By Leah Karpus on February 9th, 2010
With only a few days left before the 2010 Olympic Games officially begins, there is a buzz around the streets of Vancouver. Being a resident of the city, I can certainly say it has undergone some radical changes in the past few months. Regardless of whether or not you support the games, it seems everyone has something to say.
Recent talk has surrounded the issue of sustainability. Considering, at the very least, the carbon emissions created by all the flights into the host city (and some residents’ flights out of the city) the Olympics can never be genuinely environmentally-friendly. However, Vancouver 2010 has been promoted as “the greenest Olympics ever” (official website: http://www.vancouver2010.com/sustainability/).
Interestingly, David Suzuki recently awarded Vancouver 2010 a bronze medal for sustainability (full article: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/latestnews/dsfnews02031001.asp). He writes: “achievements of the 2010 Olympics include building energy-efficient venues, using clean-energy sources, relying on public transit during the Games, and offsetting part of the Games’ emissions.” However, several areas were lacking. For example, the David Suzuki Foundation admits that “opportunities to create lasting reductions in transportation emissions in the region have been missed.” In addition, the carbon-offsetting accounted for less than half of the overall emissions.
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By Job Mouwen on February 5th, 2010
Sustainability has never reached the point where it became so imminent as it is nowadays and at the same time so unperfected in the architectural discussion. We are on the eve of an architectural revolution where situational design parameters are no longer used as a design tool to “catch” the genius loci of a place or to resolve the design in the context, but will be driven from a sustainable necessity and local opportunities.
In an interview with the Dutch TV program “EenVandaag”, top economist Jeremy Rifkin states that the survival of the human race depends on the question; How are we going to deal with energy? According to Rifkin we are on the eve of a third industrial revolution, an era where fossil fuel is obsolete but the technique to create sustainable energy is available. So far no news. The interview gets interesting when he unfolds his view on “buildings as small power plants” and the way we should distribute energy. In his vision a lot depends on modern techniques which should be implemented in our buildings. Techniques to create energy from the sun, wind, earth warmth, tidal waves and domestic waste. On top of that we should also, according to Rifkin, renew our way of distribution of this “home created” energy. Energy can be stored as hydrogen energy and shared at peaks and lows throughout a intrigued network similar to the internet. Decentralised instead of centralised energy distribution. The question is; how can we as architects implement these techniques in our design process?
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By Leah Karpus on September 29th, 2009
It’s amazing to see just how much power some celebrities hold over the masses. They can create the latest trends and sway public opinion with just a few sentences. In the case of Oprah and her sidekick Dr. Oz, turning açaí berries from a Brazilian food into a household name was simple.
Background Information
Açaí (pronounced ah-sah-ee) berries are the small, dark purple fruit of a type of palm tree that grows primarily in the Brazilian rain forest. They are eaten by locals as part of their daily diets. In North America, açaí berry juice has been sold in health food stores long before the recent craze because of their “superfood” qualities. Açaí berries contain amino acids (the building blocks of protein), antioxidants, fibre, essential fatty acids (the “healthy fats”) and vitamins. Because of this, açaí berries are a wonderful, nutritious food and a great addition to one’s daily diet.
However, that’s all that açaí berries can truly be promoted as. Since its recent publicity on the Oprah show, companies and scams have been claiming that açaí promotes weight loss, increases energy, improves sleep, improves heart health and even increases penis size. Indirectly, some of these claims can be considered true. For example, fibre and essential fatty acids (Omega 3 in particular) have been known to support heart health. High fibre content may also reduce hunger cravings, thus enhancing weight loss. The American Diabetes Association recommends 24 grams of fibre help balance blood sugar levels. However, the serving size in Monavie and Sambazon’s açaí range from 1 to 3 grams. Açaí is not a drug, a cure for any disease or weight loss supplement. It is simply a very nutritious food, that, when used in conjunction with other strategies, supplements and foods, can contribute to a healthy lifestyle. As “Genesis Today” states in its magazine ad for açaí: “This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease”. And no, in case you were wondering, it does not increase penis size.
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By People's World on September 3rd, 2009
Photo credit: Deivis
During a recent visit to Cuba, we stopped by an agricultural cooperative on the outskirts of Havana. Its farmers and cooperatives across the country are part of what’s widely acknowledged as the world’s largest organic farming experiment. Hundreds of thousands of farmers at the grassroots proudly proclaim themselves part of Cuba’s “environmental movement.”
