These 14 Sleek Solar Homes Do More Than Produce Power

Fewer college teams built homes to compete in this year’s Solar Decathlon, but their gee-whiz features might offer a surprising glimpse of the future.

 

Reporters view the compact, stackable home designed and built by students at New York City College of Technology on October 7, 2015, at the U.S. Department of Energy's biennial Solar Decathlon in Irvine, California.

Photograph by Thomas Kelsey, U.S. Dept. of Energy

 

By Wendy Koch, National Geographic

PUBLISHED October 09, 2015

 

They’re not simply places to live. They charge cars, grow food, collect water, and generate electricity during blackouts. These Dwell-like beauties might just make those with bigger homes a bit envious.

 

The University at Buffalo home, for example, has an indoor greenhouse for growing food year-round. Orange County’s team features a vertical garden, surf shower and—for the boomerang generation—detached studio. To withstand storms like the tornado that flattened the nearby town of Joplin, Missouri’s Crowder College and Drury University use reinforced walls surrounded by an impact-resistant fence.

 

The homes offer smart windows, accordion doors, and movable walls. Plus, they can charge a car. “We’re going to hook it up and charge it with the power of the sun,” Steve Speights, an engineering student at California State University in Sacramento, says in a video about his team’s home, complete with carport.

 

Welcome to the Solar Decathlon 2015, a biennial U.S.-sponsored contest that began Thursday in Irvine, California. Collegiate teams from around the world compete to build the most attractive, affordable, and energy-efficient home. Via solar panels, the homes produce at least as much energy as they use. Via rainwater capture, they reuse water.

 

These small homes—1,000 square feet or less—go well beyond solar technology to showcase not only smart design but also innovative ways to address drought or extreme weather. Some are engineering marvels.

 

“It’s like the biggest jigsaw puzzle you’ve even seen,” Solar Decathlon director Richard King says of Clemson University’s home, made of thousands of pieces of flat-packed plywood that lock together like LEGO.

 

Despite its wow factor, this competition has a cloudy future. It's losing competitors at a time when the U.S. solar industry is booming and other countries—China, Colombia, and United Arab Emirates—are planning similar decathlons. Six of the initial 20 teams withdrew, including Stanford, Yale, and Vanderbilt. The result: This year’s event is the smallest since the Department of Energy launched the U.S. decathlon in 2002.

ship them in pieces, and reassemble them within days at the competition.

 

For more information on the competition and videos of the homes go to:  http://news.nationalgeographic.com/energy/2015/10/151009-14-Sleek-Solar-Homes-Do-More-Than-Produce-Power/

 

Triple-filtered, recycled greywater waters at hydroponic garden at the home of Missouri University of Science and Technology on October 6, 2105, at the Solar Decathlon in Irvine, California. 

Photograph by Thomas Kelsey/U.S. Department of Energy

 

A circular window inside the home built by students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology provides a unique view of the entry by the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, on October 5, 2015, at the U.S. Department of Energy's biennial Solar Decathlon in Irvine, California.

Photographby Thomas Kelsey, U.S. Dept. of Energy Solar Decathlon

 

 

 

 

 

EPA, USDA, Others Set Nation's First Goals on Reducing Wasted Food

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 16, 2015


EPA and USDA Join Private Sector, Charitable Organizations to Set Nation’s First Goals to Reduce Wasted Food

WASHINGTON -- Today, U.S. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy and U.S. Department of Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced the United States’ first-ever national food waste reduction goal, calling for a 50-percent reduction by 2030. As part of the effort, the federal government will lead a new partnership with charitable organizations, faith-based organizations, the private sector and local, state and tribal governments to reduce food loss and waste in order to improve overall food security and conserve our nation’s natural resources. The announcement occurs just one week before world leaders gather at the United Nations General Assembly in New York to address sustainable development practices, including sustainable production and consumption. As the global population continues to grow, so does the need for food waste reduction.

“Let’s feed people, not landfills. By reducing wasted food in landfills, we cut harmful methane emissions that fuel climate change, conserve our natural resources, and protect our planet for future generations” said EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy. “Today’s announcement presents a major environmental, social and public health opportunity for the U.S., and we’re proud to be part of a national effort to reduce the food that goes into landfills.”

