Conclusion
Semester 1, 2014 is almost over. This is the last time I will blog for course SUSS0001 Sustainable Development and Urban Environment. I have learnt a lot in this course. I now know more about Ecological Footprint, Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation, Sustainable lifestyle. And I also know there is a lot more to know. It mostly comes down on to living in balance with nature. But finding that balance is difficult. That is why we need to pay attention to early warning signs and work ont an equilibrium with our environment. With today's technology, where we can model the climate, look at trends and assess our behaviour, it is easier than a few dozens of years ago. But it is still difficult, because our lifestyle has turned us away from nature. We do not notice the early warning signs anymore and need a computer to figure it out for us. That is why we need more sustainable projects, where we are brought closer to nature. And there is a lot more out there than the course can cover. But what the course has covered is a general overview of our current global challenges and a general outlook on solutions. And the details can be filled in by thinking along the lines we learned to think during this course. Thank you Michael, thank you Jonathan and Jonathan and Araaz. All the lessons, insights, hints and conversations will surely be useful during the rest of our study and our following career.
Sunday, 25 May 2014
Week 11:Barangaroo: Starting sustainable projects in Sydney
The need for sustainable projects like Barangaroo
We all know something has to change in our lifestyle in order to "save the planet". But what exactly?
What is our personal responsibility towards sustainability? How do we consider (and achieve) sustainability in our lifestyle? How are we living at the moment? Ofcourse the activities of the government and companies are important, because they influence individuals. But we can still figure out sustainable lifestyle choices which contribute to the solutions. Because of this mutual influence of government and individuals, engineers play an important role. They can search for solutions to improve sustainablity in today's world and to reduce the need for consumption. One of the ways this can be done is through sustainable (projectshttp://www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/energy-environment-and-sustainability/news/Sustainable-Lifestyles) .
What is our personal responsibility towards sustainability? How do we consider (and achieve) sustainability in our lifestyle? How are we living at the moment? Ofcourse the activities of the government and companies are important, because they influence individuals. But we can still figure out sustainable lifestyle choices which contribute to the solutions. Because of this mutual influence of government and individuals, engineers play an important role. They can search for solutions to improve sustainablity in today's world and to reduce the need for consumption. One of the ways this can be done is through sustainable (projectshttp://www.imeche.org/knowledge/industries/energy-environment-and-sustainability/news/Sustainable-Lifestyles) .
Sustainable projects are developed in order to protect the environment, rearrange the economy and stimulate social equity. Sustainable project focus on integrated solutions rather than separated ones and wants them to be embedded in a long-term perspective. A sustainable community seeks:
- The whole community to become better and also other communities
- Healthy ecosystems
- Effective governance by participation of all citizens
- Economic security
“Barangaroo is a great opportunity to showcase Sydney as a world leader in sustainability. Sustainable designs and initiatives are being created throughout the delivery of the program-environmentally, socially and economically. Barangaroo wants to become the first Australian CBD precinct that is climate positive” (http://www.barangaroo.com/discover-barangaroo/sustainability.aspx).
At Barangaroo, the goal is to generate renewable energy, recycle water and reuse, reduce and recycle its wate. The wellbeing of the community is also important and there is an affordable housing component in the development (http://www.barangaroo.com/discover-barangaroo/sustainability.aspx). There are three development areas within the site: Headland Park, Barangaroo Centre and Barangaroo South. In the Headland Park, there will be a naturalistic headland feature, a place for people to relax and recreate. Barangaroo South will comprise a commercial centre and residential appartments. Barangaroo Central will be a cultural and civic focal point for recreation, events and entertainment (http://www.barangaroo.com/discover-barangaroo/overview.aspx).
Is Barangaroo really sustainable?
A few more things on Barangaroo:
· There is an international hotel at Barangaroo. Will it be able to attract enough tourists in these times of crisis?
· How will the oil price be in the near future and what effects will this have on international travelling?
· The sky scrapers still get a large amount of their energy from coal
· Will there be enough jobs for the people living there?
· Will the new development be flooded when sea level rises?
· The money spent on this project could have also been used for improvement of Sydney’s public transport and research on renewable energy.
There is a lot of critique on Barangaroo redevelopment in Sydney CBD.
The main concerns are about the feasibility of the affordable housing program, the tall skyscrapers which will surely influence their surroundings and the proposed sustainability which developers promise to offer but which is being questioned by others. I believe the Barangaroo developers started an ambitious project. But they fail to sufficiently remove uncertainties about its success.
