Archive for July, 2009
Tweeting Energy Meters
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 31st, 2009
Source: Springwise
German utility company Yello Strom is clearly into accessible tech: it manages its meters directly via households’ broadband connections, and offers access to Google’s PowerMeter. Now, it’s keeping its customers informed by enabling meters to tweet about energy use. Each “Yello Sparzähler” smart meter (designed by IDEO) is allocated its own Twitter account, which is automatically updated with energy consumption data.
Food Futures: an Australian approach
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on July 29th, 2009
Source: Rural Climate Network
Abstracts and conference registrations are invited for the PHAA conference, Food Futures: An Australian Approach, 20-21 April 2010 in Canberra.
Concerns about the relationship between food and the food system, nutrition, and population health are part of the motivation for the Public Health Association of Australia (PHAA) to facilitate a national conference seeking an overarching approach to food policy that looks well into the future. Although health may be the driver for the PHAA, any such national policy or approach must also take into account issues such as agriculture, scientific research, production and manufacture, environment, retail and community concerns, to appropriately encompass all aspects of food.
Abstract submission closes October 5
Reduce bottle waste: Water fountains in Manly
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 27th, 2009
Source: InDesign Live
The Bottled Water Alliance, with Do Something! and filtered water supplier Culligan Water, aims to reduce the waste created by the bottled water industry by bringing fresh filtered water to the streets.
The program involves installing fountains and taps to provide water to the residents and visitors to Manly, Sydney. This in turn should encourage people to buy less bottled water – the plastic from which generally ends up in landfill or as litter after a single use.
Walk Score: Walkable Cities Calculator
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 22nd, 2009
Source: Going Solar Transport Newsletter
Walk Score in the US helps “you find a walkable place to live by calculating a Walk Score for any address.” …
The cities at the top of the Walk Score rankings have density, mixed use, transit, short blocks—and almost everything else on the walkability checklist. Most importantly, these cities have lots of destinations near each address, which is the strongest indicator of whether people walk.
The top three cities are: #1 San Francisco, #2 New York, #3 Boston. At the bottom of the list are: #38 Charlotte; #39 Nashville & #40 Jacksonville where “It’s difficult to get by without a car (or even walk to a nearby restaurant) in these sprawling cities. More time in the car means more money at the pump, less exercise, and more pollution.
Australian PM’s Blog on Climate Change
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 20th, 2009
Source: Climate Action Calendar
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has established a BLOG and the first focus is Climate Change!
The current focus is only open until Wednesday 22 July 2009.
High-density, human-scale: new approaches to apartment design
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 17th, 2009
Source: Cathelijne Nuijsink, Metropolis Magazine
Kazuyo Sejima’s latest project, an apartment building in Yokohama, Japan, is an intricate composition of curves and voids that delicately balances privacy and community.
Completed last year for her independent firm, Kazuyo Sejima & Associates, the design refutes the Japanese practice of packing residences within inches of one another and cutting off all but windowless interiors from the world around them. “Architects may think about how to have a good relation with the surroundings but just in terms of one building volume,” Sejima says. “I want to bring character to each of the individual apartments.”
NZ Council: Pro-Greywater
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on July 15th, 2009
Source: Watersmart
The Kapiti Coast District Council has become the first New Zealand local government body to regulate for the use of greywater to solve a serious water shortage.
The Kapiti district is about an hour’s drive from the national capital, Wellington and has around 46,000 ratepayers. However this number is predicted to grow by more than 50 percent in the next 40 years, further straining the district’s limited water supply. Read the rest of this entry »
Sustainable Cities for the Future
Posted in Events by Kate Archdeacon on July 9th, 2009
Image: amirjina via Flickr
Graduate Research Conference: Sustainable Cities for the Future
Globally, economies are facing challenges to future sustainability and are investing in strategies to mitigate, and adapt to, the potential of new climatic realities. People are increasingly moving into urban areas, placing stress on transport and other basic infrastructure. Australia provides an excellent ‘laboratory’ to review the future sustainability of cities, with climate scientists suggesting it will be one of the first countries to be impacted by climate change. Read the rest of this entry »
WaterLife: A Film About Fresh Water on Earth
Posted in Movements by Kate Archdeacon on July 7th, 2009
Source: Environmental Anthropology list
WATERLIFE follows the epic cascade of the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean. From the icy cliffs of Lake Superior to the ornate fountains of Chicago to the sewers of Windsor, this feature-length documentary tells the story of the last huge supply (20 per cent) of fresh water on Earth.
“Know the Number” Campaign & Carbon Counter
Posted in Models by Kate Archdeacon on July 2nd, 2009
Source: GreenRazor, the GreenPages Newsletter #89
Image: Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors
The Carbon Counter and “Know the Number” campaign is part of a groundbreaking climate change awareness and education initiative sponsored by Deutsche Bank Climate Change Advisors group with scientific data supplied from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and include all long-lived greenhouse gases covered under the Kyoto and Montreal Protocols (24 gases excluding ozone and aerosols). The Counter, which stands over 21 meters (two stories) serves as a blatant reminder of our continuing damage to the atmosphere.