Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on March 12th, 2010
Source: Core 77
Image: paul swansen via flickr CC
From the article by Lloyd Hicks
You might guess that the carbon footprint from a carton of orange juice is largely due to packaging, transportation and disposal, but the findings from a recent PepsiCo study may surprise you. When the entire life cycle of orange juice was included, growing the oranges turned out to contribute the most to the carbon footprint—mainly due to the production and application of nitrogen based fertilizers. It’s important for designers to recognize the impact made in every phase of a product’s life cycle. In this case, shifting agricultural practices may result in the most significant emission reductions, but designers are far from powerless to make improvements. The same study states that packaging and distribution represented 37% of the carbon footprint. With that in mind, how could a designer accurately test new scenarios to create an orange juice distribution strategy that has fewer impacts on the environment? How would he or she know if a plastic bottle is better than a gable-top carton or not? How do concentrated juice products size up?
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Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on March 10th, 2010
Source: Green Building Council Australia (GBCA)
From the Green Building Council Australia Fact Sheet
Wangaratta High School in north-eastern Victoria was awarded a 4 Star Green Star – Education PILOT rating in August 2009 for Stage One in its three part redevelopment plan, becoming the first Green Star certified school in Australia. Utilising environmentally sustainable design (ESD) principles, the Taylor Oppenheim/Meinhardt Group project team aimed to reduce the new senior school’s negative impact on the environment, while at the same time, providing students and teachers with a healthier, more productive space. With US studies revealing green schools foster higher reading retention, better test scores and greater staff retention, it is easy to see why educational facilities around Australia are considering greener alternatives.
Ground heat exchange system
During project consultations, Wangaratta High School and the Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development outlined their vision for the new school to be as energy efficient as possible, reducing the electrical power demand on-site as well as the recurrent energy costs accrued by the school. This brief was realised through the implementation of a ground heat exchange (GHE) system which would service the majority of the facility’s heating and cooling needs. This geothermal technology uses the earth as both a heat source and a heat sink, circulating water in a series of grid loops under the earth’s surface to cool or warm the building above. The system circulates water through a grid of 42 loops extending 100m below, using heat pumps to push the water through hydronic pipes in the building’s floor slab. Because heat energy naturally flows from areas of higher temperature to those of lower temperature, the GHE heating and cooling system is a highly efficient, renewable energy source that maintains a pleasant temperature range of 20-26°C throughout the year, with little need for supplementary heating or cooling.
Associate for the Building Science & technology Group at Meinhardt, Dr Mirek Piechowski says: “By tapping into the renewable energy stored in the ground, the GeoExchange technology offers the most energy efficient heat transfer mechanism for climate control system. The other significant feature of the GeoExchange technology is the fact that in the heating mode only up to 25 per cent of the heating energy is derived from fossil fuels, i.e. electricity, while the remaining 75 per cent is renewable energy. In contrast, in traditional gas heating systems 100 per cent of heat is derived from burning gas,” he explains.
A feasibility study conducted by the Meinhardt Group predicted the GHE system would save the school around $35,000 in energy bills, as well as a reduce CO2 emissions by 253 tonnes annually. Combined with other energy efficient measures, this system achieves energy savings of up to 75 per cent, compared to conventional buildings of the same size.
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Posted in seeking by Kate Archdeacon on March 9th, 2010
The ERSCP-EMSU 2010 conference, ‘Knowledge Collaboration & Learning for Sustainable Innovation’, will take place in Delft, the Netherlands, on 25-29 October 2010. Representatives of academia, business, government, NGOs and civil society organizations are very much invited to submit abstracts for (1) paper presentations or (2) poster presentations, as well as proposals for (3) discussion workshops/roundtables or (4) paper sessions that are within the Conference’s scope or themes.
The conference themes are:
1. Sustainable Universities and Higher Education
2. Knowledge Collaboration for Sustainable Innovation, Design, Business & CSR
3. Sustainable Consumption and Production
4. Climate, Energy, Water
5. Sustainable Cities and Regions
6. Sustainable Consumption, Production and Innovation in Developing Countries
All paper and poster abstracts can be submitted online at http://www.erscp-emsu2010.org/submissions until March 20, 2010. Full papers are due on September 1, 2010. More information can be found in the call and on the website. The organising committee can be contacted at conference@erscp-emsu2010.org.
