neighborhoods while reducing energy consumption. Daylight is a valuable resource to harness in cities. Henning Larsen Architects and Partners have developed a method for sustainable urban planning that systematically analyses and maps daylight in urban areas and buildings, putting in place an operational strategy for sustainable renovation in residences and on a city level.

7. Low-Carbon Growth in an Emerging City [pdf]

The Colombian city of Montería is increasingly being exposed to climatic changes such as heavy rainfall and risk of flooding. Montería Green City 2019 is a pioneering Latin American city initiative that targets current and future greenhouse gas emissions, adapting the city to climate change and improving urban growth. The plan comprises 26 actions to address 15 challenges in order to reduce GHG emissions by 20% by 2019.

8. Inner-City Bus Rapid Transit

Mexico City’s pioneer mobility project, Metrobus Line 4, utilizes all of the components of a successful bus rapid transit (bRT) system: dedicated lanes, enclosed stations with levelled access and prepayment, large buses with multiple doors, advanced fare collection, and a sleek image. Inaugurated in April 2012, Metrobus Line 4 runs through Mexico City’s historical downtown, with an extension to the international airport. Line 4 was carefully designed to preserve the colonial architecture of the historical city center.

9. River-Assisted District Cooling [pdf]

Gothenburg, Sweden, uses free cooling from the river Göta älv to pre-cool water used in its large-scale district cooling system. by using a combination of river water for pre-cooling and waste heat from an incineration plant to drive its absorption chillers, gothenburg substantially lowered CO2 emissions compared to conventional cooling methods. Customers get the environmental benefit of sustainable cooling at an affordable cost.

10. Retrofitting an Inner-City District

In the heart of London, the King’s Cross development is achieving sustainability while protecting cultural heritage.The 66 acre development at King’s Cross is creating a new piece of London: 50 new buildings, 2,000 new homes, 20 new streets, and 10 new parks and public spaces. The cultural heritage of the area was given priority during the “retrofitting” process. Reuse of heritage buildings and programs to create affordable homes are in place in order to protect social and cultural diversity.

uses of nature

Please watch this and get to know about your neigbourhood

HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE

Are electric cars green

Are Electric Cars Green? The External Cost of Lithium Batteries

The Energy Collective, by N Nadir   5/15/13


One of the more fashionable concepts that one hears among people who regard themselves as environmentalists, is that the world would be much better off if only we could make the electric car mainstream.   Without having engaged in any kind of systematic survey among serious thinkers on the environment, I certainly feel this is the case [among environmentalists], although with a little digging, one can see that this is certainly not universally held to be the case, especially if one looks in the primary scientific literature.

A recent article in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, for example noted that China already has 100 million electric vehicles and that the health and climate benefits and deficits of these vehicles is decidedly mixed, particularly because of the high externalities associated with China's overwhelming dependence on coal power.    

Environ. Sci. Technol., 2012, 46 (4), pp 2018–2024

The majority of these “vehicles” are, in fact, electric scooters, and their overall externalities are much lower than other electric cars, just as motorized scooters powered by gasoline have lower externalities than gasoline cars. 

But China has also been producing and promoting electric cars, as many people in the United States are also doing, and the authors of this paper examine the externalities of electric cars by analyzing the primary energy sources China uses to generate electricity.

With the current electric generation mix in China, the authors claim (See Table 1 if you access the original paper) that for the city of Shanghai, for instance, the death toll associated with PM₂.₅(Particulate Matter approximately 2.5 μm in size) resulting from the use of gasoline cars in that each year is about 9 people per 10 billion km traveled (1,000,000 cars*10,000 km (car-yr)^-1, whereas the cost in terms of an electric car via the same mechanism is thought to be 26 persons deaths resulting from the same number of kilometers traveled.   Included in their calculation is a stochastic factor called the intake fraction, which accounts for the average distance from a coal plant that provides electricity for Shanghai and the probability that particulate matter from its exhaust will be deposited in lung tissue.   (The intake fraction’s units are parts per million.)   The intact factor is actually lower for the coal generating units, as they are at some distance from the city, whereas the gasoline (or diesel) car produces particulates at the point of use.   Nevertheless, there are so many more particulates released with coal than with gasoline that the electric car actually performs worse than the gasoline car(although better than diesel cars).