“The United States enjoys the most productive and abundant food supply on earth, but too much of this food goes to waste,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “This announcement demonstrates America’s leadership on a global level in getting wholesome food to people who need it, efficient use of natural resources, cutting environmental pollution and promoting innovative approaches for reducing food loss and waste.”

Food loss and waste in the United States accounts for approximately 31 percent—or 133 billion pounds—of the overall food supply available to retailers and consumers and has far-reaching impacts on food security, resource conservation and climate change. Food loss and waste is the single largest component of disposed U.S. municipal solid waste, and accounts for a significant portion of U.S. methane emissions, which fuel climate change. This large volume of wasted food is a main contributor to the roughly 18 percent of total U.S. methane emissions that come from landfills. Landfills are the third largest source of methane in the United States.

Furthermore, experts have projected that reducing food losses by just 15 percent would provide enough food for more than 25 million Americans every year, helping to sharply reduce incidences of food insecurity for millions. It is estimated that at the retail and consumer levels in the United States, food loss and waste totals $161 billion dollars.

Ongoing federal initiatives are already building momentum for long-term success. In 2013, USDA and EPA launched the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, creating a platform for leaders and organizations across the food chain to share best practices on ways to reduce, recover, and recycle food loss and waste. By the end of 2014, the U.S. Food Waste Challenge had over 4,000 active participants, well surpassing its initial goal of reaching 1,000 participants by 2020. EPA is working with nearly 800 grocers, restaurants, venues, stadiums, and other organizations to reduce wasted food through prevention, donation, and composting. In 2014, participants in EPA’s Food Recovery Challenge diverted nearly 606,000 tons of wasted food, which included over 88,500 tons donated to people in need.

USDA and EPA will also continue to encourage the private sector—food service companies, institutions, restaurants, grocery stores, and more—to set their own aggressive goals for reducing food loss and waste in the months ahead. Organizations such as the Consumer Goods Forum, which recently approved a new resolution to halve food waste within the operations of its 400 retailer and manufacturers members by 2025, are helping to lead the way.

The United States is leading global efforts to address the threat of climate change. The first-ever national food waste goal is just one part of the Obama Administration’s commitment to protecting our environment for future generations. Since President Obama took office in 2009, the United States has increased solar generation by more than ten-fold, tripled electricity production from wind power, and reduced greenhouse gas pollution in the United States to its lowest levels in nearly 20 years. By setting achievable environmental goals, this Administration is making strides to help boost the economy and protect the health of American families for the long-term.

WHAT THEY’RE SAYING:  EPA and USDA Join Private Sector, Charitable Organizations to Set Nation’s First Goals to Reduce Wasted Food

A wide array of voices from across the food chain applauded the announcement of the first national standards for food waste reduction. Here’s what they had to say:

Deborah Hecker, Vice President, Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility, Sodexo North America
“Most people don’t realize how much food they waste every day. As the 18th largest employer in the world, Sodexo is committed to identifying sustainable holistic solutions that reduce or repurpose food that would otherwise be wasted.  We are proud of our longstanding relationships with the Environmental Protection Agency and U.S. Department of Agriculture and look forward to working with them on a greater scale to address this issue with the release of the food waste reduction goals.”

Leslie Sarasin, President and CEO, Food Marketing Institute
“Food retailers are community minded, neighborhood focused and intimately connected to the lives of their shoppers; as such they work closely with their customers on those issues touching both the heart strings and the purse strings. Reducing food waste at all levels in the food chain - farm, factory, store and home - is certainly one of those issues with economic and emotional appeal.”

Jeremy Kranowitz, Executive Director, Sustainable America
“Sustainable America has a goal to increase food availability by 50% by 2035, and we see reducing the amount of wasted food as a major part of the solution. We commend the U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency for their leadership and collaborative focus on this critical issue.”

Craig Hanson, Global Director of Food, Forests, and Water, World Resources Institute
“The first ever U.S. national goal on food waste reduction will bring multiple benefits for food security, natural resources, and the economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture and Environmental Protection Agency are showing leadership by announcing a national goal that will ensure more food gets from the farm to the fork and will save consumers money. The new U.S. national goal is also consistent with Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 that focuses on food loss and waste reduction.”

Jonathan Mayes, Senior Vice President, Albertsons
“Reducing food waste is an important priority for Albertsons Companies. As part of the U.S. Food Waste Challenge, we are focused on source reduction as well as providing food to other good causes such as hunger relief organizations and animal feed.”

