Green Cities ECO Project by Christian Martinez https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f Live life green! en-us 2018-02-21 13:52:23 UTC 2018-03-23 21:20:55 UTC hello@padlet.com https://padlet-assets.s3.amazonaws.com/icons/Ornamenttree.png Dubai Green City {Masdar City} 20martch https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/233728561 This city is a green eco-friendly city whose goal is to reduce carbon emissions and power-usage to a minimum. It is located in in the Arabian Desert in the United Arab Emirates.

Green City
The city (Masadar) is powered by a 54 acre solar field with an additional 88,000 solar panels on the roofs of the buildings. Every water or light switch is motion activated, which reduces usage of these resources by 51-55%. In this city approximately 80% of the water will be recycled and waste water is to be used as many times over as possible.

Transporation
The city uses a personal rapid transport system which would allow people to move freely from one place to the other. While the city has given up on its 0 carbon emission dream, it still plans to be low carbon and is aspiring to accomplish this by introducing electric cars and electric powered vehicles to transport the masses.

Key Idea
While this city is not going to be the first 0 carbon city developed, it certainly is a step in the right direction towards developing cities that are greener and more eco-friendly. It is currently still under development and has proven to be one of the most sustainable cities on the earth.

Putting these Ideas to use
Utilizing this green architecture and technologies Masdar city has, we could cut our own carbon emissions by half. If us as a nation are going to rebuild our info-structure, let us build it right by building it green, with car-less cities, closer buildings to inspire walking, public transit, and lets build it with renewable energy.

]]> 2018-02-21 13:56:46 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/233728561 Superblocks {Revamping the Street} 20martch https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234664970 This new idea is to give the streets back to the people by taking 9 city blocks and clumping them into one superblock. This superblock will be stripped of all cars, and the streets will be for walking and for the people (the streets inside the superblock). Their will be streets around the superblock though. The basic idea is that this superblock will act as a mini-neighborhood while dramatically reducing noise and air pollution throughout the city.

How it Works
9 city blocks are taken and merged together to form 1 superblock, traffic will be restricted into that superblock to only main roads in the superblock for residents or local businesses, although speed inside the roads of the superblock is slow, about 10 km/hr. This will allow for a reduction of cars needed to get around the city of Barcelona as a whole.

Options instead of Cars
To top it off, each superblock is being outfitted with an introduction of 300km of new cycling lanes, advocating for the use of bikes, walking, or public transportation to get around the superblock as an alternative to cars. This will in turn reduce carbon emissions, noise pollution, and lead to a better greener city..

Putting these Ideas to use
If we are going to rebuild our city roads under an info-structure plan, we should build it so it benefits the future not just today by implementing these type of urban designs which reduce carbon emissions, noise pollution, and ultimately lead to a more green future.]]> 2018-02-23 13:20:12 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234664970 Cape Town, South Africa 20sibaen https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234669329 Cape Town is the capital of South Africa and the second greenest city int he world. To be greener they became the first city to use commercial wind farm, and also by 2020 they expect to get 10% of the country's energy from renewable resources.

Commercial Wind Farming
Three blades, the length of a tennis go around on top of a windmill, the height of a 17 story building, producing 7 gigawatts hours a year of green energy. The first commercial wind farm was the Darling Wind Farm which was created in 2008, it went through a lot of obstacles due to South Africa being new to such a new energy source, many environment organizations such as the Global Environment Facility, UN Development Program, and Danish International Development Agency. And it led to South African Wind Energy Program, a project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which led to the creation of the Darling Wind Farm.]]> 2018-02-23 13:31:19 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234669329 Investing in Africa 20martch https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234671443 Africa's renewable energy potential is phenomenal, which is precisely why President Obama investing 500 million into it before he left office. If Africa can become a green energy continent, it could provide for all its citizens and have excess to sell, this would ultimately change the face of the world and result in a greener future.

Potential Quantemized
Africa could have enough energy to provide energy for their entire continent and for their growing population if the renewable energy potential is met. And they could still have energy to sell; renewable energy could become the dominant industry in all of Africa.

