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| Think locally, act globally |
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A recent report on “The State of the World” by the Worldwatch Institute stated that over the next two years, for the first time ever, more than half of the world’s population will live in cities. On a global level this will mean facing up to not only social and economic issues, but also huge environmental challenges.
Urban centres are responsible for a good deal of the world’s pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. But the concentration of people and, in many cases, developed infrastructures can often actually make changes towards more sustainable energy solutions easier.
DOE Solar Decathlon - photos Chris Gunn
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 Solar energy in Finland |
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Ekkoviikki is the largest solar energy project in Finland. Viikki, a suburb of Helsinki, applies ecological and sustainability guidelines on a large scale. The site houses 2,000 people and is built on an area of 64,000m2 . Solar heating systems with an area of 1,246m2 produce 15% of the total heating demand. The next generation of buildings in Viikki will reach an even higher level.
The Ekoviikki system, which can operate at relatively low temperatures, combines solar and district heating. Construction costs were only 5% higher than normal. When finished in 2010, Viikki will house over 10,000 people. Ekoviikki aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, water wastage, household waste, as well as heat and electricity consumption.
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| The Energy-Plus House |
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Scientists at the University of Darmstadt, Germany, are currently working on the “Energy-Plus House” which combines high level insulation with solar power. The idea is that the solar house will generate enough energy for heating the home and powering a car.
The outer shell of the house takes in the solar energy. Thermal insulation then drastically reduces the loss of heat and the amount of energy used to heat (or cool down) the house. The result is an energy surplus that should be large enough to power a car.
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| Citizen participation |
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Citizen participation, particularly on a local level, has proven to be successful when trying to change living conditions in urban settings. In Porto Alegre, one of the largest cities in Brazil, the population was given more influence on budget decisions. The result: a life expectancy and quality of life that compares with Europe or North America.
As the general public plays a key role in implementing sustainability in urban environments, approaches like the one in Brazil show a way forward. However, citizens are still rarely consulted on the acceptability or practicality of new solutions. Part of the problem is the discrepancy between quickly developing scientific progress and the awareness of new technologies among the general public. The EU’s RAISE project, for example, aims to tackle exactly this by encouraging citizenship participation.
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| Agri-environmental measures |
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But new projects and schemes are not just concerned with urban environments. For example, the European Union promotes agri-environmental measures in order to protect the farmed environment and biodiversity. These are designed to encourage farmers to observe environmental standards as a condition for granting payments.
Farmers have to commit to adopting environmentally friendly farming techniques for a minimum of five years. In return, they receive payments that cover the additional costs and loss of income that arise form the new techniques. These can include less intense and more environmentally friendly farming, organic agriculture or preservation of landscapes and features such as hedgerows, ditches or woods.
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