Jilly Stephens, Executive Director, City Harvest
“City Harvest appreciates the inclusion of hunger relief groups as part of this national goal to combat food waste. Over 49 million Americans live in food insecure households, including nearly 1 in 5 New Yorkers, and yet 31% of our country’s food supply is wasted.  Food rescue is an important way that we can help bridge the gap between the manufacturers, producers, distributors, and consumers who have too much food and our neighbors who are struggling to put meals on their tables regularly.”

Jason Ackerman, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, FreshDirect
“FreshDirect is pleased to work with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on this initiative. Reducing food waste is a significant issue facing food retailers. Our work with community partners like City Harvest to reduce food loss can be a model for others, but clearly more can be done. FreshDirect is proud to stand with President Obama and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack on this important initiative.”

Eric Ripert, Chef and Co-owner of Le Bernardin and Vice Chairman, City Harvest Board of Directors
“At Le Bernardin we have donated food to City Harvest for nearly 20 years. We recognize that the great amount of excess food in our country can be used to feed hungry Americans and reduce food waste at the same time. Setting a national goal for food waste reduction is an important step to help address many issues and we are proud to stand with the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the Environmental Protection Agency in this new initiative.”

Erin Fitzgerald Sexson, Senior Vice President, Global Sustainability for the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy
“Under the leadership of the nation’s dairy farmers, the Innovation Center for U.S. Dairy is working to promote a more sustainable food system. Recognizing that food recovery is an important approach for addressing hunger, safeguarding the environment and reducing costs, we applaud the establishment of a national goal for food waste reduction. Likewise, dairy farms and businesses are making public commitments to measure, reduce, recover and recycle food waste, including participation in the Environmental Protection Agency Food Recovery Challenge and the U.S. Food Waste Challenge.”

Bill Thomas, Chief Supply Chain Officer, Feeding America
“Feeding America applauds the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the significant food waste reduction goal announced today. As a leader in the recovery and donation of nutritious food to feed struggling Americans, our network of food banks and food rescue organizations have firsthand knowledge of the challenges involved in reducing food waste. We are excited to work with the U.S. Department of

 

Fort Lauderdale's NE 13 Street to lose 2 lanes

Figure 1 - Example of a Complete Street concept

 

By Michael Turnbell Sun Sentinel

September 15, 2015

 

One of the city's major east-west roads is going on a diet next year.

Officials want to transform a four-lane stretch of Northeast 13th Street in the Middle River Terrace neighborhood with on-street parking, bike lanes and improved crosswalks.

To do so means drivers will lose a through lane in each direction between Northeast Fourth and Ninth avenues, just west of the Florida East Coast Railway tracks.

Construction is set to begin in July 2016 and will take about a year to complete.

A public meeting is set for Wednesday to present concepts for the $2 million project.

The city wants to spur economic development, slow speeding traffic and create a pedestrian-friendly atmosphere similar to what was done on a stretch of Sistrunk Boulevard, which was redesigned with narrower lanes and wider sidewalks.

The project is part of what's called Complete Streets, a national program that rebuilds or retrofits roads to make it easier for people to cross the street and walk to shops, ride their bikes to work or catch a bus.

The city tested the concept for about a week in May by closing off lanes with plastic poles between Dixie Highway and the railroad tracks.

City planner Karen Mendrala said the test slowed traffic and made it easier for pedestrians to cross the street. "Residents were seen biking and skating within the protected outer lane," she said.

Mendrala said businesses near the railroad tracks want the lane reductions extended east of Northeast Ninth Avenue. The city is reviewing whether that's possible with the current funding.

Figure 2 - Example of a Complete Street Concept

Making the lane reductions permanent isn't sitting well with some drivers who use the road as a speedy alternative to congested Sunrise Boulevard a few blocks to the south. The road, which runs from U.S. 1 to Powerline Road, carries about 14,000 vehicles a day.

"The sudden appearance of traffic cones that were apparently delineating new curb installations was quite confusing," said Chris Lovell, of Fort Lauderdale. "Not one person I talked to…felt it was a good idea to limit traffic on such an important cross street for local residents."

But Tim Smith, a former city commissioner and president of the 13^th Street Alliance, said the project can't come soon enough.

