Archive for the ‘Research’ Category
Research refers to reports by organisations or research by academic institutions relating to urban sustainability issues. If you have research that relates to urban sustainability issues and could benefit people and organisations that are relevant to cities around the world, please post this information on SustainableCitiesNet.com. To do so visit the “How to use this site†page and follow the prompts.
Life Cycle Thinking: Key Issues and Indispensable Tools
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?
Tags: design, enabling technologies, LCA
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Don’t Forget The Green Bag: Rewards-Tagged Eco-Bags
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.
Tags: behaviour change, consumption, enabling technologies
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Tourism 2023 – creating a sustainable tourism industry
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on February 15th, 2010
Source: Forum for the Future via Food Climate Research Network
The Tourism 2023 project sets out to help the UK outbound travel and tourism industry understand the challenges it faces and plan for a sustainable future.
Climate change, population growth, shortages of oil and other resources will have dramatic impacts on how, where, when – and even if – people travel, and will reshape the industry over time.
We explored how factors like these could lead to very different worlds in 2023, each holding very different futures for the industry. We worked with tourism experts to create four vivid scenarios, and then generate a vision of the sustainable future the industry wants for itself.
Major companies and organisations have now pledged to collaborate to create a commercially sustainable tourism industry by the year 2023 which benefits communities in tourist destinations and protects the environment.
ABTA, Advantage Travel Centres, British Airways, Carnival UK, Sunvil, The Co-operative Travel, The Travel Foundation, Thomas Cook and TUI Travel were the first to sign the Tourism 2023 Vision. The founding partners are inviting other organisations to sign up to this vision and take part in the next phase of work, which will help shape the future of tourism.
The scenarios, vision and a strategy to implement the commitments were launched at the ABTA Travel Convention in Barcelona on October 8th, 2009. More than 100 people with expertise in different facets of the industry – including business leaders, academics, legislators, campaigners and commentators – have been involved in creating them.
Download the report.
Tourism 2023 is coordinated by Forum for the Future and supported by Defra.
Tags: design, strategy, sustainability, travel
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How low can we go? Greenhouse Gas Reduction in the UK Food System
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on February 12th, 2010
Source: Food Climate Research Network
…the important point is that we are highly likely to need both technological and behavioural change to achieve reductions of this magnitude – and help avoid dangerous climate change.
From the report: How low can we go? An assessment of greenhouse gas emissions from the UK food system and the scope for reduction by 2050.
When it comes to environmental impacts, the usual suspects have been mobility (the way we get around) and energy (the way we heat and light our buildings). However, there’s an equally significant actor in the creation of greenhouse gases: food. Some 20% of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions can be attributed to what we put on our plates.
The UK has its own legally-binding targets to reduce production emissions by 80% by 2050 under the Climate Change Act. In order to make a proportional contribution to these reductions, and taking into account the fact that we need to continue to eat, WWF-UK and the Food Climate Research Network (FCRN) suggest food-related emissions need to be cut by 70% by 2050. Achieving this is highly likely to require significant changes throughout the UK food system – from production and processing to cooking, the kinds of food we eat and what and how much we throw away.
The aim of this study was thus to determine the feasibility of a 70% cut, where in the food chain cuts could be made, and by how much. In addition, the work estimated the emissions arising from direct and indirect land use change attributable to UK food consumption. This was done by calculating how much land, including forest, is converted annually to agriculture and the CO2 emissions that arise from this process, and attributing an appropriate amount of these emissions to UK food consumption.
As such, this study provides the most accurate inventory of greenhouse gases attributable to UK food consumption to date: the results were striking – and disturbing. As stated above, direct emissions from the UK food chain are estimated to be about 20% of the UK’s total consumption emissions. However, according the method and assumptions used in the study, including the emissions attributable to direct and indirect land use change lifts the proportion of UK consumption emissions attributable to food from 20% to 30% of all UK emissions – or from 152MtCO2 to 253MtCO2. Reducing emissions from food will thus be key to tackling climate change.
This study investigated a range of approaches to making the cuts, constructing three broad thematic scenarios:
The first was an energy-based scenario in which the focus was on (a) the decarbonisation of non-mobile processes, such as food processing, cooking and refrigeration and (b) the decarbonisation of energy used in transport. The result? Cuts of some 57% by 2050. Not enough.