How to Accomplish
To create a greener Africa would require a lot of funding, but nothing the world couldn't accomplish, this investment would have to come soon though. The growing demand for power in Africa has lead to the majority use of non-renewables, although that can change.]]> 2018-02-23 13:36:17 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234671443 Reyknavik, Iceland gkertawidjaja https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234676674 This city is the capital of Iceland, and is one of the most greenest cities in the world. They have put several hydrogen buses on the streets and rely solely on geothermal and hydro power for their heat and electricity. It is a great model for green cities everywhere.

Hydrogen Buses
Though these buses can be very expensive, they give off zero-emissions into the atmosphere due to the fact that they rely entirely on electricity and hydrogen fuel. This hydrogen can be stored in a liquid or compressed gas state at refueling stations.Though rechargeable batteries are needed in the  process of combining hydrogen to oxygen in the air to form water, the energy used in the production of electricity is nothing to worry about because most--if not all--of the energy is formed by the  renewable energy generated throughout the city.

Forms of Renewable Energy in Iceland
Geothermal energy accounts for 30% of the nation's energy.
Hydro power energy accounts for 20% of the nation's energy.
In total, you can see that the entire country is so green that the renewable energy accounts for approximately 50% of their energy.

Things to keep in mind
Professionals have calculated that we will be running out of oil by the year 2088 if we continue the way we use our fossil fuels today. That is only in 70 years! Though hydrogen buses are very expensive right now, it is a good idea to invest now rather than later. Though it is not possible for all nations to convert half of their countries' energy to renewable energy right away, it is at least worth the try to start.
-George K]]> 2018-02-23 13:48:12 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234676674 Copenhagen: Worlds Greenest City 20martch https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234679054 Copenhagen opts to be the world first 0 carbon city, it is accomplishing this by partnering with local business and companies, increasing cycling lanes and attempting to become the most practical city for cycling, increasing the extend of natural light vs. artificial light, etc.

How they did it
  • Public transportation {zero carbon emission buses}.
  • Increased cycling lanes and made it practical to cycle to work.
  • Partnered with green business and to create stuff such as the "World Greenest Hotel".
  • Created tons of outdoor parts and gardens.
  • Powered by green renewable energy.

Main Idea
Copenhagen has implemented many policies which has transformed them into a greener city, if we follow their lead we can definitely improve our cities in a way which is beneficial to all.
]]> 2018-02-23 13:53:18 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234679054 Tips For An Eco-Friendly City/Transport dlopezlara https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234682833
  • More parks
  • Find ways for people to travel without a car like a train or subway
  • Quality public space
  • More bike lanes for the public
  • High Profile Green buildings with gardens
  • Comprehensive Recycling and Composting Programs
  • Mixed-Use and Infill development 
  • Green leadership/people that actually want change
  • Smart energy policies
  • Celebrate green
]]> 2018-02-23 14:01:06 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234682833 Kinetic Plates gkertawidjaja https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234684133 People in the UK are thinking about putting kinetic plates underneath the roads that when compressed,  generate energy by turning generators. Scientists say with these generators can produce 30 kilowatts  of energy per hour.

Scientist Ideas: Giving Back
As you can see in the picture below, scientists have thought about placing these kinetic plates at the exits of supermarkets to power the cash-registers. So when cars leave the parking lot, they are giving back the electricity they used when they checked out their items.

Student Ideas: Super blocks
Like what Christian is saying in his super blocks idea, we could use these kinetic plates in the entrances of the super blocks, or the busier roads outside the super blocks. They could be used as speed bumps and could be used to produce enormous amounts of energy for the city street lights and surrounding homes.
-George K]]> 2018-02-23 14:03:53 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/234684133 Ways to improve cities julie17burke https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/235328311 1. Convert cars to electric ( uses 40-60% less petroleum than gas vehicles) 
2.Draw nature closer to people (improves air quality) 
3.Having more parks in the cities
4. Green transportation
5. Vehicles running on propane other than gas  
6. Less people or factories producing outputs with plastics
7.Use essential oils
8.stop junk mail 
9. Stop using bottle water
10.Reduce the amount of waste
11. Conserve energy 

]]> 2018-02-26 13:31:50 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/235328311 Greener cities and tips to stay Eco-friendly enriquelatino14 https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/235883793 Some of the biggest things to help reduce our carbon foot print and create more green cities has to do with our transportation, eating habits and types of fuels/energy we use.

