Purposes

In those countries which have them, development in green belt areas is heavily restricted. The stated objectives of green belt policy are to:

Protect natural or semi natural environments;

Improve air quality within urban areas;

Ensure that urban dwellers have access to countryside, with consequent educational and recreational opportunities; and

Protect the unique character of rural communities which might otherwise be absorbed by expanding suburbs.

The green belt has many benefits for people:

Walking, camping, and biking areas close to the cities and towns.

Habitat for wild plants, animals and wildlife.

Cleaner air and water

Better land use of areas within the bordering cities.

The effectiveness of green belts differs depending on location and country.

They can often be eroded by urban rural fringe uses and sometimes, development ‘jumps’ over the green belt area, resulting in the creation of “satellite towns” which, although separated from the city by green belt, function more like suburbs than independent communities.

History

The Old Testament outlines a proposal for a green belt around the Levite towns in the Land of Israel Moses Maimonides expounded that the greenbelt plan from the Old Testament referred to all towns in ancient Israel. In the 7th century, Muhammad established a primitive form of a green belt around Medina.

He did this by prohibiting any further removal of trees in a 12-mile long strip around the city. In 1580 Elizabeth I of England banned new building in a 3 mile wide belt around the City of London in an attempt to stop the spread of plague. However, it was possible to buy dispensations which reduced the effectiveness of the proclamation.

In modern times, green belt policy was pioneered in the United Kingdom in the 1930s after pressure from the CPRE and various other organizations. There are fourteen green belt areas, in the UK covering 16,716 km, or 13% of England, and 164 km of Scotland; for a detailed discussion of these, see Green belt (UK). Other notable examples are the Ottawa Greenbelt and Golden Horseshoe Greenbelt, green belts in Ontario, Canada. Ottawa’s 20,350 hectare greenbelt is managed by the National Capital Commission (NCC). The more general term in the U.S. is green space or greenspace, which may be a very small area such as a park.

The concept of “green belt” has evolved in recent years to encompass not only “Greenspace” but also “Greenstructure”, taking into account all urban greenspaces, an important aspect of sustainable development in the 21st century. The European Commission’s COST Action C11 (European Cooperation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) is undertaking “Case studies in Greenstructure Planning” involving 15 European countries.

An act of the Swedish parliament from 1994 has declared a series of parks in Stockholm and the adjacent municipality of Solna to its north a “national city park” called Ekoparken (the “Eco park”; it stretches from the parks surrounding the royal palaces of Ulriksdal and Haga in Solna, through the Brunnsviken area, down to the former royal hunting grounds of North and South Djurgrden).

Criticism

The difference/contrarian interpretation of the green belt’s effects/motivation (for example, suggested by economist Tim Harford ) is that a green belt is created by residents to preserve the bourgeois status quo of those already living within the zone, and especially the advantage of landlords who profit from a scarcity of housing (see above, “preserving the character of rural communities”). In this interpretation, the stated motivation and benefits of the green belt are well-intentioned (public health, environment), but these benefits accrue as intentioned or claimed (for example, critics claim that only a small fraction of the population ever sets foot on the green belt for leisure purposes,[citation needed] and they claim that a green belt is not strongly causally linked to clean air and water). Rather, the ultimate result of the decision to green belt a city is to maintain the middle class status quo,[citation needed] thus exacerbating high housing prices by concentrating demand within the zone and stifling competitive forces in general.

Another area of criticism comes from the fact that, since a greenbelt does not extend indefinitely outside a city, it might spur the growth of areas much further away from the city core than if it had not existed, thereby actually increasing urban sprawl. Examples commonly cited are the Ottawa suburbs of Kanata and Orleans, both of which are outside the city’s greenbelt, and are currently undergoing explosive growth (see Greenbelt (Ottawa)). This can lead to other problems, as residents of these areas have further to commute to work (if they seek employment in city) and little access to public transport. It also means people will commute through the green belt, an area not designed to cope with high levels of transportation. Not only is the merit of a green belt apparently subverted, but the green belt may heighten the problem and make the city unsustainable[citation needed].