The second was an emissions-led scenario which centred on (a) reductions in direct GHG emissions, such as methane from cows and sheep and nitrous oxide from fertilisers and (b) improved production efficiency, including increased crop yields and improved livestock genetics. The result? Cuts of some 55% by 2050. Again: not enough.
The final scenario considered (a) conservation, through waste avoidance and using wasted food to generate energy and (b) changes to consumption patterns in the UK. The result? Cuts of some 60%. Getting there, but still not enough.
Visit the website for the abstract or full report.
Tags: consumption, Food, greenhouse gases, report, waste
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“Fair Miles”: rethinking food miles
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 21st, 2010
Source: Food Climate Research Network
“Fair Miles: Recharting the food miles map“ by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) & Oxfam warns that Western concern over climate change can do more harm than good if it cuts demand for food produced in developing nations. The authors say locally produced food can actually cause greater emissions of greenhouse gases, and that consumers can harm the livelihoods of poor farmers in developing nations if they stop buying their produce.
“Climate change will hit poorer rural people in developing nations first, fastest and hardest,” says James MacGregor of IIED. “High-value trade with such nations is critical to build rural economies that are resilient to climate change. The trade in fresh produce is one part of a global solution to this challenge…When consumers focus on ‘food miles’ they are ignoring the other social and environmental issues embedded in their shopping decisions…More than one million livelihoods in rural Africa are supported in part by UK consumption of imported fresh produce. We urge consumers to avoid knee-jerk reactions and think instead of ‘fair miles’ and recognise that there are also social and ethical aspects to choices about where food comes from.”
The researchers are not saying locally grown food is a poor choice. “Eating local food when it is in season is a critical element of a balanced diet, and is complementary to eating development-friendly foods out-of-season,” says MacGregor. The book argues that as farmers in developing nations contribute so little to climate change, they shouldn’t be penalised because we emit more in the West. It says consumers serious about changing their behaviour in order to reduce their greenhouse-gas emissions should be cycling or walking to their supermarket.
Tags: behaviour change, education, food miles, Research
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Transforming Cultures: State Of The World Report 2010
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 14th, 2010
Source: Eanth-L, e-list for the field of ecological/environmental anthropology.
Like a tsunami, consumerism has engulfed human cultures and Earth’s ecosystems. This cultural system encourages people to define their happiness and success through how much they consume. But on a finite planet, this system is maladaptive and threatens to cause significant disruptions to Earth’s climate and ecosystems, and subsequently to human civilization. If, on the other hand, we channel this wave, intentionally transforming our cultures to center on sustainability, we will not only prevent catastrophe, but may usher in an era of sustainability—one that allows all people to thrive while protecting, even restoring, Earth.
Worldwatch Institute’s Transforming Cultures project turns a critical eye to how we can shift today’s consumer cultures into cultures of sustainability. The key to this transformation will lie in harnessing institutions that play a central role in shaping society–such as the media, educational services, business, governments, traditions, and social movements–to instill this new cultural orientation.
In State of the World 2010, sixty renowned researchers and practitioners describe how we can harness the world’s leading institutions—education, the media, business, governments, traditions, and social movements—to reorient cultures toward sustainability.
The report, scheduled for release in January 2010, will include articles from 60 eminent researchers and experts on consumerism, sustainability, and cultural change. It will provide information on how we can make the needed shift to a culture of sustainability and illustrate how people around the world are already taking important steps.
Tags: behaviour change, consumption, new systems/services
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Reactive Glass: Pollutant ‘Sponge’ for Site Remediation
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 12th, 2010
Source: CleanTechnica via CleanEdge
Image: diego cupolo via flickr CC
From ““Swelling Glass” Cleans Polluted Water Like a Sponge“, by Tina Casey
This is the discovery that could put the College of Wooster on the map: glass that swells like a sponge. Put together like a nano-matrix, the new glass can unfold to hold up to eight times its weight. The glass binds with gasoline and other pollutants containing volatile organic compounds but it does not bind with water, so it acts like a “smart” sponge, capable of picking and choosing from contaminated groundwater.
The new material was developed by Dr. Paul Edmiston of the College of Wooster, who formed a new company, Absorbent Materials, to market the new glass under the trademark Obsorb. A number of pilot sites are being tested in the United States, and industrialized countries are not the only ones that stand to gain. Obsorb’s unique properties make it ideal for low tech, low-budget cleanups in developing areas as well.