"It's sure to transform the business portion of 13th from a dangerous, ugly roadway, devoid of almost any community shopping, to just the opposite," Smith said. "Most of those opposing don't want traffic slowed. But to most of us, that's the objective."

Northeast 13th Street was originally a two-lane road but was widened to four lanes in the mid-1970s. Today, it's home to a mix of middle and lower-middle class homes and stores, churches, parking lots and gas stations. Earlier this year, Warsaw Coffee Co., a Seattle-style industrial chic coffeehouse, opened, drawing big crowds.

Activists along 13th Street have been pressing to beautify the area for years.

Several years ago, Fort Lauderdale placed three African statues along Northeast 13th Street as part of a long-sought revitalization effort.

mturnbell@tribpub.com, 954-356-4155, Twitter @MikeTurnpike, Facebook at SunSentinel.com/concreteideas

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-lauderdale-13th-street-diet-20150915-story.html

 

 

 

Green Roofs Serve as Vital Wildlife Habitat

The world's best thinkers on the urban future

 

June 19, 2012

 

Green roof’s provide the benefit of natural heating and insulation, a lovely space to escape to amidst the bustle of city-life, but new research shows that they are also providing a vital refuge for birds as they fly through on their way to somewhere else.

Dustrin Patridge is a doctoral candidate at Fordham University, and he’s been tracking the insect life – as well as monitoring which birds are stopping over.

Reporter Rachel Nuewer visited Partridge for Ecomagination to get a closer look at these beautiful green roofs, and the research that Partridge is doing.

Watch “Eating on a Green Roof” - https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=pESYN9TfN2w

Source: Ecomagination

 

 

 

Denmark Might Be Winning The Global Race To Prevent Food Waste

Sidsel Overgaard

September 01, 2015

 

i

Claus Holm, a Danish celebrity chef, demonstrates at a festival on the Danish island of Fyn how expired products lurking at the back of the fridge can still be delicious. Sidsel Overgaard for NPR

 

At a festival on the Danish island of Fyn, Claus Holm, a fast-talking Danish celebrity chef, is sniffing and mixing into a pot of stew an ingredient he calls "totally forbidden." It's cream, and it expires today.

Danes' increasing willingness to buy and consume items like just-expired dairy products has helped make them, arguably, the world champions in the fight against food waste. According to a recent report from the Danish government, Danes now throw away 25 percent less food than they did five years ago.

Holm is one of many people who have been working to make that so, and it's why he's here today: to prove that expired products lurking at the back of the fridge can still be delicious. For two hours, he works his way through kitchen carts piled with a messy array of stickered-up products: bruised basil, tired baguettes, squishy tomatoes and huge hunks of slightly graying meat.

To Cut Food Waste, Spain's Solidarity Fridge Supplies Endless Leftovers

A few years ago this might have been radical performance art. Today, his audience smiles appreciatively, but doesn't seem to need much convincing. Danes today throw out 104 pounds of food per year on average compared to an estimated 273 pounds per person per year in the U.S.

If Holm is an ambassador in Denmark's anti-waste movement, then the queen has to be Selina Juul, a peppy 35-year-old who emigrated from Russia as a teen.

In 2008, after years of dismay at the amount of food she saw landing in Danish trash cans, Juul started the organization Stop Wasting Food.

Farmers and retailers often get the brunt of the criticism when it comes to food waste, but Juul decided to start at the other end.

"I thought, 'Who can we move? Well, we can move the people.' So we started focusing on the people," she says.

Juul created a Facebook group and two weeks later started appearing in the national media, where she has been a regular figure ever since.

It was an efficient strategy, given that individual consumers are responsible for 36 percent of food waste in this country, compared to retailers (23 percent), the food processors (19 percent) and primary producers (14 percent), according to figures from the Ministry of the Environment and Food.

i

A customer browses a display of fresh fruit for sale outside a Netto store, operated by Danske Supermarked, in Copenhagen, Denmark. The company says Danish consumers have helped push it to cut back on food waste even more. /Freya Ingrid Morales/Bloomberg/Getty Images

But Juul says her seven-year effort to poke and prod consumers is starting to trickle up the food chain.

"Now, because it's become a trend of not wasting food, the companies and the food producers and retailers are starting to act as well," she says. "Compared to other countries, Denmark, at the moment, has the most supermarkets doing something to reduce food waste."