There are many examples whereby the actual effect of green belts is to act as a land reserve for future freeways and other highways. Examples include sections of the 407 highway north of Toronto and the Hunt Club Rd / Richmond Rd. south of Ottawa. Whether they are originally planned as such, or the result of a newer administration taking advantage of land that was left available by its predecessors is debatable.

In Britain, greenbelt barriers to urban expansion have been strongly criticised as one of several major protectionist political-economic barriers to housebuilding with negative effects on the supply, cost/prices, and quality of new homes. (The other barriers include new housing development taxes and quasi-taxes; political discrimination against particular classes of new housing supplier, household consumer, and housing product; and controls on housing technical-product development in particular, the blocking of innovative low-cost housebuilding using new materials and production technologies). Critics argue that the greenbelts actually defeat their own stated objective of saving the countryside and open spaces. By preventing existing towns and cities from extending normally and organically, they result in more land-extensive housing developments further out i.e., the establishment beyond the greenbelts of new communities with lower building densities, their own built infrastructure and other facilities, and greater dependence on cars and commuting, etc. Meanwhile, valuable urban green space and brownfield sites best suited to industry and commerce are lost in existing conurbations as more and more new housing is crammed into them.

Notable green belts

Australia

Adelaide’s Central Business District is completely encircled by the Adelaide Parklands, as was initially planned in 1837.

Brazil

The So Paulo City Green Belt Biosphere Reserve – GBBR, an integral part of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve, was created in 1994 stemming from a people’s movement that collected 150 thousand signatures. It extends throughout 73 municipalities including So Paulo metro and the Santos area. With approximately 17,000 km, it is inhabited by about 23 million people, corresponding to more than 10% of the country’s total population in an area equivalent to 2 thousandth of the Brazilian territory. There are over 6,000 km of forests and other Atlantic Forest ecosystems at the Reserve, one of the planet’s most threatened biomes. In addition to a spectacular biological diversity, the GBBR’s ecosystems render valuable ecosystem Services.

Canada

Ottawa Greenbelt – Surrounds the Capital city of Ottawa

Greenbelt (Golden Horseshoe), is a 7300 km band of land that encompasses the rural and agricultural land surrounding the Greater Toronto Area and Niagara Peninsula, and parts of the Bruce Peninsula. Most of the land consists of the Oak Ridges Moraine, an environmentally sensitive land that is a major aquifer for the region, and the Niagara Escarpment, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. In an effort to restrain urban sprawl that has encroched on these lands, the Ontario government created the Greenbelt Act in February 2005 to protect this greenspace from all future development, with the exception of limited agricultural use.

British Columbia – the Agricultural Land Reserve protects agricultural land throughout this mountainous province from urban development, including around Vancouver. This protection is strict and urban development of agricultural land is only allowed if no reasonable alternative exists. However, it does not protect non-agricultural land, particularly hillsides, leading to substantial, and highly visible, leapfrog-type hillside sprawl.

Dominican Republic

The Greater Santo Domingo has a Greenbelt(Santo Domingo Greenbelt) project surrounding the whole D.N. It is composed of the National botanical Garden, Mirador Del Norte, Mirador del Este, and other parks surrounding the area from its outer municipios. It has largely been affected by uncontrolled urbanization, but other parts remain unaffected.

Mainland Europe

European Green Belt

Banjica Forest, Belgrade

Stockholm Eco park

German Green Belt

New Zealand

Dunedin’s Town Belt is one of the world’s oldest green belts, having been planned at the time of the city’s rapid growth during the Otago Gold Rush of the 1860s. It surrounds the city centre on three sides (the fourth side being the city’s harbour).

The Philippines

Makati City’s green belt is very green yet full of malls and modern structures.