Confirmed opening key notes include prof Tim Jackson, University of Surrey and prof Wubbo Ockels, Delft University of Technology. The conference is a joint effort by TU Delft, TNO and The Hague University of Applied Sciences.
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on March 1st, 2010
Source: Treehugger
From Danish Cargo Ship Fleet Cuts Fuel Use 30% By Going Half Speed, by Brian Merchant
Until two years ago, the Danish shipping conglomerate Maersk had been sending its cargo ships across the seas at full throttle, vying to get supplies to their destination as fast as possible–and every other shipping company was doing the same. It seemed at the time the most efficient way of doing business. But in order to do so, the company was running its ships at far beyond the maximum fuel efficiency levels. So, two years ago, Maersk decided to slow things down. Now, a trip that used to take 3 weeks instead takes a month. But they’re reaping huge savings in fuel use, costs and greenhouse gas reductions–by as much as 30%.
The New York Times reports:
In a global culture dominated by speed … the company has seized on a sales pitch that may startle some hard-driving corporate customers: Slow is better. By halving its top cruising speed over the last two years, Maersk cut fuel consumption on major routes by as much as 30 percent, greatly reducing costs. But the company also achieved an equal cut in the ships’ emissions of greenhouse gases.
Which is pretty phenomenal when you think about it–in the midst of a complex global recession and fast-rising oil prices, a solution as simple as easing up on the accelerator was able to help the company drastically cut costs and stay competitive. According to the Times, Soren Stig Nielsen, Maersk’s director of environmental sustainability, says that slowing down is “a great opportunity to lower emissions ‘without a quantum leap in innovation’,” and he notes in presentations to clients that “Going at full throttle is economically and ecologically questionable.” And he’s right.
Just by slowing down, Maersk is able to lower the prices they charge in the face of rising oil prices – something full speed competitors simply cannot do. And the reduced greenhouse gas emissions make this one of the simplest ways for companies to green their supply chains and lower their overall carbon footprint. In other words, if a company is willing to wait an extra couple days for raw materials or goods, it can both save money and tout a commitment to the environment. Just by waiting.
Read the full article by Brian Merchant on Treehugger
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on February 25th, 2010
Source: Springwise
From Floating Offices For Two:
If stand-alone offices can be set up in people’s gardens, then why not at the local marina? That, in fact, is exactly the concept behind WaterSpace, a Welsh company that offers self-contained floating office units designed to fit into a standard marina berth. The H2Office is a purpose-built floating office that can comfortably accommodate one or two workers. In addition to a sun deck above, the H2Office comes equipped with a work area featuring wood-like flooring and an L-shaped desk and shelving unit across the beam. A carpeted L-shaped “break-out” area includes a pull-out berth for occasional overnight stays, while an included kitchenette features over and under storage cupboards. Optional extras include teak-effect flooring, kitchen appliances and solar panels. In addition to the possibilities for telecommuting office workers and waterfront retail or professional space, WaterSpace notes that its floating offices could also offer a way for marina operators to create an income-generating floating business park that makes use even of areas with water too shallow for most boating purposes.
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on February 24th, 2010
Source: Japan for Sustainability
Image: Toppan Printing Co.
An experimental project to develop and research a system to revitalize shopping districts through the use of eco-bags with Integrated Circuit (IC) tags was carried out in Tokyo’s Itabashi Ward in December 2009. 30 stores in the Kami-ita Minami-Guchi Ginza Shopping District took part. The purpose of this experiment included reducing the use of plastic shopping bags by distributing eco-bags to local shoppers, promoting visits to shopping districts, and testing the development and operation method of a distribution system that circulates points accumulated on the IC tag in the community as a form of local currency.
Toppan Printing Co. distributed free eco-bags with IC tags to 300 shoppers. Those who brought the eco-bag to the participating stores between December 7 and 23 received points by holding the bag out to the IC tag reader/writer which is connected to a PC. Accumulated points were saved on the IC tag, while the PC recorded the ID of the IC tag as well as the date and time of the store visit.
After December 23, a gift card draw based on the total points accumulated on the IC tag took place.
Read the full article.
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on February 23rd, 2010
Image: Inuvik Community Greenhouse
What is the place of food in the city?
How are “waste” spaces being transformed by food projects?
What are the implications on materials, technologies and structures?
Carrot City is a traveling exhibit that shows how the design of buildings and cities can enable the production of food in the city. It shows how the design of buildings and towns is enabling the production of food in the city. It explores the relationship of design and urban food systems as well as the impact that agricultural issues have on the design of urban spaces and buildings as society addresses the issues of a more sustainable pattern of living.
