A glimpse into the future: Masdar City–the world’s greenest place on earth

Ok, this is not a science fiction story I’m about to share with you. Although if it were, I’d be one of the first to read it…especially since it pertains to the future of our planet.

So check this out. The city of Masdar in Abu Dhabi located in the United Arab Emirates (together with The Worldwide Fund for Nature) “launched a Sustainability Action Plan to deliver the world’s greenest city – Masdar City. Located near Abu Dhabi International Airport, Masdar City will be the world’s first zero-carbon, zero-waste, car-free city, aiming to exceed the 10 sustainability principles of ‘One Planet Living™’– a global initiative launched by the Worldwide Fund for Nature and environmental consultancy BioRegional.” ::Source: The Masdar Initiative

Model of the future city with 50,000 inhabitants

Here are some of the green details as stated by The Masdar Initiative:

ZERO CARBON: 100 per cent of energy supplied by renewable energy – Photovoltaics, concentrated solar power, wind, waste to energy and other technologies

ZERO WASTE: 99 per cent diversion of waste from landfill (includes waste reduction measures, re-use of waste wherever possible, recycling, composting, waste to energy)

SUSTAINABLE TRANSPORT: Zero carbon emissions from transport within the city; implementation of measures to reduce the carbon cost of journeys to the city boundaries (through facilitating and encouraging the use of public transport, vehicle sharing, supporting low emissions vehicle initiatives)

Check out the car rail system…How fun! That definitely appeals to my inner 7 year old.

SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS: Specifying high recycled materials content within building products; tracking and encouraging the reduction of embodied energy within materials and throughout the construction process; specifying the use of sustainable materials such as Forest Stewardship Council certified timber, bamboo and other products

SUSTAINABLE FOOD: Retail outlets to meet targets for supplying organic food and sustainable and or fair trade products

SUSTAINABLE WATER: Per capita water consumption to be at least 50 per cent less than the national average; all waste water to be re-used

HABITATS AND WILDLIFE: All valuable species to be conserved or relocated with positive mitigation targets

CULTURE AND HERITAGE: Architecture to integrate local values.

EQUITY AND FAIR TRADE: Fair wages and working conditions for all workers (including construction) as defined by international labour standards

HEALTH AND HAPPINESS: Facilities and events for every demographic group

Sound like a green utopia? Maybe. Or maybe, world leaders are starting to catch on to higher thinking in terms of dealing with the global crisis And just maybe, Masdar City will lead other world cities into doing the exact same thing and we’ll be out of this mess before it’s too late. That thought gives me the goose bumps all over…

Ok, so I got a thing for small pre-fab spaces that are earth loving beings…

Is this the cutest prefab? It’s tiny at only 220 sq. ft. but very eco-chic and the perfect cabin getaway. I’ve always said I wanted that second dot on the planet and, yes, I will be very kind to Her.

Here’s the story as reported by Inhabitat, “A solar powered, 12 volt light is the only technological presence in the cabin, keeping the modern world at bay deep in the northern Minnesota woods. A much needed escape from the rat race of the big city. At 220 square feet, the cabin may not seem like a lot of room, but with flexible storage devices as well three bi-folding doors that open independently, the space spills out in the surrounding forest. When unoccupied, the cabin folds up and becomes a quiet part of the landscape. ”

This slice of heaven is called Clara Cabin and is from hiveMODULAR.

I’m in. Jen, you wanna go?

An inspiring guide to yurt living…

A few years ago i saw a beautifully decorated yurt in Domino Magazine and fell in love. How eco-chic to live in a sustainable yurt, fabulously decorated with personal style and…it’s totally affordable. Just gazing at the above photo invites my shoulders to drop a whole 2 inches…

Cut to yesterday at the Portland Better Living Show, I’m standing inside a yurt (available for purchase by Go Yurt) with Becky Kemery, author of the book, ‘Yurts Living in the Round’ talking yurt..

Becky at home outside of her yurt in the mountains of Northern Idaho.

You’ll see more in the video blog segment, but after learning that Becky herself lives in a yurt, I had to ask some seriously pink questions…like what’s the bathroom situation like and how’s the heating in the winter. The answers were unexpected….bathroom situation is comfortable and the wood burning stove serves to heat the space and quite efficiently, she added. Bottom line: She loves it!

What inspired me was her overall commitment to living in harmony with the planet. Her energy felt very grounded and centered. That alone is enough of an endorsement for me…

There will be a yurt in my future…and it might be in Albany. How about you? For more info on yurt living click here.

Okay, I’m gettin’ my pink on today after reading about a new eco-solar-technology—solar cells painted on building products. According to a team from Swansea University this type of technology will soon be coming to a hardware store near you. Source: Inhabitat

I love the idea! To read the entire article, click here….

We humans can be so smart sometimes. Here is a perfect example of our unique ability to solve problems when put to the test. Solar power in roads used to heat buildings…Hello!

So my dear friend Josh (I love you Josh!) sent me a link yesterday to a story reported by EcoGeek on the Dutch company Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV’s new heating and cooling system that “relies on asphalt roadways and underlying aquifers to heat up buildings.”

Yeah baby, that’s quite eco-maverick indeed…I did some further research…Keep reading.

So here’s the deal in simple terms as explained by Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV:

“The heat-collector itself is a circuit of connected water pipes. Most of them run from one side of the street to the other, just under the asphalt layer. Some, however, dive deep into the ground. In the summer, when the surface of the street gets hot, water pumped through the pipes picks up this heat and takes it underground through one of the diving pipes. About 100 meters down lies a natural aquifer into which a series of heat exchangers have been built. The hot water from the street runs through them, warming the groundwater, before returning to the surface via another pipe. The aquifer is thus used as a heat store.

In winter, the circuit is changed slightly. Water is pumped through the heat exchangers to pick up the heat that was stored during summer. This water goes into the Ooms building and is used to warm it up. The water is then pumped under the asphalt, and the residual heat it carries helps to keep the road free of snow and ice. By now the water has been cooled to near freezing point, and it is once again sent underground - - - this time through a different pipe, to a second aquifer. Here, another set of heat exchangers is used to cool the groundwater. This store of cold water is then used in summer to keep the Ooms building cool.”

The result is cheap heating in winter and cheap cooling in summer. Reducing energy, helping to heal the planet and saving on heating and cooling bills…Hmmm….Kind of a no brainer, huh?

The system is already spreading. Scotland has adopted it and the runways of a Dutch air force base in the south supply heat for its airplane storage facilities. That’s already a huge impact!

May this maverick system continue to spread across the globe…

For more info contact Ooms Avenhorn Holding BV.