South Korea

Seoul

United Kingdom

Main article: green belt (UK)

The London Metropolitan Green Belt (5,133 km)

The North West Green Belt (2,578 km)

South and West Yorkshire Green Belt (2,556 km)

West Midlands Green Belt (2,315 km)

United States

The U.S. states of Oregon, Washington and Tennessee require cities to establish urban growth boundaries (UGBs).

Notable US cities which have adopted UGBs include Portland, Oregon; Twin Cities, Minnesota; Virginia Beach, Virginia; Lexington, Kentucky; Miami-Dade county.

More than 20 cities in the San Francisco Bay Area have UGBs (see Greenbelt Alliance, a Bay Area organization that has been involved in establishing these boundaries).

Staten Island Greenbelt

Barton Creek Greenbelt

Ann Arbor, Michigan is acquiring conservation easements on agricultural land around the city without the establishment of an urban growth boundary. While the city’s initial plan did not include the participation of surrounding townships, at least four townships have participated directly or have initiated their own efforts to protect agricultural land surrounding the city.

See also

Environment portal

Ecology portal

Earth sciences portal

Sustainable development portal

Community separator

Conservation movement

Development Supported Agriculture

Ecology

Land use planning

Open space

Prime farmland

Sustainability

Urban growth boundary

Urban rural fringe

Urban sprawl

References

^ Numbers 35:1-5

^ Mishna Torah, Zeraim, Shmittah & Yovel 13:4-5

^ Iqbal, Munawwar (2005). Islamic Perspectives on Sustainable Development. p. 27. Published jointly by Palgrave Macmillan, University of Bahrain, and Islamic Research and Training Institute.

^ Halliday, Stephen (2004). Underground to Everywhere. Sutton Publishing Limited. pp. 118. ISBN 0750938439. 

^ National Capital Commission. “National Capital Commission :: The National Capital Greenbelt :: History and Culture.” National Capital Commission – Commission De La Capitale Nationale (NCC-CCN). 07 Dec. 2007. NCC-CCN. Accessed 28 June 2008.

^ How Much Open Space is Enough?” St. Paul Pioneer Press (MN) – April 22, 2007 – A1 MAIN

^ Political Barriers To Housebuilding In Britain: A Critical Case Study Of Protectionism & Its Industrial-Commercial Effects, Industrial Systems Research/ Google Books, new edition 2002. Chapter two: reenbelt Barriers To Urban Expansion. ISBN 978-0-906321-21-8

Categories: Real estate | Urban studies and planning terminology | Local government | Housing | Land management | Zoning | Sustainable urban planningHidden categories: All articles with unsourced statements | Articles with unsourced statements from October 2007 | Articles with unsourced statements from July 2008

Green building practices aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings. Buildings account for a large amount of land use, energy and water consumption, and air and atmosphere alteration. Considering the statistics, reducing the amount of natural resources buildings consume and the amount of pollution given off is seen as crucial for future sustainability, according to EPA.The environmental impact of buildings is often underestimated, while the perceived costs of green buildings are overestimated. A recent survey by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development finds that green costs are overestimated by 300 percent, as key players in real estate and construction estimate the additional cost at 17 percent above conventional construction, more than triple the true average cost difference of about 5 percent.

Goals of green building

the Blu Homes mkSolaire, a green building designed by Michelle Kaufmann

The concept of sustainable development can be traced to the energy (especially fossil oil) crisis and the environment pollution concern in the 1970s. The green building movement in the U.S. originated from the need and desire for more energy efficient and environmentally friendly construction practices. There are a number of motives to building green, including environmental, economic, and social benefits. However, modern sustainability initiatives call for an integrated and synergistic design to both new construction and in the retrofitting of an existing structure. Also known as sustainable design, this approach integrates the building life-cycle with each green practice employed with a design-purpose to create a synergy amongst the practices used.