Obsorb is a reactive glass. Unlike conventional glass, it can bond with the chemicals it encounters. However, it is also hydrophobic, meaning that it does not bond with water. At a recent pilot demonstration in Ohio, Obsorb was used in the form of a white powder to suck up a plume of TCE (a volatile organic compound). TCE is particularly difficult and expensive to clean up using conventional means, which is the reason why some contaminated sites are simply shut down, allowing the vapors to dissipate naturally. The process takes decades, so Obsorb could provide a low-cost means of recovering sites more quickly. The venture development group JumpStart Inc. saw the potential and has just committed a $250,000 investment to Absorbent Materials.
Once full, Obsorb floats to the surface, where it can be skimmed off with something as simple as a coffee filter. After that the pollutants can be retrieved and the glass can be reused hundreds of time. Nanoparticles of iron can also be added to convert TCE or PCE (another volatile organic compound) into harmless substances. As a low cost form of cleanup, swelling glass could provide site remediators with yet another in the growing list of non-conventional cleanup tools along with lactate, vitamin B-12, and even cattails.
From ““Swelling Glass” Cleans Polluted Water Like a Sponge“, by Tina Casey
Tags: enabling technologies, remediation, Water
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Motivating sustainable energy consumption in the home: Research Paper
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 11th, 2010
Source: Experientia, from “Design for Sustainable Behaviour (part 2)”
Image: gilgongo vial flickr CC
Abstract: Technologies are just now being developed that encourage sustainable energy usage in the home. One approach is to give home residents feedback of their energy consumption, typically presented using a computer visualization. The expectation is that this feedback will motivate home residents to change their energy behaviors in positive ways. Yet little attention has been paid to what exactly motivates such behavioral change. This paper provides a brief overview of theories in psychology and social psychology on what does, and does not motivate sustainable energy action in the home.
“Motivating sustainable energy consumption in the home”, Helen Ai He and Saul Greenberg, Dept. of Computer Science, University of Calgary
Tags: behaviour change, consumption, enabling technologies, energy
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Residential Design & the Benefits of Plants: Online Resource
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on January 6th, 2010
Source: Sustainable Cities Collective, from “Sustainable Residential Design: Maximizing the Benefits of Plants”
The American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) has created an online resource guide on maximising the benefits of plants through sustainable residential landscape architecture. The guide contains lists of organisations, research, concepts and projects related to plants and sustainable landscape architecture, and includes sections on: native [U.S.] plants, residential agriculture, residential wildlife habitat, indoor plants and residential composting. Developed for students and professionals, the resource guide contains recent reports and projects from leading U.S. and international organisations, academics, and design firms.
This sustainable residential design resource guide is the third in a new four-part series. See earlier guides in the sustainable residential design series: increasing energy efficiency and improving water efficiency. One last future guide in this series will focus on how sustainable residential landscape architecture can incorporate innovative, recycled (and recyclable) materials.
The guide is separated into five sections:
* Native Plants
* Residential Agriculture
* Residential Wildlife Habitat
* Indoor Plants
* Residential Composting
As an example, the section on “native plants” includes models for reintroducing native plants into residential landscapes, as well as plant databases and government and non-profit organization native plant conservation efforts. There are also links to projects that have successfully incorporated these concepts in a residential context.
Go to the Resource Guide to see the full range available.
Tags: landscape architecture, Resource, urban agriculture
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Climate change Guide: how to win hearts and minds
Posted in Research by Kate Archdeacon on December 8th, 2009
Source: Environmental Research Web
From “Climate change: how to win hearts and minds“, by Liz Kalaugher
Despite the fact that in 2007 the scientists compiling the IPCC report were 90% certain that human activities are causing climate change, climate scepticism amongst the public is on the rise. In the US there has been a sharp decline over the last year in the percentage of the population who say there is solid evidence that global temperatures are rising, while in the UK the number of people believing that claims about the effects of climate change have been exaggerated rose from 15% to 29% between 2003 and 2008.
So how can a climate scientist best communicate their work to a sceptical audience?
With that in mind, the Center for Research on Environmental Decisions (CRED) at Columbia University has issued a guide on the psychology of climate change communication that brings together the latest social science research in the field. Although it’s a serious topic, the guide is easy to read and contains many a cartoon and case study to illustrate its points. “Gaining public support for climate change policies and encouraging environmentally responsible behaviour depends on a clear understanding of how people process information and make decisions,” says the report. “Social science research provides an essential part of this puzzle but there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to the challenges of communicating about climate change. Rather, each of the many barriers presents a new opportunity to improve the way we present information.”
Tags: climate change, communication, community
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