Archive for the ‘Environment’ Category
Monday, June 23rd, 2008
China’s Renewable Energy Development Project (REDP) was rewarded the Ashden Awards for Sustainable Energy, the world’s leading green energy prize, in a final competition taking place here Thursday.
The REDP was launched in 2001 by the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and the World Bank (WB), with international grant financing provided by the Global Environment Facility (GEF), with one of its main aims to promote the installation of photovoltaic (PV) solar home systems in remote off-grid homes in nine western Chinese provinces; to improve the quality of production of PV modules and other system components in China; to provide free information about PV; and to facilitate cooperation between the PV sector in China and the rest of the world.
Xinhua – China’s renewable energy project wins global green energy prize
Posted in China, Environment, Sustainable Design | No Comments »
Monday, June 16th, 2008
THE Shanghai government yesterday urged its civil servants to think green in order to save energy.
Municipal officials are encouraged to wear casual attire in summer as well as switch off air-conditioners and lights during noon breaks or when leaving offices, according to a city statement.
The city has also called on government affiliates to save water by updating supply facilities, using rain water and setting up recycling systems.
Low-emission cars and ecologically friendly vehicles should replace luxury sedans for officials’ business use, according to the statement. It urged civil servants to share cars or take public transport whenever possible when they are out on business.
Read more @ the SOURCE: City orders: Think lean, green — Shanghai Daily
Posted in Environment, Shanghai, Sustainable Design | No Comments »
Monday, June 9th, 2008
In the northeastern Hainan Province city of Wenchang, a 120 megawatts (mW) wind power plant is under construction. It’s the first large-scale wind power project in the province with a total investment of 1.3 billion yuan.
The first phase consists of 33 wind turbines, each with the capacity of 1.5 mW. Once operating, they can generate around 103 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity annually, according to China Huaneng Group, the project’s developer.
SOURCE: China Daily – Huaneng banks on development of clean energy – Author – Wan Zhihong
Posted in China, Environment | No Comments »
Thursday, June 5th, 2008
China’s Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development (MHURD) stressed in a circular on Tuesday that infrastructure restoration was a priority in reconstruction after the May 12 earthquake.
The MHURD ordered governments at all levels to draw up construction plans by June 8, including building locations and materials.
It instructed officials to better manage construction of interim housing in quake-hit areas to ensure its safety.
The government is to assess all school buildings in quake zones, said a statement from the earthquake relief headquarters of the State Council.
Local governments must organize personnel to conduct safety appraisals of all school buildings as soon as possible to ensure the safety of students as they return to school, according to the statement.
SOURCE: Xinhua – Reconstruction of infrastructure priority in quake-hit areas.
Posted in Architecture, Environment, Urban Planning | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 4th, 2008
Zhang Quan, director of the Shanghai environmental protection bureau, said at a press briefing, that now is the time to shift the focus from urban areas and tackle environmental problems in the suburbs and the countryside, as more and more factories move their production bases there.
The restructuring is also putting a strain on the rural infrastructure, he added.
The measures might include the increased use of organic pesticides, limiting the use of chemical fertilizers, and accelerating the development of the areas’ infrastructure, including their sewerage systems, Zhang said.
“There are more than 2 million people living in rural villages in Shanghai, where it is very difficult to promote environmental protection measures,” he said.
“But the city has the funds and all other necessary resources to tackle the problem.”
Despite its rapid population and economic growth, Shanghai’s environment has been improving steadily in recent years, the bureau said yesterday in a statement.
Last year, almost 90 percent of days were reported as having “good” air quality, the highest number since monitoring began more than 10 years ago, it said.
Green coverage has risen to 38 percent, and as of last year, the amount of green space per capita was up to 12.5 sq m, the bureau said.
SOURCE: china.org.cn – Green plan ‘requires new focus’ — .
