In the international year of biodiverstiy the EU is encouraging industry, governments and NGOs to set up certifications schemes to ensure biofuels help cut emissions and do not threaten biodiversity.
Under the EU Renewable Energy Directive, established in 2009, the 27 members set the target of ensuring that 20% of its energy consumption will come from renewable sources by 2020. The directive also required nations to ensure that renewables accounted for 10% of the energy used in the transport sector. According to the EU, renewables include solid biomass, wind, solar energy and hydro power as well as biofuels.
In a statement realeased last June 10th, the European Commission declared that only biofuels that meet the EU’s sustainability requirements can count towards the targets in the Directive, to be fulfilled in 2020.
The story of the sciences in the twentieth Century is one of a steady loss of certainty. Much of what was real and machine-like, objective and determinate at the start of the century, by mid-century was a phantom, unpredictable, subjective and indeterminate. What had defined science at the start of the century —its power to predict, its clear subject/object distinction— no longer defined it at the end. In the century just past, science after science lost its innocence. Science after science grew up.
W. Brian Arthur, 1999
Why did the 2007-2009 subprime mortgage financial crisis occur and why did it have its roots in the richest country in the world? Why do the rich get even richer and the poor even poorer, thus increasing the social gap, despite social aids and governmental intervention? Why do entire local communities suffer from environmental problems such as air, water and land pollution, for which engineered-technical solutions and measures prove unable to reverse their situations in the long term? What does human economy have to do with polar ice cap melting, resource depletion and species extinction? Why are there wars still going on in a hyper-communicated, information-technological twenty-first century rational world?
Dr. Capra's book: The Hidden Connections.
Dr. Fritjof Capra, renowned physicist and systems thinker, tries to address this kind of thought-provoking questions in his book The Hidden Connections: A Science for Sustainable Living, by developing a framework for understanding current pressing global problems. The first chapters of his work offer an insight on this framework – a bit hard to digest, but deeply interesting –, where he adopts a systemic approach to redefine life, mind and society. Further on, he identifies the critical issues or areas in which humanity has to focus attention in order to survive sustainably in the short and long terms.
Making some hidden connections visible
Capra shows a broader way of thinking that makes some hidden connections visible, which might explain the nature of problems in modern times. One of the underlying intentions of the book is to question the way in which society addresses and solves problems. Thus, it is common for economists to try to reduce a problem to economic principles they know, as well as for environmentalists to think everything in terms of ecological principles. And then… who can guarantee a proper addressing and solution if all is based on partially conditioned perceptions?
This is one of Capra’s hidden connections: the fact that some of the global complex problems are founded in reductionism-based thinking and consequent decision making. For instance, why do people and companies make decisions predominantly based on money-making, disregarding other important social or environmental aspects? According to Capra, this money-making behaviour is mostly conveyed with reductionist project assessment methods. The fact is that individuals, corporations and even governments may trigger their projects mainly driven by monetary resource constraints, and in the middle ethical dilemmas remain as unsolved matters. Price is a very powerful synthesiser for value in the sense that it enables a person in China to make a decision about purchasing a good from France only by looking at figures. What is behind the price, such as how the product was manufactured, if people were exploited during the process, or whether toxic effluents were released to the environment, are hidden aspects that never get involved in the consumer decision if there is no further communication.
Dr. Capra’s lecture on the systems view of life.
In this context, Capra suggests that humanity should be more careful and willing to learn instead of trying to control. He talks about a radical change in values towards a new position in which man accepts his inherent limitations and where decisions are made by looking at the context, assuming one’s place of decision maker as being part of a broader and supporting environment.
Capra shows how mankind builds its own context and thinks its own existence. The Hidden Connections is a book that definitely contributes to the state of thinking that is giving shape to the science of the future.
The event is called “Meeting of the minds: The innovations we need for more sustainable cities”. It is organized by the Joslyn Institute for Sustainable Communities (JISC), _which was born in the University of Nebraska, College of Architecture_, and by the Urban Age Institute. The event will be held in Nebraska, and will last two and a half days, from June 16 to June 18.
The importance of urban areas and cities cannot be undermined, given the fact that half of the world’s population lives in such places. Cities account for more than 70% of global CO2 emissions, and consume more than half of the world’s energy.