Another thing for cities is the way they use their energy. Other countries around the world have already started with using energy that is renewable. Places like Iceland and Sweden are leading the way with geothermal, solar, and hydroelectric power. Places like Costa Rica and  Nicaragua has been able to use their environment to help them. One thing they do is use the volcanoes around them to produce energy in a clean way.

For countries and other places that can't spend much or don't spend much on new renewable energy sources one big thing that can help them is using the environment around them. Using water, solar, and wind energy in places where their is an abundance of it, it could provide a simple way to convert to cleaner energy.

When going green its good to keep in mind of how much money is put into the effort. For people or places that can't devote as much money into high end renewable energy sources they can do things that are  smaller and cheaper but still effective. Some of the things they can do is, plant gardens/trees, change to a more Eco friendly diet and even reusing and recycling things instead of just throwing them out.

Inexpensive ways to be more Eco-friendly

Some quick ways to be more Eco friendly:
Walk more/bike more, use less types of vehicles that use lots of fossil fuels.
Stop using bottles as much, such as water bottles or other disposable ones, (millions of plastic gets used to make those bottles and in return becomes trash) 
Plant your own food or join a community garden.
When shopping try to go local and eat organic. 
Try to reduce waste and turn it into a resource. Start a compost pile with all the left over food scraps you have. 
Even though these aren't new or highly innovative they would be effective if people started to do it. This would be continually more and more effective as more people do it.]]> 2018-02-27 14:28:48 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/235883793 Ways the environment is being harmed julie17burke https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/237373019 Some examples of air pollution would be the exhaust from your car, burning fossil fuels (coal, oil or gas). Other products like paint and plastic also give off harmful gases to the environment.
Some examples of land pollution would be farmer's using pesticides and other farming chemicals on the plants. The smallest things like liter on the side of the road can affect the environment but there are bigger things like oil spills or people dumping in natural habitats. This causes pollution in habitats and causes deforestation and damage done to naturals resources. 
Some examples of water pollution is people putting raw sewage running into lakes or industrial waster spilling into contaminating lakes or streams. Farm runoff into bodies of water or radiation spills or nuclear accidents.  ]]> 2018-03-02 13:16:48 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/237373019 How can a city become Eco Friendly? dlopezlara https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/237379675 1. It doesn't exactly need to be national. People in an area can all pitch in and start off small. 
2. Doesn't need to be pretty. You don't need to have beautiful flowers everywhere.
3. Have more parks. I read an article that said, "By the year 2050, 75% of the population of the world is expected to be living in urban areas". In that case it'll be very important to have more parks. 
4. Places like Dubai, Beijing and Switzerland have brand new metro systems that they can take to work and not pollute the air and environment. 
5. Lastly you should spread the word and get people to join in and be informed on what their environment is like so they can make a change. ]]> 2018-03-02 13:36:14 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/237379675 Solar Energy and how it improves our enivronment 20sibaen https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/237385831 A way to reduce pollution is to invest in solar energy. Benefits of investing in solar energy is that it reduces air pollution, it reduces carbon dioxide and methane emission making the air cleaner. Usually our traditional energy sources cause global warming and low air quality but with solar energy, no greenhouse gas will be emitted through the air. Solar energy is also a good energy alternative because it is renewable because the energy source for solar energy is the sun and the sun produces everything in abundance, the sun produces precisely 173,000 Terawatts of solar energy per second so it produces a great amount of energy.`]]> 2018-03-02 13:50:15 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/237385831 some reasons why the environment is being harmed and this we can do to fix them allen_bronson https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/238039663 1.One thing that is harming the environment is are trash that we leave behind or throw on the ground like plastic is harmful for the animals and the environment and a way we can fix that is with recycling bins just but around the town so people don't just throw thing on the ground

2.transportation needs to be fixed it is one major thing that is harmful to the environment because of the amount of gases the cars and buses release and a way to fix that is with things like cars that run on electricity or trains or use bikes]]> 2018-03-05 12:43:16 UTC https://padlet.com/20martch/lxrrwrnr2c8f/wish/238039663