In 2008 Cuba was devastated by three full force hurricanes that caused some $10 billion in damage, including 400,000 homes destroyed and widespread crop damage. Cubans link the growing destructive power and frequency of the hurricanes with global climate change. Understandably, environmental awareness and the need for radical measures to curb global warming run high.
Remarkably, in 2006 the World Wildlife Federation rated Cuba as the only country that combined high human development standards as defined by high literacy and health indexes with a low ecological footprint including electricity consumed and carbon dioxide emitted per capita.
This got me interested in the path of sustainable socialist development Cuba has chosen and how environmental consciousness developed. How could an underdeveloped country with limited economic resources have an environmental record better than its wealthy neighbor to the north? The story gives one great hope that planet Earth can be saved.
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By Leah Karpus on July 20th, 2009
The day has finally come for industrial hemp. Hemp products are reaching mainstream markets and becoming more and more popular. However, although hemp crops have been around for literally thousands of years, the benefits of this important crop are still being overshadowed by its controversial stigma as marijuana.
What is Hemp?
Hemp (also known as Cannabis sativa L.) is a diverse plant encompassing over 500 varieties. This article refers to industrial hemp, used for food, cloth and other commodities, as opposed to marijuana.
Contrary to popular belief, marijuana and hemp, though related, are not synonymous. The levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (the psychoactive chemical in marijuana) are less than 0.3% in hemp. Conversely, industrial hemp contains a relatively high percentage of another chemical called CBD, which actually impedes psychoactive effects of marijuana. Therefore, eating hemp, smoking hemp or using hemp products will not get you high.
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By Simon Leufstedt on September 29th, 2008
As of September 23 we humans have used all the resources our earth can produce this year. That means we are borrowing resources from 2009 and that we are literally consuming our children’s resources.
And as each year passes Earth Overshoot Day happens earlier and earlier. Last year Earth Overshoot Day happened on October 6. Then we consumed 30% more natural resources than what the earth can reproduce under a whole year. Now in 2008 that number has increased with 10% as the Global Footprint Network expects us to use 140% of the Earths resources.
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By Miguel Dias on September 15th, 2008
Nowadays the concerns about the environment are very present in the minds of more and more people. Maybe because of the huge amount of information that circles on the internet in site and blogs like this one, because they saw it on the TV, or because they have already suffered from some of the effects of climate change: floods, extreme drought, heavy snow storms, etc.
Some of the solutions presented to prevent or decrease the effects of global warming are, as we all know: Drive you car less times, use public transports, shutdown all electric devises when they are not in use, recycle etc.
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By Artemis Mindrinou on September 11th, 2008
Six billion people. That’s the current human population on Earth, and the highest ever reached as well. Things start to get cramped in the cities, while there is everywhere a noticeable depressing atmosphere due to having too many people around, whether that’s in a traffic jam, in shops, at public services etc.
The number of six billion human lives would never have been reached if it wasn’t for fossil fuels. The energy sent by the sun and received by the Earth every day could ever sustain more than two billion people. Fossil fuels combine a sort of energy saved below the surface of the planet, now extracted by humans to use this energy and cover their needs. And with all needs easily covered, humanity was and is able to rise in population.
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By Heather Johnson on September 6th, 2008
They say it’s hard to teach an old dog new tricks, and this is never so true as in the case of adults who find it hard to change habits and characteristics that have been formed over a lifetime. And this is why it’s imperative that we teach our children the importance of good habits right from childhood, when they’re at a more malleable age and tend to listen to adults. Saving the environment may not be child’s play, but it is a child’s place to get involved in the process.
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By Christine Reed on August 15th, 2008
Ask me where I am from, and more than likely, I will say Lake Erie. Or the Great Lakes. I love Pennsylvania, for sure, but I feel I have more in common with someone from Toronto or Chicago than someone from Philadelphia (though I love that city and lived there many years of my youth).
I also love central Pennsylvania, being a Penn State girl. But the hills and valleys feel somehow wrong to me. My eyes crave the flat land, as it reaches toward a low and long horizon.
And I truly feel starved for the horizon that is a Great Lake. For those of you who have never seen a Great Lake, it is no simple lake. It would look like the ocean to you. No land in sight. Rolling waves.
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