Maia Lindstrøm Sejersen, a spokeswoman with Dansk Supermarked, Denmark's largest retailer with four chains and an online store, would counter that the company's supermarkets have always been careful about waste.

New Nordic Food Gods Loosen Up On Strictly Local Cuisine

"It's just good business," she says. "Any grocer would rather sell something than throw it away."

She says Dansk Supermarked's chains have sold food near expiration at reduced prices for decades. But while buying these items might once have been considered a sign of poverty for consumers, it's now a badge of pride. And the company has responded by piling reduced price goods in dedicated areas, marked with special signage.

But, she admits, the recent movement to prevent food waste has pushed grocery stores to improve further, particularly in one area.

"Fruits and vegetables have always been tricky because they have to look lovely and fresh," she says. "Sometimes maybe we've been too quick to say 'this needs to go.' But now that people are so focused on food waste, we can, for example, take the outer, [wilted] leaves off a head of lettuce and sell it at a reduced price."

And, she says, even more than consumer pressure, what's going to make the biggest difference in reducing retailer waste is technology that enables better tracking from farm to fork. She points to SAP, a new IT system her company has had in place for just under a year. It's already helped one of her company's chains pinpoint bread as one of the most wasted items. With that knowledge, stores are now ordering less and have dedicated more space to selling older bread at a discount, all of which has reduced bread waste by 60 percent.

Meanwhile, Juul and her army of volunteers say there's still plenty of opportunity for consumers to reduce food waste even more. For example, a Stop Wasting Food survey released just this week suggests that half of all Danes have been shoving leftovers to the back of the freezer — and tossing them out a year later.

"This new number is showing that we're postponing our food waste," says Juul. "We're just pushing it into the future."

http://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2015/09/01/436292784/denmark-might-be-winning-the-global-race-to-prevent-food-waste?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20150901

 

 

 

 

 

Striking a Balance: Urban Growth and Habitat Preservation

 

Green Building Codes Make a Difference in Many Communities

By Angie Durhman

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

 

More than 50 percent of Americans live in major towns and cities, and according to the World Health Organization, the majority of humans will be living in urban areas by 2017.

As these communities continue to build into surrounding habitat, conservationists are concerned that nature will eventually strike back, whether through forest fires, flooding or other natural disasters.

Habitat Loss and Climate Change Combine

The combination of urban development and climate change is frequently packing a one-two punch, as rainfall patterns are more unpredictable and typical rain events become more extreme, causing excess flooding and sewer overflows due to impervious – paved – surfaces.

Temperatures also are often 7-10 degrees warmer in cities, which can affect vegetation growth and overwintering. The United States Department of Agriculture hardiness zone published a new map in 2012 to reflect years of warming temperatures, adding two new zones for the warmest part of the country. In general, each zone is now considered 5 degrees warmer. Urban gardeners have gained more confidence in trying plants that are an entire zone higher, with much success.

There also is a correlation between pollinator declines due to urban development increase, which could potentially threaten up to 75 percent of U.S. food sources. Researchers are working with state departments of transportation to add wildflowers along roadsides, and in 2014, a Presidential Memo was written to select a Pollinator Health Task Force with the goal of providing a framework in research, education and development of public-private partnerships. The ultimate mission is to create and protect pollinator habitats. **

Natural disasters such as fires, flooding, earthquakes, and landslides also claim human lives and destroy our built environments, costing billions of dollars in repair. The Federal Emergency Management Agency obligated $95.2 billion from the Disaster Relief Fund for the 650 major disasters declared between 2004 and 2013.

The beautiful views of oceans and beaches can seem worth the risk of building in a hurricane prone area, but even when structures are built to withstand record breaking winds, waves and rain, the buildings are still vulnerable and cost more to insure.

Diminished and degraded habitats also are less available to support healthy populations of wildlife and marine organisms and less able to perform the economic, environmental and aesthetic functions that coastal populations depend on for their livelihoods and protection.

Building in Sustainability

To the positive, there are some great built designs and proven successes with integrated conservation development. When communities are designed with an affinity for the land, resilience and ecological restoration in mind, sustainability can be achieved. For example, nationally recognized residential developer Robert Engstrom Companies has several significant residential projects throughout Minnesota. They tie modern single family homes together by wide sidewalks, nature trails and open space. Their developments have covenants for planting and maintaining naturalized prairie plants for each lot. In the economic depression in the early 2000s, the neighborhoods reported very few foreclosures.

