Green light: How cities in the world are becoming greener
According to the UN for 2014, 54% of all people on the planet live in cities, and the world is on the path of further urbanization. Cities, in addition to economic opportunities, give access to basic things that each of us needs: housing, clean water, electricity, sewage. Providing such benefits in a limited area is cheaper and more environmentally friendly.
Megapolises are now facing a real challenge: can they cope with road collapses, reduce the emission of harmful substances into the atmosphere, provide housing and access to infrastructure for everyone? Urbo-ecologists together with futurologists come up with the concept of eco-cities, where carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere will be minimal, energy will be taken only from renewable sources, and stone jungles will be harmoniously combined with the ecosystem. While projects are being developed, some modern settlements are already trying to get closer to the dream. We talk about several initiatives that help make cities more environmentally friendly.
City gardens
The time has come when the city is tired of himself. Fruits and vegetables from supermarkets are no longer pleasing, parents want to share with the younger generation knowledge about where cabbage comes from, residents of big cities get tired of stressful work and want to be closer to nature. So, agriculture is loved more and more, and urban vegetable gardens are gaining popularity.
In 2009, Marco Klausen and Robert Shaw after a trip to Cuba planted a mobile garden "Princess's Garden" in the city building in Berlin. They were inspired by a combination of elements of urban and rural life in Havana, where office buildings are located next to the carrot beds, and this does not bother anyone. Why not? Returning to Berlin, they found a wasteland in the city center, took it for a short-term lease and set up a portable garden in tubs and plastic bottles from drinks. On the clearing of the territory on the first cry gathered one hundred active citizens.
Now Clausen and Shaw work with schools and kindergartens, clearly showing the children where the vegetables come from. Anyone can work in their garden. On the territory of the mobile garden there is a cafe, where they prepare dishes from local products. Marco Clausen and Robert Shaw actively promote the idea of urban gardening, and also participate in international exhibitions around the world. The project organizers by their example show that changing the space of a city is within the power of the residents themselves, and a lot of money is not required to create such a village corner. They do not wait for investors to appear or the authorities will smash gardens in the wasteland, but instead grow them themselves. In 2012, the local administration was going to sell the land under the garden to the developers, but the residents of Berlin so fond of a piece of the eco-city of the future that they signed a petition for keeping it in the same place.
Similar projects exist in other countries. For example, Minsk dwellers, inspired by the "Princess' Garden", created their own urban garden. Farmers movement is strong in US metropolitan areas. In Brazil, there are similar initiatives: city residents collect organic garbage, and then project participants compost waste and enrich the land with organic fertilizer in other parks and urban gardens. The idea of creating something similar has long been in the gassy air of Moscow and St. Petersburg. In the summer of 2016, the project "Cottage in the City" was opened in Perovsky Park. In St. Petersburg, attempts were also made to break up the beds in the urban space.
Zero waste
Probably, only lazy over the past year has not criticized the system of separate collection of garbage in Russia: recycling is not established, there are no containers, people are not used to sort waste. But attempts to change the situation continue: for example, the “Separate collection” movement arranges educational actions and conducts negotiations with officials. A map of garbage collection points can be found at Greenpeace. She, however, is often criticized because of outdated information, so for those who want to start sorting garbage, it is better to independently specify the reception sites near the house.
While Russia is far from ideal in terms of recycling, there are places on the planet where landfills and waste incinerators have almost ceased to exist. The concept of zero production is becoming more and more popular: it implies that city residents first try to produce as little garbage as possible, and then the waste that does appear is sorted and recycled.
The small Italian city of Capannori has achieved almost complete recycling of the waste produced. Several years ago, residents did not agree with the construction of an incineration plant in the city and in 2007 became the pioneers of the experimental program Zero Waste. The authorities for the five-year plan have established a system for collecting and sorting waste. First, educational work was carried out: special containers with instructions were delivered to people at home for free. Later, they reduced the tax rate for families that threw less waste.
