Clipmarks | urbanlife's 'environment' clips

Our Trash Circles the Globe: Combating E-Waste in India

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 18:22:44 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: The fruits of our high-tech revolution are pure poison if these products are improperly disposed of at the end of their useful life.

The electronics industry is on the brink of a paradigm shift with respect to cost avoidance v/s risk avoidance.

Firms such as Eco-Reco are taking advantage of a booming but hazardous industry, where e-waste is usually dismantled by workers with little protection in recycling plants that have even fewer safety and environmental contamination guidelines.

In Mumbai, Eco-Reco will pick up your e-waste and at their plant, the e-waste then goes through a shredder on a conveyor belt, and the components are separated by a metal extractor. Workers then break up the plastic from the metal by hand. The entire system is based on the principles of clean environment and zero landfill.

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

Clip Source: www.wired.com

what happens to those old computers once they've been abandoned for newer models?

discarded electronics products, also known as e-waste

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

Half a million tons of e-waste is generated annually in India and is a serious threat to people’s health and the environment.

E-waste in India is dismantled and recycled manually in a hazardous, unorganized and unsafe manner.

In India, the e-waste generated from computers, mobiles and other electronic gadgets is usually burned by poorly-protected workers in perilous conditions

This releases harmful toxins like mercury and lead into the atmosphere as serious occupational hazards and threats to the environment.

Clip Source: www.treehugger.com

People are used to giving stuff to the kabadiwalas (scrap dealers) and getting money for it.

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

a new service launched in Mumbai could soon change the face of e-waste recycling and disposal in India.

Clip Source: www.treehugger.com

the privately owned and operated Eco Reco

boasting its very own professional e-waste pick-up service

goes door-to-door to pick up discarded electronics

Clip Source: www.greenpeace.org

Clip Source: www.ecoreco.com

Tags: india, e-waste, environment, eco-friendly, hazard, poison

Urban Gardener Thinks Higher: A Rooftop Garden for Room to Grow

Tue, 06 May 2008 14:53:35 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Why should you consider a rooftop garden?

* Increase access to private outdoor green space within the urban environment
* Support urban food production
* Promote individual, community, and cultural diversity
* Improve air quality and reduce CO2 missions
* Delay stormwater runoff
* Increase habitat for birds
* Insulate buildings
* Increase the value of buildings for owners and tenants alike
* Create job opportunities in the field of research, design, construction, Iandscaping, gardening, health, and food production

Clip Source: www.thegrowspot.com

Clip Source: usahomeandgarden.com

Clip Source: adaptivereuse.net

Clip Source: www.greenroofs.com

Clip Source: www.iht.com

Clip Source: www.marigreen.cz

Clip Source: www.margueritegardens.com

Clip Source: environmentkrishna.blogspot.com

Tags: roof, green, environment, heat island, farm, community garden

2030 Face It: Reverberate “No Coal” Body Paint Design Winners

Thu, 03 Apr 2008 14:27:23 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Students were told to spread the word about the negative impacts of coal on our natural ecosystems and its role on greenhouse gas emissions. Face Color Winner: Emily Bibler, Iowa State University. Face B+W Winner and Metropolis Ad Winner: Jackie Fabella, Cal Poly Pomona. Body Winner: Miles Courtney, Pratt Institute.

The Reverberate competition brought together students from a range disciplines to take direct action on the topic of climate change. 4,500 attendees participated in a variety of activities relating to global climate change - ranging from architecture to agriculture; from politics to poetics; from green jobs to green food.

Through their involvement, they put their ideals into action. As future environmental stewards, these students have every right to ask: why are we all not doing the same?

Clip Source: www.metropolismag.com

Clip Source: www.architecture2030.org

Clip Source: www.metropolismag.com

the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo campus

the “Reverberate” competition

part of Architecture 2030’s Face It events

The competition, aimed at universities around the country

charged students to broadcast the message about the negative impacts of coal on our natural ecosystems and its role on greenhouse gas emissions

students produced face and body paint designs that conveyed the “no coal” message as directed by the competition

At Cal Poly, students and faculty wandered around campus, into classes and faculty gatherings with painted faces that ranged from stark “NO COAL” scrawls to artfully illustrated American flags urging students to cast their votes with the environment in mind

“The entries varied in meaning: some depicting strong political messages about health and environmental impacts, while others took a positive approach by displaying a set of alternatives to coal.”