Green building brings together a vast array of practices and techniques to reduce and ultimately eliminate the impacts of buildings on the environment and human health. It often emphasizes taking advantage of renewable resources, e.g., using sunlight through passive solar, active solar, and photovoltaic techniques and using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens, and for reduction of rainwater run-off. Many other techniques, such as using packed gravel or permeable concrete instead of conventional concrete or asphalt to enhance replenishment of ground water, are used as well.

While the practices, or technologies, employed in green building are constantly evolving and may differ from region to region, there are fundamental principles that persist from which the method is derived: Siting and Structure Design Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Materials Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality Enhancement, Operations and Maintenance Optimization, and Waste and Toxics Reduction. The essence of green building is an optimization of one or more of these principles. Also, with the proper synergistic design, individual green building technologies may work together to produce a greater cumulative effect.

On the aesthetic side of green architecture or sustainable design is the philosophy of designing a building that is in harmony with the natural features and resources surrounding the site. There are several key steps in designing sustainable buildings: specify ‘green’ building materials from local sources, reduce loads, optimize systems, and generate on-site renewable energy.

Siting and structure design efficiency

See also: Sustainable design

The foundation of any construction project is rooted in the concept and design stages. The concept stage, in fact, is one of the major steps in a project life cycle, as it has the largest impact on cost and performance. In designing environmentally optimal buildings, the objective function aims at minimizing the total environmental impact associated with all life-cycle stages of the building project. However, building as a process is not as streamlined as an industrial process, and varies from one building to the other, never repeating itself identically. In addition, buildings are much more complex products, composed of a multitude of materials and components each constituting various design variables to be decided at the design stage. A variation of every design variable may affect the environment during all the building’s relevant life-cycle stages.

Energy efficiency

Main articles: Low-energy house and Zero-energy building

Green buildings often include measures to reduce energy use. To increase the efficiency of the building envelope, (the barrier between conditioned and unconditioned space), they may use high-efficiency windows and insulation in walls, ceilings, and floors. Another strategy, passive solar building design, is often implemented in low-energy homes. Designers orient windows and walls and place awnings, porches, and trees to shade windows and roofs during the summer while maximizing solar gain in the winter. In addition, effective window placement (daylighting) can provide more natural light and lessen the need for electric lighting during the day. Solar water heating further reduces energy loads.

Onsite generation of renewable energy through solar power, wind power, hydro power, or biomass can significantly reduce the environmental impact of the building. Power generation is generally the most expensive feature to add to a building.

Water efficiency

See also: Water Conservation

Reducing water consumption and protecting water quality are key objectives in sustainable building. One critical issue of water consumption is that in many areas of the country, the demands on the supplying aquifer exceed its ability to replenish itself. To the maximum extent feasible, facilities should increase their dependence on water that is collected, used, purified, and reused on-site. The protection and conservation of water throughout the life of a building may be accomplished by designing for dual plumbing that recycles water in toilet flushing. Waste-water may be minimized by utilizing water conserving fixtures such as ultra-low flush toilets and low-flow shower heads. Bidets help eliminate the use of toilet paper, reducing sewer traffic and increasing possibilities of re-using water on-site. Point of use water treatment and heating improves both water quality and energy efficiency while reducing the amount of water in circulation. The use of non-sewage and greywater for on-site use such as site-irrigation will minimize demands on the local aquifer.

Materials efficiency

See also: Sustainable architecture

Building materials typically considered to be ‘green’ include rapidly renewable plant materials like bamboo (because bamboo grows quickly) and straw, lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, ecology blocks, dimension stone, recycled stone, recycled metal, and other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable (e.g. Trass, Linoleum, sheep wool, panels made from paper flakes, compressed earth block, adobe, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, vermiculite, flax linen, sisal, seagrass, cork, expanded clay grains, coconut, wood fibre plates, calcium sand stone, concrete (high and ultra high performance, roman self-healing concrete) , etc.) The EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) also suggests using recycled industrial goods, such as coal combustion products, foundry sand, and demolition debris in construction projects Polyurethane heavily reduces carbon emissions as well. Polyurethane blocks are being used instead of CMTs by companies like American Insulock. Polyurethane blocks provide more speed, less cost, and they are environmentally friendly. Building materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site to minimize the energy embedded in their transportation. Where possible, building elements should be manufactured off-site and delivered to site, to maximise benefits of off-site manufacture including minimising waste, maximising recycling (because manufacture is in one location), high quality elements, better OHS management, less noise and dust.