During the Meeting of the minds, representatives from governments, the private sector, environmental organizations, and different experts will be addressing a vast combination of topics related to making cities more sustainable.
To see the program, click here
Marks & Spencer is a major British retailer, with over 1,700 stores in the UK and around the world. There’s no doubt that its impact is huge, so the fact that the company has great environmental plans is fantastic. Leaders of Marks & Spencer noted that in the last couple of years, their customers’ concerns for the environment have been growing, which led them to develop “Plan A”, a very ambitious strategy to go greener.
Plan A was launched in January 2007; it’s called that way because “there is no plan B”. The company has the “ultimate goal of becoming the world’s most sustainable major retailer.” The plan is organized in five main pillars, with 180 commitments; among them, making all of their UK and Irish operations carbon neutral by 2012.
1) Climate change
Some of this pillar’s commitments include the already mentioned aim of making all UK and Irish operations (stores, offices, warehouses, business travel and logistics) carbon neutral by 2012. That’s only two years away! Further, they have set the goal of “reducing the amount of energy we use in our stores by 25% per square foot of floor space.”
The University of British Columbia, in Canada, started building last September what is being referred to as the potentially greenest construction in North America. It will be home to CIRS (Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability). The required investment has been $37 million.
The CIRS building will generate all the electricity it needs; and all the water it needs will be collected on-site, from rainwater. Stormwater and grey waters will also be treated. As a result, there will be no waste water. Among the many energy sources considered are fuel cells, solar photovoltaic, solar hot water heaters, and biomass (all of them renewable). The building will be completed in spring/summer 2011.
The UBC has already developed an interesting and successful project called ecotrek, which allowed the campus to reduce its energy use over 20%, and water use by 30%. Yearly electricity and water savings are around $2.6 million. Further, greenhouse gas emissions were reduced 15%. Through the ecotrek project, 300 of UBC’s buildings were upgraded and retrofitted.
As my plane was leaving LA after TED2010 and I watched the curious man-made landscape of circling streets and repetitive housing, I thought of the provoking book by Stewart Brand called Whole Earth Discipline: An Ecopragmatist Manifesto which stated some environmental heresies. The first one, and the one I will examine here, was that cities are green. It is hard to think about New York City, for instance, as a model for sustainability but let’s examine the lifestyle of organic eating, juice sucking, prius driving southern Californians for a minute. They all live 30 to 90 minutes away from their jobs, so each family has at least one car, usually two, with a big commute twice a day. If we do some math with this calculator from the EPA we’ll see that a typical Californian household emits between 20,000 to 35,000 Kg of CO2 a year.
Each house has to receive (at least) water, electricity and some bandwidth so pipes, copper cables and fiber optics have to be deployed to cover miles and miles of land. Furthermore, all those lawns require massive amounts of water and fertilizers, let’s not forget we are actually on a desert with almost no rain. Each time they need groceries they go to a supermarket, you need quite a bit of them to cover such big areas, and they all need truckloads (literally) of food and supplies. The amount of energy and other resources consumed by this design is monstrous.
The contrast of this way of living with Californian’s love for anything green is startling. At the TED conference we received an aluminum bottle to refill from filtered water dispensers instead of the typical and stupid water bottle. If 1500 persons consume 3 bottles of water a day for 5 days we would have fabricated a mountain of 22500 plastic bottles. Although you could argue that they can be recycled if properly disposed, it takes quite a bit of energy and carbon emissions to turn that amount of slightly used plastic into usable bottles. I personally think that it is a catastrophe that after installing all those water pipes, people everywhere in the world still consume bottled water. The plastic has to be fabricated from oil using energy to melt and take its shape, then sent to a spring, if you are lucky, and then back to supermarkets all over the world. Then you grab those waters, haul them to your trunk, take them home, drink them, throw them away and probably end in a landfill nearby.
TED had also on display Hybrid Cars by Lexus, and although I applaud Hybrid’s oil efficiency I hardly think that they constitute a solution for a zero-emissions, green way of transportation. There were a few Segways and a few bicycles but most people there had arrived either by car (bad) or by plane (the worst), including myself. I took a flight from Buenos Aires, to Dallas and then to LA. The carbon emissions of that flight were roughly 2,825 Kg of CO2. You can calculate them here. As one TED U session said, if you wanted to be green going to TED you would have to go walking.