Through their participation

students have come to recognize that their work can affect the awareness of those around them

Clip Source: www.architecture2030.org

Tags: body paint, no coal, ecosystem, future, environment, steward, college

Island Wood: City Kids First Visit with Nature & Environmentalism

Fri, 22 Feb 2008 18:16:39 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: An environmental learning center—nestled into a rustic 250-acre nature preserve—plays a dual role as symbol and teaching tool. "We envision a future in which all people view themselves as lifelong learners, and share an extraordinary bond of stewardship for the environment, for their communities and for each other." Raising of environmental consciousness, one child at a time.

“The center is primarily for inner-city kids who don’t have an opportunity to connect with the natural world. And when kids are uncomfortable, they’re not open to learning. So we wanted them to be as comfortable here as possible.”

The mission of IslandWood is to provide exceptional learning experiences and to inspire lifelong environmental and community stewardship.

Clip Source: www.metropolismag.com

Clip Source: www.islandwood.org

Clip Source: www.metropolismag.com

Island Wood, a six-acre environmental learning-center campus built carefully, almost apologetically, into a 255-acre nature preserve on Bainbridge Island, Washington

to demonstrate architectural environmentalism and to elicit kids’ questions and interest

to address two apparently unrelated problems: environmental degradation and shortfalls in inner-city education

now covered with second-growth forest, and features—among other natural wonders—a pond, a bog, a marsh, an estuary, a deep ravine, and a harbor

brings in children and teachers from inner-city schools and hosts them for the better part of a week, giving them intense, hands-on outdoor science education and indoor exposure to “green” architecture

Washington State’s first LEED Gold project

everything from photovoltaic roof panels to a rainwater-capture apparatus and a greenhouse, called the Living Machine, packed with plants that filter Island Wood’s gray water for reuse

We don’t preach

we just make it obvious so they’ll ask questions

Tags: environment education, green design, sustainable, forest friendly, children hold our future

No Smoging in Paris: Building That Eats Smog & Cleans Air

Tue, 29 Jan 2008 16:56:17 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: To absorb and recycle smog from the intense traffic near Paris in an "Innovation Center for Sustainable Development."

Clip Source: vincent.callebaut.org

Clip Source: www.inhabitat.com

Callebaut’s ‘Anti Smog: An Innovation Centre in Sustainable Development’ is a catalyst for cleaner air.

project balances public galleries, meeting rooms and gathering spaces over canals and abandoned railroad tracks in the 19th Parisian district

the process as an intention to “absorb and recycle by photo-catalytic effect the cloud of harmful gases (Smog) from the intense traffic near Paris.”

Under the smog eating exterior, the building houses public spaces with a central courtyard and natural lagoon, a place Callebaut envisions for teaching opportunities about urban ecology and renewable energy

also harvests rainwater from green space on the roof for use inside the building.

The “Wind Tower”

Vertical Axis Wind Turbines (VAWT) to capture the prevailing urban winds

Ramps lead visitors through museum space and out to a rooftop garden with views across Paris.

an innovative urban space that is engaging, powered by renewable energy and has a positive impact on the surrounding urban environment.

Clip Source: vincent.callebaut.org

Tags: smog, sustainable, clean air, architecture, paris, no smoging

Are You Being Greenwashed?

Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:56:49 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: Watch Out for the 6 Sins of Greenwashing

Clip Source: www.npr.org

environmental marketing firm TerraChoice

found 1,018 products that made environmental claims, ranging from toothpaste to office paper

all but one were committing what we're now calling one of the Six Sins of Greenwashing,"

'The Six Sins of Greenwashing'

1. The Sin of the Hidden Tradeoff

suggesting a product is "green" based on a single environmental attribute

2. The Sin of No Proof.

claim that cannot be substantiated by easily accessible supporting information

3. The Sin of Vagueness

claim that is so poorly defined or broad that its real meaning is likely to be misunderstood

4. The Sin of Irrelevance

claim that may be truthful but is unimportant and unhelpful

5. The Sin of Lesser of Two Evils.

risk distracting the consumer from the greater environmental impacts

6. The Sin of Fibbing

claims that are simply false

Independent third-party labels such as EcoLogo and Green Seal are an easy way to tell whether a product is truly environmentally friendly

Tags: green, greenwashed, claim, false, sin, environment, products

Can the Earth Survive Urbanization?