People organize their lives in such a way as not to produce garbage: they do not use plastic bags, they are purchased at farmers' markets, they buy things in second-hand goods
Local farmers also benefited from the program: now their products were sold in local stores, bypassing retailers, and without packaging. Residents come to the store with their own milk can, container for crisp products and a jar for shampoo. Thus, for the year it is possible to reduce the amount of garbage by 90 thousand plastic bottles. The authorities have also established a system of drinking fountains in public places. Even manufacturers of coffee machines met and began to make capsules from a new material. As a result, the level of recycling of waste produced was close to 82%. And all thanks to the concerted actions of residents and authorities, regular public education.
The experience of almost complete recycling is still prevalent mainly in small cities, where infrastructure is easier to organize and establish than in megalopolises. But the idea of minimal waste production is good for its simplicity. For example, in France it was decided to gradually reduce the production of garbage, and not to increase its processing. In the French supermarkets have already abandoned plastic bags, and by 2020 plastic utensils will be 50% made from materials of biological origin.
The Zero Waste program can also be maintained independently, regardless of whether the city participates in it. People organize their lives in such a way that they do not produce garbage: they do not use plastic bags, they are purchased at farmers' markets, where products are not packed or packages are made of recyclable materials, they carry a thermomug and food container, they buy things in second-hand goods and compost for organic waste. Perhaps someone this may seem radical and impracticable. But young men, girls and whole families show by their example that in a year of life you can not throw a single package in the trash can and that a conscious attitude towards consumption changes life for the better. In apartments, where there is no excess of things, packages for packages and clogged cabinets, breathe more freely. With moderate consumption, it also saves a significant amount of money that can be spent on something important.
Cities of the sun and wind
Soon we will all have to learn how to use renewable energy sources - that is, sunlight, wind, rain, geothermal sources, the force of tides and any other renewable resources that are able to generate "green" energy. Once investments in alternative energy production methods were considered utopian - now it is not only environmentally friendly, but also profitable. For example, Google invests in the development of solar panels and wind turbines.
Germany is the leader among industrialized countries in the use of energy from renewable sources: in 2014, 27% of the country's electricity was generated from them. In the US, they are also trying to switch to "green" energy, on which they have high hopes - for example, in Texas it has become the cheapest. Increased competition in the market of alternative sources, as well as the development of technology have made the once expensive way more affordable. As part of the experiment, several cities in the United States fully switched to energy only from renewable sources - Aspen in Colorado and Burlington in Vermont.
In China, they are trying to reduce air pollution and switch to "green" energy, but the results are still unsatisfactory. China is a coal power, and the level of use of alternative energy sources is only 10%. The paradox is that people producing elements for solar panels in factories and plants often live in cities that are served by a coal-fired power station. Ecology in such places leaves much to be desired.
Each generation thinks that it will leave its descendants. Polluted air, garbage cemeteries and waste - not the most desirable gifts
In Russia, “green” energy is far from being used everywhere. Renewable energy support programs exist, but the state does not take these initiatives seriously enough - oil and gas remain the main sources. The Minister of Energy of the Russian Federation, Alexander Novak, in an interview with Ekho Moskvy, said that in Russia 60% of electricity is generated at thermal power plants, where gas and coal are raw materials. Of the remaining 40%, about 17% is hydrogeneration, 18% is atomic generation, and only 5% is renewable energy, including biofuels. Until 2040, this ratio will not change much: the share of renewable energy sources will increase from 1-2% to 4-5%.
Bringing a bright future in our hands. For example, a wind turbine is relatively easy to create and use. You can learn how to design it yourself at a master class, then install a couple of wind turbines at your country site and forget about electricity bills. There are other options - for example, Tesla sells generators that provide home energy from solar panels.
Each generation thinks that it will leave its descendants. Polluted air, garbage cemeteries and waste are not the most desirable gifts that children want from their parents. The eco-friendly lifestyle is not a whim and not an oddity, but a necessary condition for the existence of man on the planet.
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