I’d better start walking now to reach TED2011 on time.
We’ve seen in a couple of previous posts how Denmark is making great progress in advancing towards a more sustainable future. Today we’ll analyze the case of Lolland, a Danish island that is combining wind power with fuel cells to come closer to a complete renewable energy system.
A consortium of nine companies called Dansk Microvarme is carrying out a 6-year project to develop the necessary technology and deploy it in the village of Vestenskov. The island generates 50% more wind power than it uses. The problem is that pure wind energy cannot be stored. So, when the wind doesn’t blow, there is a lack of energy, and the village might be forced to resort to fossil fuels. That’s when the idea of hydrogen and fuel cells comes in. The project being developed in Lolland consists of using excess wind power to obtain hydrogen, which is then used in fuel cells to generate electricity and heat.
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In his latest book, MIT professor Peter Senge claims that our current way of living is to blame for the climate crisis we are in. Senge describes how the manner in which things work right now is leading us towards disaster. However, the book is mostly dedicated to suggesting solutions, and showing us how different companies and organizations have been working to develop sustainable innovations.
We tend to consider our way of living as something given and natural. For practical reasons we avoid asking ourselves if our habits are right or wrong, fair or unfair, harmful or safe. The time has come for us to ask ourselves if it is worth keeping our ways and continuing to wreck the Earth. Senge argues that we need to evolve to a different society, in which we relate to nature in a more intelligent and sustainable manner. The author presents several examples of people who have realized that change is needed and have been acting in consequence.
Senge is a well-known management expert and consultant, interested in organizational learning, and systemic theories. He relates his areas of expertise to sustainability, creating an extremely rich combination of ideas. In the book, he includes several practical suggestions for people who are interested in helping organizations become more sustainable. To Senge, anyone is a potential leader, capable of starting a process of change and innovation.
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Picture yourself as a politician, or a decision-maker, who, among other things, needs to address climate change. The day may come when you need to decide how much to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. How can you decide on this wisely and knowingly? One powerful and potentially revolutionary tool is being developed in the US and consists of interactive simulation models.
Interactive simulators consist of specific software to which a user can insert information, and get a feedback, based on the inputs added, and information it has already incorporated. The good thing about the simulators developed by the Climate Interactive Program is that they are much more accessible and user-friendly than others.
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Today, November 15, is the US national recycling day. It is dedicated to fostering recycling among Americans, and to promote the buying of recycled products.
This is the 12th year the America Recycles Day takes place.
You can find events happening today here .
The next Enviro Expo USA will take place this weekend. It is sponsored by Southeastgreen.com and Audi, among others.
Its mission is to enhance the exchange of information related to sustainable development and sustainable products between consumers, manufacturers, researchers and others interested in being more environmentally friendly.
It will be situated in the Georgia World Congress Center.
There will be a wide variety of topics addressed, including renewable energies, landscaping, green weddings, and recycling. To see the schedule click here .
For more information, click here .
On November 4th California lawmakers passed an $11.1 billion overhaul of the state’s outdated water system. The plan gives Mr.Schwarzenegger the tools needed to begin restoring the crucial Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta which will allow for a stable water supply to Southern California cities and farmers in the Central Valley.
This will help supply a growing population while attempting to preserve a fragile environment and will be funded by a bond measure. It has been a long time in the making but was forced to resolution by a third dry year, decreased snowfall and the introduction of new pumping restrictions to protect delta fish.
At the centre of these water bills is our need for a sustainable and reliable water system. Legislators, for example, want to require California cities, with some exceptions, to use 20 percent less water by 2020. Clearly, there is a dual issue based on our level of consumption of water and our accessibility to it. They both require large investments, which mean job creation, and we can strongly contribute to one of them by managing our own personal water levels.
The cost of sustainability may be high, but the cost of inaction is much higher. That Californians recognize this and are now investing in their future despite (and because of) serious economic problems should encourage us all to do the same.
Source: msnbc
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