Indoor environmental quality enhancement

See also: Indoor Air Quality

The Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) category in LEED standards, one of the five environmental categories, was created to provide comfort, well-being, and productivity of occupants. The LEED IEQ category addresses design and construction guidelines especially: indoor air quality (IAQ), thermal quality, and lighting quality.

Indoor Air Quality seeks to reduce volatile organic compounds, or VOC’s, and other air impurities such as microbial contaminants. Buildings rely on a properly designed HVAC system to provide adequate ventilation and air filtration as well as isolate operations (kitchens, dry cleaners, etc.) from other occupancies. During the design and construction process choosing construction materials and interior finish products with zero or low emissions will improve IAQ. Many building materials and cleaning/maintenance products emit toxic gases, such as VOC’s and formaldehyde. These gases can have a detrimental impact on occupants’ health and productivity as well. Avoiding these products will increase a building’s IEQ.

Personal temperature and airflow control over the HVAC system coupled with a properly designed building envelope will also aid in increasing a building’s thermal quality. Creating a high performance luminous environment through the careful integration of natural and artificial light sources will improve on the lighting quality of a structure.

Operations and maintenance optimization

No matter how sustainable a building may have been in its design and construction, it can only remain so if it is operated responsibly and maintained properly. Ensuring operations and maintenance(O&M) personnel are part of the project’s planning and development process will help retain the green criteria designed at the onset of the project. Every aspect of green building is integrated into the O&M phase of a building’s life. The addition of new green technologies also falls on the O&M staff. Although the goal of waste reduction may be applied during the design, construction and demolition phases of a building’s life-cycle, it is in the O&M phase that green practices such as recycling and air quality enhancement take place.

Waste reduction

Green architecture also seeks to reduce waste of energy, water and materials used during construction. For example, in California nearly 60% of the state’s waste comes from commercial buildings During the construction phase, one goal should be to reduce the amount of material going to landfills. Well-designed buildings also help reduce the amount of waste generated by the occupants as well, by providing on-site solutions such as compost bins to reduce matter going to landfills.

To reduce the impact on wells or water treatment plants, several options exist. “Greywater”, wastewater from sources such as dishwashing or washing machines, can be used for subsurface irrigation, or if treated, for non-potable purposes, e.g., to flush toilets and wash cars. Rainwater collectors are used for similar purposes.

Centralized wastewater treatment systems can be costly and use a lot of energy. An alternative to this process is converting waste and wastewater into fertilizer, which avoids these costs and shows other benefits. By collecting human waste at the source and running it to a semi-centralized biogas plant with other biological waste, liquid fertilizer can be produced. This concept was demonstrated by a settlement in Lubeck Germany in the late 1990s. Practices like these provide soil with organic nutrients and create carbon sinks that remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, offsetting greenhouse gas emission. Producing artificial fertilizer is also more costly in energy than this process.

Cost

The most criticized issue about constructing environmentally friendly buildings is the price. Photo-voltaics, new appliances, and modern technologies tend to cost more money. Most green buildings cost a premium of

Regulation and operation

Many countries have developed their own standards for green building or energy efficiency for buildings. Above some examples of building environmental assessment tools currently in use:

Australia: Nabers / Green Star

Brazil: AQUA

Canada: LEED Canada / Green Globes

China: GBAS

Finland: PromisE

France: HQE

Germany: DGNB / CEPHEUS

Hong Kong: HKBEAM

India: GRIHANational Rating System developed by TERI, LEED India www.igbc.in

Italy: Protocollo Itaca / Green Building Counsil Italia

Malaysia: GBI Malaysia

Mexico

Netherlands: BREEAM Netherlands

New Zealand: Green Star NZ

Philippines: BERDE / Philippine Green Building Council PHILGBC

Portugal: Lider A

Singapore: Green Mark

South Africa: Green Star SA

Spain: VERDE

Switzerland: Minergie

United States: LEED / Living Building Challenge / Green Globes / Build it Green / NAHB NGBS

United Kingdom: BREEAM

International frameworks and assessment tools

IPCC Fourth Assessment Report

Climate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), is the fourth in a series of such reports. The IPCC was established by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects and options for adaptation and mitigation.

UNEP and Climate change

UNEP works to facilitate the transition to low-carbon societies, support climate proofing efforts, improve understanding of climate change science, and raise public awareness about this global challenge.

GHG Indicator

The GHG Indicator: UNEP Guidelines for Calculating Greenhouse Gas Emissions for Businesses and Non-Commercial Organizations

Agenda 21

Agenda 21 is a programme run by the United Nations (UN) related to sustainable development. It is a comprehensive blueprint of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the UN, governments, and major groups in every area in which humans impact on the environment. The number 21 refers to the 21st century.

FIDIC’s PSM

FIDIC Project Sustainability Management Guidelines were created in order to assist project engineers and other stakeholders in setting sustainable development goals for their projects that are recognized and accepted by as being in the interests of society as a whole. The process is also intended to allow the alignment of project goals with local conditions and priorities and to assist those involved in managing projects to measure and verify their progress.

The PSM Guidelines are structured with Themes and Sub-Themes under the three main sustainability headings of Social, Environmental and Economic. For each individual Sub-Theme a core project indicator is defined along with guidance as to the relevance of that issue in the context of an individual project.

The Sustainability Reporting Framework provides guidance for organizations to use as the basis for disclosure about their sustainability performance, and also provides stakeholders a universally applicable, comparable framework in which to understand disclosed information.

The Reporting Framework contains the core product of the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines, as well as Protocols and Sector Supplements. The Guidelines are used as the basis for all reporting. They are the foundation upon which all other reporting guidance is based, and outline core content for reporting that is broadly relevant to all organizations regardless of size, sector, or location. The Guidelines contain principles and guidance as well as standard disclosures including indicators to outline a disclosure framework that organizations can voluntarily, xibly, and incrementally, adopt.

Protocols underpin each indicator in the Guidelines and include definitions for key terms in the indicator, compilation methodologies, intended scope of the indicator, and other technical references.

Sector Supplements respond to the limits of a one-size-s-all approach. Sector Supplements complement the use of the core Guidelines by capturing the unique set of sustainability issues faced by different sectors such as mining, automotive, banking, public agencies and others.

IPD Environment Code

The IPD Environment Code was launched in February 2008. The Code is intended as a good practice global standard for measuring the environmental performance of corporate buildings. Its aim is to accurately measure and manage the environmental impacts of corporate buildings and enable property executives to generate high quality, comparable performance information about their buildings anywhere in the world. The Code covers a wide range of building types (from ofes to airports) and aims to inform and support the following;

Creating an environmental strategy

Inputting to real estate strategy

Communicating a commitment to environmental improvement

Creating performance targets

Environmental improvement plans

Performance assessment and measurement

Life cycle assessments

Acquisition and disposal of buildings

Supplier management

Information systems and data population

Compliance with regulations

Team and personal objectives

IPD estimate that it will take approximately three years to gather significant data to develop a robust set of baseline data that could be used across a typical corporate estate.

