EarthNews
Sep 3rd, 2010
Posts Tagged ‘sustainable communities’
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Welcome to Part 10 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-10!)
Broad Pavilion
The key highlights of the Broad Pavilion, as introduced in Shanghai Expo Part 4, was the interactive Energy Conservation Technology Hall.
BROAD Pavilion Carbon Footprint
The Broad Pavilion Carbon Footprint (as seen in the picture above) was divided into Construction, Trash and Operation. If green building techniques are used, you can save a significant amount of CO2, which translates into cost saving.
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Welcome to Part 9 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-9+!)
Inside Urban Planet Pavilion
On the second day, I was the most surprised when I entered the Urban Planet Pavilion. We were strolling around the Theme Pavilion and since there was no line at this pavilion we decided to just walk inside of course not knowing what to expect. I immediately felt like I was on a new planet that showed us how much destruction we have caused on Planet Earth.
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EarthNews
Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo Part 8 – Alsace Case Green Building Techniques
Aug 29th, 2010
Welcome to Part 8 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-8+!)
Alsace Case Shanghai Expo
The Alsace Case has a wonderful green wall (made out of plants) and a window waterfall, as I like to call it. The Alsace Case pavilion recreated the solar wall prototype of the Bouxwiller High School. A great example of how to use solar energy to control interior temperature. (more…)
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EarthNews
Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo Part 7 – European Green Capital 2011
Aug 28th, 2010
Welcome to Part 7 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-7+!)
Hamburg (picture from http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?p=55793921)
Hamburg, Germany was awarded the European Greenest Capital for 2011. This is partially due to the HafenCity discussed in Part 5 of the Shanghai Expo tour. Hamburg has made use of innovative approaches for environmentally sustainable development of urban spaces. Hamburg has reached a 25 % reduction of CO2 emissions, aiming at a 40% reduction by 2020 and even an 80% reduction by 2050. The public transportation system is world class offering public transportation within 300 meters to 99% of its residents. (more…)
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EarthNews
Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo Part 6 – Hamburg House, Another Passive House Example
Aug 26th, 2010
Welcome to Part 6 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-6+!)
My favorite area was the Urban City Planning area where they showcased urban planning from various cities.
Hamburg House_Home of Hidden Energies
I was excited to enter the Hamburg House, the home of the hidden energies. It was another beautiful example of a passive house just like my recent article Japan’s First Certified Passive House. The Hamburg House uses about 10% energy compared to a typical building. The room temperature of this house can be kept at about 25 degrees celsius all year round without air conditioning and heating. The largest part of the heat requirement comes from the passive sources of heat such as the people inside the building, the appliances and sunlight. (more…)
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EarthNews
Aug 17th, 2010
Welcome to Part 5 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-5+!)
HafenCity in Hamburg, is a very extensive development of a sustainable district near the Elbe River. However, HafenCity will not be completed for another 10 to 15 years. This new district will increase the size of Hamburg’s city center by 40%. Not only is money being spend on the buildings but there will be plenty of quality designed public spaces. (more…)
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Welcome to Part 4 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-4+!)
On the third day at the Shanghai Expo, I was back on the Puxi side. I had hoped that the lines to the pavilions I wanted to see on the previous days would be shorter on a weekday.
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Welcome to Part 3 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-3+!)
On the second day at the Shanghai Expo we started on the Pudong Side of the Huangpu River. We entered the Expo through the Expo Axis, the main entrance. I must say it was quite impressive. (more…)
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Scattered among the farms, vegetable stands, and sidewalk gardens in our part of Tokyo there are, thankfully, a lovely handful of community gardens where locavores can find the most local vegetables of all – their own. Absolutely bursting with fruits, vegetables, and herbs, these gardens bustle with activity throughout the year.
Last year we noticed a farm literally just steps south of the train tracks had been divided in half. (The photo above of a passing train was taken about three-quarters of the way down the center path.) Fearing the worst (another high rise or series of pre-fab homes) we waited with baited breath. Much to our pleasure, this fantastic community garden was born!
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Welcome to Part 2 of our ongoing Shanghai “Better City-Better Life” Expo tour! (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1-2+!)
After arriving on the Pudong side with the Ferry, we mostly covered the European Pavilions for the rest of the day. The Pudong Side consists of Zone C, Zone B and Zone A. The European Pavilions are part of Zone C. (more…)
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I recently had the opportunity to attend the Shanghai World Expo 2010. In the history of the World Expos, the Shanghai Expo is the largest Expo covering 5.28 square kilometers as well as the most expensive one so far. In 2008 the Expo was in Zaragoza, Spain and the next one will be in Yeosu, Korea in 2012. (Check out the whole Shanghai World Expo series, Parts 1+!)