If one considers the carbon dioxide cost, the situation represents no spectacular savings either.   In Beijing, the electric car releases as much carbon as a gasoline car getting fuel economy of 9L/100 km (26 mpg), a modest, at best, efficiency number in modern times.

I am a strong advocate of nuclear energy, and regard it as the only source of energy with the right combinatorial optimization of safety, sustainability, ease of scale up, cost, and environmental impact - the general public susceptibility to selective attention with respect to the these concerns notwithstanding - that might have had any reasonable chance at providing a decent lifestyle for the 7 billion people on this planet, almost all of whom assume their own right to life, and if not to liberty, than certainly to the pursuit of happiness.

Since it is widely, if wrongly, believed that nuclear energy is only suitable for the generation of electricity, one might suppose that I would at least be sympathetic, in theory, to the electric car.   Afterall, if China were to succeed at its stated goal of building more nuclear power plants than the rest of the world now has combined, the health cost and greenhouse external cost would be vastly improved for such cars.

To be perfectly honest, I am not sympathetic to any aspect of the car CULTure, but surely I must believe that if we must have cars, than electric cars are the way to go.  No?

No.

The electric car is no more sustainable than the gasoline or diesel car in my view, and, as is the case with much hyped wind industry, the reason has to do not so much with the fuel properties as it does with the metal content of the machinery.

The paper from the primary scientific literature to which I will refer in this document is, as of this writing in the same journal to which I've referred above (and yes, I do read other journals) and can be found in the "ASAP" section as of this writing:

Environ.Sci.Tech. May 2013: Potential Environmental and Human Health Impacts of Rechargeable Lithium Batteries in Electronic Waste

The question here is the same question that people often regard as a show stopper for discussions of nuclear energy - although the question is trivial for so called "nuclear waste" and is not trivial for almost anything else - specifically, "what do you do with the waste."

Even if there is enough lithium to displace the 1 billion internal combustion engine cars that now pollute the earth with electric cars, it is the electronic waste problem - one of the most intractable problems now faced by humanity - that should dominate the question.

To wit, the authors write as follows: 

Rechargeable lithium-based batteries have displaced nickel−cadmium and nickel metal hydride batteries to become the dominant energy supply components in portable consumer electronic products due to Li-ion’s superior energy density and slow discharge in idle mode.¹These advantages have also led to the adoption of lithium batteries in electric vehicles, military, and aerospace applications. Consequently, the global market for lithium batteries is projected to increase from $7.9 billion in 2008 to $8.6 billion in 2014.1 With a relatively short life span of about 2 to 4 years, rechargeable lithium batteries in portable electronic devices will contribute substantially to the increasing problem of electronic waste (e-waste), the fastest growing segment of the U.S. solid waste stream^2,3...

 ...Lithium batteries contain potentially toxic materials including metals, such as copper, nickel,and lead, and organic chemicals, such as toxic and flammable electrolytes containing LiClO₄, LiBF₄, and LiPF₆.4 Human and environmental exposures to these chemicals are typically regulated during the manufacture of lithium batteries through occupational health and safety laws, and potential fire hazards associated with their transportation are regulated through the U.S. Code of Federal Regulations (49 CFR 173.185),5 but there is inconsistent policy about the fate of discarded lithium batteries in e-waste that is distributed internationally.3,5,6 This study focused on metals in three types of batteries entering the waste stream, Li-ion and Li-poly batteries from older phones and lithium batteries from newer smartphones that are increasingly entering the waste stream.