“Successful development results in happy people who appreciate where and how they live, with strong resale value,” said company President Bob Engstrom.

Brownfield redevelopment is a way to pursue a more sustainable way to re-use a particular site. The Environmental Protection Agency defines a brownfield as “real property, the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence or potential presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant or contaminant.”

Old gas stations and abandoned manufacturing facilities are common examples. Incentives are in place for developers to clean up these sites, bring them up to current code, allowing them to build something that proves more useful for modern day activities. In 2002, the Brownfields Revitalization Act was passed to help states and communities clean up eligible sites around the country. There are four types of competitive funding available, which is often supported and matched by other entities. According to the EPA, since the inception of the program, they have assessed approximately 24,000 sites and cleaned up more than 1,200, resulting in more than 100,000 jobs.

Building responsibly is more than just site selection. Using smart design and consideration to transportation, choosing sustainable materials and approaching the entire area as a total ecosystem is critical. LEED, Sustainable Sites and Green Globes – among others – continue improving their guidelines and rating systems used to design and maintain communities, buildings and single family homes in a more responsible manner. Many cities are using criteria to create or renovate public buildings with an “intent” to design according to a rating system, but opting out of going through the official, often expensive, certification process.

Not only are municipalities across the country implementing plans, policies and incentives to build smart and on proper sites, large corporations also are recognizing the benefits of renovating and building new offices to improve employee and environmental health. In 2015, Facebook headquarters moved into a large footprint of a nine-acre facility that includes a fully covered vegetative roof. The roof is accessible to employees and they are encouraged to explore it via nature trails and benches.

Another corporate technology giant, Google, has been building out its campuses to incorporate buildings that allow for private, corporate offices while also fulfilling the needs of its creative employees. The original campus was the site of a previous tech company, which was renovated. Since 2007, Google’s campus has featured many award-winning designs and now features roof-top solar panels on eight buildings and two solar carports, capable of producing 1.6 MW of electricity. The panels provide the power needed for 30 percent of the peak electricity demand in its solar-powered buildings.

At the national level, it is unclear from the U.S. Government Accountability Office if federal funds and programs have made a significant impact on sprawl and urban development. However, across the country, regions have recognized the need to protect heritage, build economies and work toward sustainable futures.

This means taking a long view when planning projects, said Karen Jensen, an environmental scientist for the Metropolitan Council in Minnesota.

“Thrive MSP 2040, the Council’s vision for the Twin Cities region for the next 30 years, contains policies that address environmental challenges and considerations, including natural resources, water sustainability and climate change,” she said. “Thrive also provides direction for our new Water Resource Policy Plan, which calls for the council to incorporate water sustainability considerations in all areas of council policy and actions, including overall development patterns, water management, transportation, housing, and regional parks.”

The city of Charleston, S.C., is moving forward with an incentive-based development plan in targeted neighborhoods. Similar to the density bonus in Portland, Ore., developers can build taller buildings and denser developments in exchange for including community amenities and environmentally sustainable features, such as decreasing stormwater runoff, vegetated roofs, transportation improvements, renewable energy, outdoor public space, and participation in environmental certification programs.

According to Samantha Crosby, associate planner for the city of White Bear Lake, Minn., large developers want to make quick decisions to take advantage of the market and investors, and there is often little time to explore enhanced environmental design. Therefore, planners find themselves negotiating parameters that meet both city and developer needs. For example, negotiations result in mitigation close to the site or incorporating tree swales in the parking areas in exchange for more advertising signage and more lot space.

Crosby does not see policy as much of a driver of change. Instead, policy more often lags behind the wants and needs of the community. In response to citizen concerns, a recent ordinance passed to increase the number of bee hives allowed on residential lots, Crosby said.

“Surprisingly, not only did city council support the ordinance, they increased the allowance from two to four hives per lot,” she said. “Since then, the (Minnesota Pollution Control Agency) contacted us looking for a list of beekeepers in our area so they could plan to spray for mosquitoes away from the hive locations.”

The puzzle of fitting together policy, economic, and environmental programs to meet the present and future needs of citizens and businesses can be a daunting task, but many municipalities have shown that small-scale changes to neighborhood redevelopment policies can be a great start.