They need to consider the criticism and make sure the opposed points are well addressed in the redevelopment. This in order to prove they were completely right about the project once the project is fully in use. ( https://www.greenleft.org.au/node/45350)
Week twelve: Conclusion
Conclusion
Semester 1, 2014 is almost over. This is the last time I will blog for course SUSS0001 Sustainable Development and Urban Environment. I have learnt a lot in this course. I now know more about Ecological Footprint, Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation, Sustainable lifestyle. And I also know there is a lot more to know. It mostly comes down on to living in balance with nature. But finding that balance is difficult. That is why we need to pay attention to early warning signs and work ont an equilibrium with our environment. With today's technology, where we can model the climate, look at trends and assess our behaviour, it is easier than a few dozens of years ago. But it is still difficult, because our lifestyle has turned us away from nature. We do not notice the early warning signs anymore and need a computer to figure it out for us. That is why we need more sustainable projects, where we are brought closer to nature. And there is a lot more out there than the course can cover. But what the course has covered is a general overview of our current global challenges and a general outlook on solutions. And the details can be filled in by thinking along the lines we learned to think during this course. Thank you Michael, thank you Jonathan and Jonathan and Araaz. All the lessons, insights, hints and conversations will surely be useful during the rest of our study and our following career.
Semester 1, 2014 is almost over. This is the last time I will blog for course SUSS0001 Sustainable Development and Urban Environment. I have learnt a lot in this course. I now know more about Ecological Footprint, Climate Change, Mitigation and Adaptation, Sustainable lifestyle. And I also know there is a lot more to know. It mostly comes down on to living in balance with nature. But finding that balance is difficult. That is why we need to pay attention to early warning signs and work ont an equilibrium with our environment. With today's technology, where we can model the climate, look at trends and assess our behaviour, it is easier than a few dozens of years ago. But it is still difficult, because our lifestyle has turned us away from nature. We do not notice the early warning signs anymore and need a computer to figure it out for us. That is why we need more sustainable projects, where we are brought closer to nature. And there is a lot more out there than the course can cover. But what the course has covered is a general overview of our current global challenges and a general outlook on solutions. And the details can be filled in by thinking along the lines we learned to think during this course. Thank you Michael, thank you Jonathan and Jonathan and Araaz. All the lessons, insights, hints and conversations will surely be useful during the rest of our study and our following career.
Week twelve: limits to growth
Limits to growth
Since the book “limits to growth” was published in1972, there have been several studies and reports about our climate. These studies all point out that if we continue ‘business as usual”, this will inevitably lead to some form of disaster. What exactly is needed to make sure that we change in such a way that our actions do not threaten our future?
First, we need to look at Human Behaviour
Since we lead unsustainable lifestyles, by depleting our natural resources and growing in population at a rate never seen before in history, we accelerate rather than mitigate climate change. Finding reasons to continue to do so, or living in denial makes us forget about the future and have a more here and now-approach to life. People are complicated beings ans some might feel powerless to do something about climate change because it seems overwhelming. Or we might not want to cut on our incomes, if that is what it takes to save the planet. We also might look to science for the solution. We can also think about other things to blame climate change for, such as our government or cheap oil, but when we really want to do something about climate change, we need to figure out for ourselves how much we care, think about and choose to behave towards our planet. For example, we can choose to reduce consumption or use our scarce resources more wisely and distribute them more evenly or live within nature’s ability to meet our needs. This will mean that we make a choice to save the planet from ourselves (our unsustainable behaviour) for ourselves (by our sustainable behaviour) (http://psysr-climatetoolkit.org/behavior/).
Week twelve: A new paradigm of development
A new paradigm of development
Seeking to be more sustainable can be a real challenge to our For-profit world and mind. An example of that is the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which was mainy designed to rank sustainability-driven companies by their fiscally sustainable growth. While doing the assessment, the company does not know the value of the questions in it. This allows for honestly answered questions, but also a lack of transparency. Improving energy efficiency is mitigating climate change, but the extend to what efficiency of buildings play a role in DJSI ranking is not clearly defined.
Poor business practices such as tax fraud, money laundering and human rights abuses such as discrimination and child labour are on the other hand seen as index’s priorities because companies can be removed from the list because of these reasons. This is why some critics say the definition of sustainability is relative when these priorities are exercised. It comes down to a financial investment tool that gives more importance to economics rather than environmental and social impacts because the priorities still lie within the view of long-term economic growth and expansion.
Still the invention of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index is well-intentioned. However, there is a need to define sustainability clearer and all-encompassing. As we ned to do with our own lives since we have only one planet. Thinking about ways to enhance sustainability and thus develop measures and regulations therefore will clearly benefit the planet and again us as humans too (http://blogs.worldwatch.org/revolt/the-effectiveness-of-sustainability-metrics-is-dependent-on-the-definition-used-for-sustainable/).