Posted in China, Design, Environment, Sustainable Design | No Comments »
Sunday, June 1st, 2008
Today is the first day of the ban on retailers supplying plastic bags to customers. Numerous
retailers have started charging customers between 0.3 to 0.5 yuan per bag and supplying the alternative of heshian or material bags for shopping.
The law has come into effect to try and reduce the the direct pollution of the environment and the indirect pollution through the production of plastic bags. The production of plastic bags uses thousands of litres of oil per day in China.
Posted in Environment | No Comments »
Tuesday, April 22nd, 2008
The European Commission’s biggest-ever delegation to China heads for Beijing this week, hoping to progress from words to action on China’s soaring greenhouse gas emissions and its tense trade ties with Europe.
European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso will have to tread a careful line because he also intends to raise the handling of pro-independence unrest in Tibet and human rights in general in China in the meetings with the country’s leadership. “We want to get into more concrete action with China,” a European Union official said ahead of the April 24-25 visit by Barroso and nine commissioners which Brussels hopes will prove the start of a new, more fruitful phase in EU-China ties.
Source: Guardian.co.uk
Posted in Environment | No Comments »
Friday, April 18th, 2008
COULD Singapore spark the green revolution in China, a country recently named in a University of California report as the world’s “biggest polluter”?
This possibility is being raised as the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City — the first collaboration of its kind between Singapore and Beijing since the Suzhou Industrial Park (SIP) in 1994 — takes off.
Using the lessons from the Housing and Development Board’s 48 years of experience, the planners have opted for a practical approach in the quest to convert the wetlands and rivers of the site — 150 km from Beijing — into a city that is the model of sustainable development.
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The best ideas of both countries will go into developing the 30-sq-km site into a living space for 350,000 residents in 10 to 15 years’ time, with schools, housing areas, commercial and industrial services.
Read more @ the SOURCE: TODAYonline – This eco-city to show the way By Zul Othman
zul@mediacorp.com.sg
Posted in Environment, Sustainable Design, Technology | No Comments »
Sunday, April 13th, 2008
Having a green agenda is no longer something that is imported or foisted upon Asian countries or cities, Chief Executive Donald Tsang says. It is an essential element in the ongoing success of cities such as Hong Kong, and of greater economic groupings such as the Pearl River Delta.
Speaking at the luncheon for Boao Forum for Asia 2008 conference today, Mr Tsang said Hong Kong’s future depends on how well the city can keep adding value to the services it provides to the world, to its own country, and to its own citizens.
“Hong Kong has an excellent business environment, a superb location and unrivalled potential. Low taxes, world-class infrastructure, global connectivity, excellent human capital have all been central to our success so far.
“But, this will not be enough to secure future prosperity. Our citizens and residents expect more, particularly in terms of quality of life. Economic growth and environmental protection now have a symbiotic relationship - they need each other, and in turn sustain each other.”
Clean environment vital, Improving the environment sits at the top of his policy agenda, he said.
“If we want to compete for talent and brainpower, if we want to retain our home-grown human capital, if we want to develop our services sector, then providing a clean and green environment is vital.”
Green agenda key to economic success.
Posted in Environment, Hong Kong | No Comments »
Thursday, March 27th, 2008
As landscape architects and design professionals we try our hardest to be green in our designs with water sensitive design, plants from the local ecology and materials from close to the project. And we also try to bring that green environment to our offices and work places with recycling bins, energy efficient lighting and providing bike racks for staff. But we often forget about the things that we have over the years become more and more reliant on – our computers and printers.
Over the last few years we have swapped our energy sucking CRT monitors for LCD panels and changed to digital format of pdf and dwf. However we always use the printers day in and day out and now Xerox has created the Sustainability Calculator to help us truly find out how green our office is by calculating all our office printers – Energy, Greenhouse Gas and Solid Waste use.
Xerox have also provided a few tips on how your office could be greener.
Source: Xerox North America
Posted in Environment, Sustainable Design | No Comments »