I started out on the Puxi Side of the Huangpu River. This side consists of the Urban Planning Best Practices area, Zone E and Zone D. As my interests lie in green buildings and sustainable urban planning I spend most of my time in the Urban Planning area. (more…)
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Portraits of Hafus by Natalie Willer, Hafu Project photographer, projected during the Hafu film event and fundraiser. Event photo by, Nooshin Navidi
Japan, like many parts of the world, is changing in the sense that people can move globally and connect at a pace like never before. A community of people with diverse, mixed Japanese backgrounds hope to discover and perhaps redefine what Japanese identity means. (more…)
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SustainableCommunity
LEED versus CASBEE: A Comparison Between Two Green Building Certification Systems
Jul 1st, 2010
LEED Platinum California Academy of Science
As one of the pillars of a sustainable society, Green Buildings continue to gain widespread attention both in Japan — with projects such as Japan’s First Certified Passive House and Roof Gardens: A Smart Solution for Japan’s Dense Neighborhoods, the news that the Marunouchi building is to run on 100% ‘raw’ green electricity and ongoing research into how Green Biomass Dampers Atop Buildings Mitigate Earthquake Risk – and abroad — with projects such as The First Smart Upcycled Green Home In Malaysia — so it is no surprise that Green Building certification is starting to grab headlines. There are a bevy of green building guidelines around the world and this article by Fenja Blobel takes a closer look at the differences and similarities between USA’s LEED system and Japan’s homegrown CASBEE system.
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Tucked on a wooded hillside in Nakadaki Art Village, the greenz forest house made a great setting to mix and mingle while savoring the late spring day. Nearly fifty entrepreneurs, farmers, artists, writers, and builders came together for a day of good food, conversation, and exploration. One of greenz latest ventures, the forest house is a conscious step towards gaining first-hand experience in cooperatively building a sustainable green future.
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Japan's First Passive House by Key Architects ~ Photo provided by Passive House Japan website
You may all wonder what exactly is a passive house? Passivhaus became a standard in Germany in 1990 and it has followed all over Europe. It is said to be the most environmentally friendly way to build houses even over the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) standard.
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Photo by Stuck in Customs. Creative Commons. Some Rights Reserved.
From the World’s First Solar Powered Spacecraft to a Solar Embassy in South Africa, Solar Vending Machines to Small but Smart, Solar Microbots, Asia’s largest photovoltaic and solar cell exhibition and solar powered eneloop lanterns bringing light to the children of Uganda, Japan is clearly a world leader when it comes to solar technology. Unfortunately uptake is not as advanced as you might believe.
While solar energy is being touted as the key to a sustainable society, getting people to install panels on their own homes has been an uphill battle. Government subsidies, and purchasing excess power at increased rates has done little to help realize the potential of private solar power production. Could one of the hurdles to success be the bland blue panels themselves?
No-one wants to spend thousands installing a device that’s going to destroy their carefully chosen paint scheme. However more people may consider installing them if they could choose a color to match their house. Here are some ideas for colorful panels that can be arranged for lively effects.
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I adore compost. It’s my personal cure-all for whatever ails in my garden. The bucket on the counter turns into all that my plants need to grow well to feed my household. Vegetable and fruit castoffs goto the bucket to the compost bin and then to the garden. Tea bags, yard waste, garden leavings, and kitchen scraps (minus any meat, dairy or fish, of course!) all go in and come out as plant-scrumptious humus. (The kind eaten indirectly rather than the other garlic-laden delight.) Mottainai, at its best! (more…)
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Hard to believe this paradise home is made out of shipping containers!
GREEN BUILDINGS are a hot topic. It’s no wonder with all of the major issues facing humanity and our communities such as climate change, the urban heat island effect, waste disposal and water. Previously on greenz, we’ve talked about how Roof Gardens are a Smart Solution for Japan’s Dense Neighborhoods, and Green Biomass Dampers Atop Buildings Mitigate Earthquake Risk, not to mention the fact that the Shin-Marunouchi building is now running on 100% ‘raw’ green electricity. In this article by Ken Kwok of Anand Bungalows, we hear about a smart, green home and resort built from recycled shipping containers. (more…) -
Scale model of the terrace house under construction (Photo courtesy of Takahiro Yamada)
‘Nagaya’, or terrace houses have been common in Japan since the Edo period. The word conjures an image of long wooden buildings in a cramped downtown neighborhood. This image is about to get a makeover through a project in the Fujino countryside, an hour from downtown Shinjuku. Let’s take a look at how the benefits of terrace houses, along with local materials and traditional green practices are coming together in this unique green project. (more…)
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The "Enola" yellow bean variety that has been at the centre of a decade-long biopiracy case. Photo: Neil Palmer (CIAT). Creative Commons License. Please credit accordingly.
In a world’s first, a patent used for a popular cough medicine that had been granted for a South African plant was revoked. According to the African Centre for Biosafety (ACB), this is the first case where a patent has been successfully challenged by Africans.
Although you may never have heard of it, Biopiracy may be coming to your shores sometime soon. With the United Nations COP10 conference on biodiversity in Nagoya coming up in October this year, now is a good time to familiarize yourself with this increasingly heated topic of debate. (more…)
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