Figure explaining DJSJ assessment
(Source: http://blogs.worldwatch.org/revolt/the-effectiveness-of-sustainability-metrics-is-dependent-on-the-definition-used-for-sustainable/)
Week twelve: A new paradigm of development
A new paradigm of development
Seeking to be more sustainable can be a real challenge to our For-profit world and mind. An example of that is the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), which was mainy designed to rank sustainability-driven companies by their fiscally sustainable growth. While doing the assessment, the company does not know the value of the questions in it. This allows for honestly answered questions, but also a lack of transparency. Improving energy efficiency is mitigating climate change, but the extend to what efficiency of buildings play a role in DJSI ranking is not clearly defined.
Poor business practices such as tax fraud, money laundering and human rights abuses such as discrimination and child labour are on the other hand seen as index’s priorities because companies can be removed from the list because of these reasons. This is why some critics say the definition of sustainability is relative when these priorities are exercised. It comes down to a financial investment tool that gives more importance to economics rather than environmental and social impacts because the priorities still lie within the view of long-term economic growth and expansion.
Still the invention of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index is well-intentioned. However, there is a need to define sustainability clearer and all-encompassing. As we ned to do with our own lives since we have only one planet. Thinking about ways to enhance sustainability and thus develop measures and regulations therefore will clearly benefit the planet and again us as humans too (http://blogs.worldwatch.org/revolt/the-effectiveness-of-sustainability-metrics-is-dependent-on-the-definition-used-for-sustainable/).
Figure explaining DJSJ assessment
Week twelve: Ecotones and refugia
Ecotones
What are Ecotones? They are transitional areas between two different ecosystems such as forest and grassland or land and ocean. They are not fixed borders, but rather border area’s between two patches of different ecological composition. Ecotones can be created by man-made or natural factors. Man-made factors are for example forest clearing or controlled burning. Natural factors can be soil composition or PH. Ecotones are important indicators of global chance in ecology.
Because they are transitional zones of different ecosystems, there is much biodiversity seen in ecotones. This also makes them more sensitive to changing climate conditions. And thus, they can be used as an indicator in determining the effect of climate change on certain regions of the earth. Monitoring ecotones can show certain patterns in global change. http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/152345/
The effects of climate chance will be seen around the globe, but first in ecotones. This will be clearly seen by their loss in species. And will give early warnings if noticed. Conservation of ecotones is seen as adaptation by the IPCC. Because attention is drawn to prime areas of biomes, ecotones are threatened. It is suggested that 47-77% of ecotones will change because of climate change, which is far more than the 39-55% of prime biomes that are expected to change. An example of threatened ecotones are the semi-arid drylands between arid and dry subhumid drylands. They are threatened directly by desertification and topsoil erosion. These will decline their soil productivity and make them less suitable for plant growth. Climate change will only increase desertification. Since vegetation of these ecotones already experience over exploitation, the climate change happening now will only increase loss of biodiversity, ecosystems and further limit adaptation. If we come to understand this, we also understand that ecotones are unique entities, important to monitor climate change and find ways to adapt to climate change. We have to find ways to conserve these ecotones because then the world will benefit from it and we to as humans (http://www.ipcc.ch/ipccreports/tar/wg2/index.php?idp=669).
Refugia
Refugia are places where natural environmental conditions have remained relatively stable while the earth experienced great environmental change. The high diversity of birds found in the Amazon Rainforest was explained by the idea that when the rainforest experienced climate change, the birds survived in detached pockets of the rainforest. When climate conditions changed, the forest expanded again and so did the bird species. However, some opose this idea stating that the rainforest was not fragmentised during previous periods of climate change. They say the rain forest stayed intact and there are other explanations for its high bird diversity. Still, the term “refugia’ applies to isolated regions where species may survive during times of climate change. An example for such a refugia are the Madean pine oak woodlands in Arizona and northern Mexico. Because these mountains are way above the surrounding deserts, they provide a mocroclimate for plants and animals no longer found in the deserts. They are called Madean sky islands.
Although there remains some controversy about what exactly can be labelled as refugia, the concept of refugia is central to a lot of conservation plans. Areas can be set apart with the purpose of creaing refugia for plants and animals, which is a type of preservation. Conservation International states that we have to search for refugia in order to maintain biodiversityand thus seeking potential refugia can be valuable for conservation. However, predicting which areas can become refugia has to be based on detailed ecological information. This in turn clearly underlines the importance of scientific research (http://www.eoearth.org/view/article/51cbeec57896bb431f69a25c/?topic=51cbfc78f702fc2ba8129e7b).
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