It will not serve to repeat all the findings in this paper - one may refer to the original if one is interested - but it should suffice to say that the authors conclude as follows:

Results of this research indicate that rechargeable lithium based batteries associated with portable electronic products are potential sources of hazardous metal pollutants in the environment. These metal pollutants can adversely impact environmental quality and human health, particularly in regions of the world that lack infrastructure for solid waste collection, sorting, and recycling. This study has identified metals, Co, Cu, Ni, and Pb that, under simulated landfill conditions, would leach out concentrations that would exceed regulatory limits, thereby rendering their respective lithium batteries hazardous under U.S. federal and state laws. These results call for increased coordination of regulatory policies to support the recycling of portable rechargeable batteries, and for improved DfE strategies to reduce the levels of hazardous chemical components of consumer electronic products.

It is interesting to note that this weekend, about 1,000 protesters gathered in the Songjiang district of Shanghai to protest a plan by  Hefei Guoxuan High-tech Power Energy Co Ltd to build a lithium battery plant there.   The protest was made on environmental grounds.

I expect that people will note that many electric cars do not rely on lithium batteries, as the highly subsidized Tesla car for millionaires and billionaires does, but the question, "what does one do with (electronic) waste?" applies to all kinds of energy storage devices, even if - especially in connection with so called "renewable energy" - various kinds of energy storage are assumed to have neutral or negligible external costs, a claim that is ridiculous even with a cursory review of the thermodynamics of energy storage.

The case is not absolute, but it is instructive.

EXPO 2020 wonders in Dubai

Expo 2020: Watch out for these mega developments in Dubai

Dubai developers are set to commence work on several mega projects in the coming months in order to complete and deliver them much earlier than 2020.

"The Expo 2020 win for Dubai is a significant milestone, and this will definitely translate into exponential growth across a wide array of sectors, namely hospitality, tourism, trade, shipping and logistics as well as real estate,” Khalid Bin Kalban, CEO, Dubai Investments, told Emirates 24|7.

He added: "This overall optimism will translate into investors eyeing long-term investments and growth in all sectors in Dubai. We expect an acceleration in some iconic real estate projects as there will be a spurt in the overall demand from local and international investors. We foresee expectations increase dramatically across the entire spectrum of real estate."

But even before winning the Expo 2020 bid, Dubai had started laying the foundation for building mega projects. Last week, MEED Projects estimated the total value of contracts awarded in the UAE during 2013 will close out at approximately $30 billion, but 2014 will see number of awards increasing to $35 billion.

"We expect this number to increase significantly over the next few years as the market takes full advantage of Dubai's successful bid," said Julian Herbert, Director of MEED Projects.

The following mega mixed-use developments will shape the new landscape and skyline of Dubai.

Mohammad Bin Rashid City

Dubai announced development of multi-billion-dollar Mohammad Bin Rashid (MBR) City in November 2012. Comprising four key components, the new city will focus on family tourism, retail, arts and entrepreneurship. The first component focuses on family tourism, and will include a park equipped to receive 35 million visitors and a family centre for leisure and entertainment set up in collaboration with Universal Studios. There will be over 100 hotel facilities to meet the needs of visitors. The second component, focusing on retail, will feature the largest shopping mall in the world, “Mall of the World.” The third component will include the largest area for arts galleries in Mena. The fourth component will see the development of a unique area that will provide an integrated environment for entrepreneurship and innovation in the region.

The new city will be located between Emirates Road, Al Khail Road and Sheikh Zayed Road, and will include Mohammed bin Rashid Gardens Project. It will be connected to Downtown Dubai and Business Bay through a crossing that will be named the "Cultural Crossing" which will include art galleries and create the largest area for arts in the region.

Bluewaters Island

The Dh6 billion Bluewaters Island is set to be one of the largest tourist hotspots in the world. It will feature a demarcated retail, residential, hospitality and entertainment zones and will house Dubai Eye, the world’s largest Ferris wheel. Emirates 24|7 reported earlier that the reclamation work has already started.

The project is being built near Jumeirah Beach Residence with Meraas Holdings being the developer.