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 16:39:38 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife

Clip Source: www.ens-newswire.com

Rapid and chaotic urbanization is taking a massive toll on human health and the environment

How the world tackles the social and environmental challenges of urbanization,

will determine the future of humanity and the fate of the planet

The global shift from rural to urban is the defining trend of our time

"The international community has been too slow in recognizing the growth of urban poverty,"

many cities are "environmentally unsustainable" and "rapidly becoming socially unsustainable."

environmental problems facing cities are profound, including energy and food production, air pollution, transportation and waste disposal.

those challenges are providing fertile ground for new sustainable solutions

"Cities are great centers of innovation and that is even more true today than it has been in the past,"

Cities are also increasingly realizing that they are on the front lines of climate change

and that could provide momentum for a global cooperation on the daunting issue.

Tags: urban, environment, future, sustainable

Fort Collins: Energy Needs Vs. Nuclear Worries

Mon, 19 Nov 2007 16:12:55 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife
clipper's remarks: A uranium mine proposed for the plains 10 miles outside Fort Collins, Colo., would drill down through part of an aquifer.

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — This city takes pride in being green, from its official motto, “Where renewal is a way of life,”

But now two proposed energy projects

are likely to confront in years to come as the tangled nuances of thinking globally come back to bite

Both projects

produce zero-carbon energy

one involves crowd-pleasing, feel-good solar power, and the other is a uranium min

The solar project, called AVA Solar

make panels for electricity generation, and will use cadmium — a hazardous metal linked to cancer

the proposed uranium mine, Powertech Uranium, would like to drill down through part of an aquifer about 10 miles northeast of town

Local environmentalists

are caught in the middle

local and global simply do not mean what they once did

There’s always been this weighing of our individual desires against the greater good, but now we’re becoming much more attuned to a global responsibility

What green energy even means these days is probably the next question to ask.

Tags: green, nuclear, energy, colorado, planning, environment

Connecting Artists and Spaces

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:29:02 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife

Clip Source: www.artistlink.org

ArtistLink is a new collaborative effort to create a stable yet dynamic environment for Massachusetts artists.

Through partnerships with other organizations in New England and across the country, ArtistLink shares best practices and participates in the development and execution of new models of artist assistance.

The effort is part of a national ten-year campaign spearheaded by LINC (Leveraging Investments in Creativity) to improve conditions for artists in all disciplines by addressing artist needs for space, health insurance, financial support, and business planning.

LINC’s agenda is four-fold: 1) increase direct support for artists' work; 2) improve necessary life supports in areas such as live/work space, insurance and financial services; 3) enhance artists’ networks and the policy environment that support artists; and 4) explore the impact of artists on communities and community redevelopment.

Tags: artist, culture, neighborhood, home, economic, city

The Sustainable Rebuilding of New Orleans & the Gulf Coast

Fri, 16 Nov 2007 17:18:28 GMT

clipped by: urbanlife

Clip Source: www.globalgreen.org

New Orleans is poised to begin rebuilding in earnest and it is crucial that this nascent effort be aided by qualified green building experts including Global Green USA, the American affiliate of Green Cross International.

The hurricanes and the devastation left in their wake have served as a wake-up call to the region, the nation and the world. The citizens and policymakers are beginning to realize that the rebuilding efforts must include sensitivity to the environment. They are also recognizing it is an opportunity to do things differently, creating a new future based on green building and clean technologies.

The opportunity to rebuild New Orleans as an international example of sustainability comes in the aftermath of what is increasingly being recognized as the tipping point for global awareness of climate change and its potentially devastating impacts. On this front, New Orleans is and will remain an international focal point.

Tags: new orleans, green building, sustainable