The focus is on how the increasing interest in growing food within the city, supplying food locally, and food security in general, is changing urban design and built form. Carrot City showcases projects in Toronto and other Canadian cities, illustrating how such concerns are changing both the urban landscape and architecture. It also includes relevant international examples to show how ideas from other countries can be integrated into the Canadian experience. The exhibition contains a mix of realised projects and speculative design proposals that illustrate the potential for design that responds to food issues.
These projects are presented through three main sections, representing three scales of analysis: City; Community; and Home & Work. In addition to the projects, a fourth section, Products, illustrates technologies and systems that are innovating food production approaches in urban contexts.
Posted in Visions by Kate Archdeacon on February 22nd, 2010
Source: Inhabitat
As designers, we believe that envisioning the future leads to new choices and opportunities. Living Climate Change, an online community hosted by IDEO, presents a conversation designed to move the dialogue about climate change toward inspiring, human-centered scenarios that create new possibilities for business and society.
The Living Climate Change Video Challenge invites you to show us your vision of a future shaped by climate change, as we move along the path toward reduced carbon emissions.
The Challenge
Create an original video that envisions how climate change will impact our lives over the next 20 to 30 years. Looking beyond the doom and gloom and the policy discussions that have dominated the debate, how would you envision a human-centered, sustainable future? Which behaviors will change? Which will be preserved?
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Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on February 19th, 2010
Source: guardian.co.uk
Image: tardigrade via flickr CC
From “Cuba plans city farms to ease economy woes“, by Marc Frank
Project launched to ring urban areas with thousands of small farms in bid to reverse agricultural decline
Cuba has launched an ambitious project to ring urban areas with thousands of small farms in a bid to reverse the country’s agricultural decline and ease its chronic economic woes. The five-year plan calls for growing fruits and vegetables and raising livestock in four mile-wide rings around 150 of Cuba’s cities and towns, with the exception of the capital Havana. The island’s authorities hope suburban farming will make food cheaper and more abundant, cut transportation costs and encourage urban dwellers to leave bureaucratic jobs for more productive labour. But the government will continue to hold a monopoly on most aspects of food production and distribution, including its control of most of the land in the communist-run nation.
The pilot programme for the project is being conducted in the central city of Camaguey, which the Cuban agriculture ministry has said eventually will have 1,400 small farms covering 52,000 hectares (128,490 acres), just minutes outside the town. The farms, mostly in private hands but also including some cooperatives and state-owned enterprises, must grow everything organically, and the ministry expects they will produce 75% of the food for the city of 320,000 people, with big state-owned farms providing the rest.
On a recent day, dozens of people were hard at work plowing fields, hoeing earth, posting protective covering for crops and putting up fencing as the sun came up. “This land they gave to us, the private farmers. I have four hectares (10 acres) and now they have leased me eight (20 acres) more,” one of the farmers, Camilo Mendoza, told Reuters. “Look, on this side and the other side are other plots, and over there another. Here they have given quite a bit of land and support to private farmers,” he said.
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Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on February 17th, 2010
Source: Food Climate Research Network
From the Current Interview on the Food Climate Research Network:
Last Minute Market (LMM) is a project where shops and producers who have unsold food which would otherwise be discarded are linked with people and charities who need food. Originating in Bologna, it is active in more than 40 Italian towns, with 2 new projects under development in Argentina and Brazil. LMM offers services to enterprises and institutions in order to prevent and reduce waste production at its origin. It also develops innovative services for the recovery and reuse of unsold goods. Since the introduction of the Italian anti–waste law in 2008, non-food items can also be recovered.
LMM has 6 different and interrelated areas of activities:
* Food- unsold food which is still edible
* Harvest- vegetables not harvested which would be rejected by retailers due to cosmetic reasons or weather damage
* Seeds- seeds that do not conform with market standards
* Catering- products not served by public and private catering
* Books- unsold books that would otherwise be destroyed
* Pharmacy- unsold pharmaceuticals which can be used to meet the health needs of socially disadvantaged people
LMM helps:
* companies to manage surpluses in innovative ways, which can reduce waste disposal costs and improve the company’s links with the local community
* public institutions and the community benefit from the reduction in the flow of waste to landfill and improve food availability for the sectors of society that need it
* the third sector reduce operating costs and release resources for other projects
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