As cities grow larger, communities work to preserve natural habitat

 

http://www.sustainablecitynetwork.com/topic_channels/development/article_b49671bc-50f4-11e5-9ad7-83cdaeb75265.html?utm_source=SCN+InBox+e-Newsletter&utm_campaign=b629589a73-Newsletter_9-2-2015_Muni&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_11e7ac761c-b629589a73-188571221&mc_cid=b629589a73&mc_eid=a2be269d55

 

 

 

 

 

Green Infrastructure As A Tool To Help Reduce Deadly Flooding

Just had a workshop on Friday with NOAA and local Cities and groups concerning green infrastructure.  --Gene

 

Houston, TX (May 27, 2015) — In a CNN Opinion piece following harrowing floods across Texas, Harriet Festing at the Center for Neighborhood Technology outlines the tools neighborhoods need to help reduce deadly flooding. Part of that arsenal is a strong green infrastructure including trees and other greenspace to help filter and absorb excess water.

The problem, according to Festing is that Houston — and many other cities — have paved over wide stretches of land increasing the chance of flooding. Houston is a pretty flat city in a subtropical climate just barely above sea level. Under those circumstances, realistically flooding may be unavoidable, but in some cities even just a few inches of rain can result in flooded basements and washed-out roads. Why? Because the way we have built cities makes them flood.

When we pave over absorbent dirt and grasses, rainwater runs off asphalt and concrete and often ends up overwhelming drainage systems and, in severe cases, flooding homes. The more impervious surfaces a city has, the more likely it is that it will suffer from urban flooding. Sprawling, heavily paved cities such as Houston can be especially vulnerable.

As the threat of climate change escalates, cities and regions must get serious about finding solutions. The Center for Neighborhood Technology created its RainReady program as a municipal-scale initiative designed to bring communities together to find solutions to the problems of too much or too little water.

Investments in natural and nature-based infrastructure to increase infiltration and collect rain where it falls, also known as green infrastructure, play a strong role in the RainReady program and offer a host of benefits over “gray infrastructure.”

Coordinated landscaping, plumbing and building improvements for properties include backwater valves, downspout disconnection into dry wells and flood walls; runoff from alleys and parking lots can be captured through the installation of permeable pavement, trees and landscaped sidewalks; temporary water storage can be created from ponds, parks, urban forests and wetlands; and rain sensor networks can provide enhanced monitoring and flood alert systems for communities.

Read Festing’s full article for more about building resilient communities: “What can be done to stop deadly floods?” CNN

http://actrees.org/news/trees-in-the-news/newsroom/green-infrastructure-as-a-tool-to-help-reduce-deadly-floods/

 

 

 

Urban Orchard Movement Begins to Bear Fruit

San Francisco, CA (May 21, 2015) — National Public Radio’s The Salt digs deep for a story on the growing urban orchard movement across North American cities. Fruit trees produce food, but also provide shade, keep greenhouse gases out of the atmosphere, improve water quality and may even deter crime. They also have a longer lasting impact on communities than vegetable beds.

“When you plant lettuce, you produce food for today, which is great, but when you plant a tree, you’re feeding people tomorrow,” says Nina Beth Cardin, director of the Baltimore Orchard Project, a program of the Baltimore non-profit Civic Works. The orchard project has planted thousands of apple, serviceberry, pawpaw, fig and pear trees on public and private land around Baltimore.

Groups like the Portland Fruit Tree Project advocate for public access to existing fruit trees so that people can glean crops that would otherwise go uneaten — an idea some are calling radical. Other groups are more interested in planting new groves of fruit trees on previously fallow city land.

In Philadelphia, fruit trees have a special knack for bringing people together, says Phil Forsyth, executive director of Philadelphia Orchard Project. Since a large tree takes up space, communities are more likely to treat it as a public resource, with the crop harvested and shared among many people, Forsyth says.

Forsyth’s organization, founded in 2007, has helped plant nearly 40 orchards in and around Philadelphia and maintains a nursery stocked with small potted figs, cherries, mulberries and more. The organization provides these young trees to groups and individuals who apply for assistance to plant an orchard —and meet some basic criteria. Forsyth says applicants must have spaces with sufficient sunlight and soil, and must also have long-term property leases or ownership of their land.

Read the full article: “Urban Food Forests Make Fruit Free For The Picking”

http://actrees.org/news/trees-in-the-news/newsroom/urban-orchard-movement-begins-to-bear-fruit/