Dubai Water Canal

The Dh7.34 billion Dubai Water Canal will connect the Business Bay with the Arabian Gulf passing through the heart of Dubai.

The waterway will stretch 3 kilometers in length and width ranging from 80 to 120 meters. All construction works of the project’s infrastructure including drilling and building bridges is set for completion in 2017.

The canal will add six kilometers to Dubai’s waterfront, while the project will provide an area of over 80 thousand square meters dedicated to public places and vital facilities equipped with many outstanding facilities that meet the expectations and requirements of visitors of all segments of society.

The project comprises new shopping and entertainment centres linked through a uniquely designed bridge, over 450 new restaurants along with a wide array of luxurious marinas for yachts, and four world-class hotels.

At the entrance of the project from Sheikh Zayed Road, an iconic Trade Centre will be constructed comprising four levels, including one underground level and three elevated levels linking the Business Bay with the project zone in a total area of more than 50 thousand square metres.

The project is expected to attract 20 to 22 million visitors per annum.

MBR District One

With a market value of Dh21 billion, Mohammed Bin Rashid City - District One will have 1,500 luxury villas, a 350,000 square meter water park, the largest crystal lagoon body of water in the world with seven kilometre of lagoons and man-made beaches, retail zones, leisure and sports attractions. The project, which will be delivered in four phases, will be completed in six to eight years time. Work has already commenced on the project, which is a joint venture between Medyan and Sobha Group.

Dubai Adventure Studios

Meraas Holding is developing a Dh10-billion destination that focuses on delivering a multi-faceted leisure and entertainment experience to residents and tourists. Located at Jebel Ali, the project will feature five distinct theme parks based on movies, animals and fun characters that shall appeal to all demographics. Dubai Adventure Studios, the first phase of the development plans for which were announced by Meraas in December 2011, will anchor the new destination and is expected to be completed by 2014.

Deira project

Nakheel will built the Deira project, which being be developed on four existing islands of Palm Deira project.
The project, covering 1600 hectares, will be a waterfront destination, adding over 40 kilometres, including 21 kilometres of beachfront, to Dubai’s existing coastline. The cost of the project has not been disclosed.

Three hectares have been dedicated to hotels and resorts and 424 hectares for mixed-use developments. A night market designed in the style of a Arabic souk will be built, having over 1,400 retail units and restaurants with a number of anchor stores.

There will be an amphitheater with a capacity 30,000 people; a creek marina to accommodate large yachts and a range of additional marinas offering mooring facilities directly outside residences. The island will also have a number of waterfront plots for hotels, resorts and serviced apartments. The three remaining islands will also feature hotels, resorts and residential, commercial and retail units.

The Lagoons

Dubai Holding and Emaar Properties will jointly develop The Lagoons, a waterfront city within the multi-billion-dollar Mohammed Bin Rashid (MBR) City.

A master development, which will be over three times the size of Downtown Dubai, will cover an area of six million square metres (over 1,482 acres).

The centerpiece of the development will be the Dubai Twin Towers, a mixed-use development, which is envisaged to join the rank of the world’s most prestigious skyscrapers.

The fully integrated community will have a central business district, an entrepreneurial zone, cultural amenities, residences, premium and affordable luxury hotels, educational facilities, healthcare centres, a waterfront shopping mall and a wide range of leisure choices. All these key components of this world-class development are designed as inter-connected districts, around waterfronts and green boulevards.

The Lagoons stretches from the banks of the Dubai Creek, through central parcels of land linked to Al Khail Road and across Ras Al Khor.

Taj Arabia, Mughal Gardens

Taj Arabia, a replica of India's Taj Mahal, will be a 350-room hotel and serviced apartments. It will be part of Mughal Gardens development being developed by Link Global Group in Falcon City of Wonders in Dubailand. Taj Arabia will a 350-room hotel and serviced apartments and it will be an all-glass structure. India’s The Leela Palaces, Hotels and Resorts will be managing the hotel.

Using sunlight to produce interior light