ISO 21931

ISO/TS 21931:2006, Sustainability in building constructionramework for methods of assessment for environmental performance of construction worksart 1: Buildings, is intended to provide a general framework for improving the quality and comparability of methods for assessing the environmental performance of buildings. It identifies and describes issues to be taken into account when using methods for the assessment of environmental performance for new or existing building properties in the design, construction, operation, refurbishment and deconstruction stages. It is not an assessment system in itself but is intended be used in conjunction with, and fo

Our planet is in peril. It’s in the news and people all over the world are becoming kinder to our environment. I don’t know how to save the world. Heck, get all of the top scientists in the world together and they can’t even agree on how to save the world, but they will agree that something has to be done quickly.

I want to give you some things you can do now to help the planet. Can one person save the Earth? No, but one person and another and another and so on can save it. So, why not be one of those people.

Be Green for the Good of Our Planet

We all should hold our government and huge industries to their part in initiating green action. Industries absolutely need to stop polluting. Government needs to support clean alternative energy. Communities all need to work on every level to promote waste reduction. But that doesn’t give individuals the right to ignore what they can do, because the sum of all individuals is greater than any industry, any community and any government.

Individuals can make huge gains toward a greener and cleaner world.

Do any of us expect governments, communities, and industries to change overnight? No. It takes time to initiate meaningful change. Individuals should realize that a slow but steady approach to making green changes is okay. Do not beat yourself up if you are not making some of these changes to your lifestyle overnight. Just take on one change at a time and then make another until you have made a real and lasting change that will help to save our planet.

Reducing Consumption

Let’s start out with a real easy green tip. Let’s start with reducing consumption. Anything you do to decrease the amount of the Earth’s resources that you use helps to reduce consumption and helps you to lead a more sustainable life.

Examples of reducing consumption could be to purchase items with less packaging or to turn down your thermostat.

One of the easiest, yet most helpful, ways to help our Earth is to buy items with less packaging. Let’s say for example that you go to the grocery store and one of the items on your grocery list is a package of toilet paper. Look for the double rolls package. These rolls have twice as much toilet paper as a regular roll and that means you bought double the amount of toilet paper but it comes in only one package. If every one did this, the savings in packaging would be astronomical. The energy that companies use to create that packaging could be cut in half and the world would breathe a little easier.

Now, take it a step farther. Recycle the toilet paper cardboard tubes and, when you open the package of toilet paper, just slit it on the top and then use the empty package as a liner in a small trashcan. These little changes add up drastically and you have a start on becoming green.

Bonus Green Tip # 1

When you turn your kitchen tap on and wait for hot water, make sure to have a jug or pitcher available and fill it up with the cold water that would normally go down the drain. You can use the cold water for drinking water or to water plants, but allowing it to go down the drain is not helpful to the environment. This is a simple way to be kind to our planet.

Green lifestyle is the new way of living nowadays; people who are turning green helps reduce carbon emissions by using energy efficient appliances. They also do their best to reduce waste by recycling and reusing their things. Mark Spellun a media entrepreneur who encourages green lifestyles in his magazine believe that living green is the way to live sustainably. Mark Spellun’s visions is to let the world know about our environment and the same time let them know that it is also exciting to save the planet.

There are ways to have a green lifestyle. It can be easy and inexpensive but if one really wants to be all green it can also be expensive. It depends on what you can give and sacrifice for the sake of a better environment. Living green is basically saving one’s energy consumption, like turning off unused appliances and using compact energy bulbs.

Having energy saver gadgets can really go along way too. Conserving fuels or using hybrid cars that use biofuels are also a way to reduce carbon emissions but if one really does not want to produce carbon, a bike is recommended, aside from being healthier it does not produce carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses and it does not need any form of fuel and is very inexpensive. Using alternative sources of energy is the new trend of living nowadays; houses are built with clean technology. Some houses uses solar panels or wind energy to use as their source of power or electricity in this way sustainability is attained. Mark Spellun sees this as the future of green living.

People who promote green lifestyles are also keen in using reusable stuff, they are creative and innovative.

New things are not always better; one has to be creative in order to lessen waste production. Using reusable containers for food are encouraged than using disposable ones. Going paperless if possible is better since they are made from trees. But the best way to help in reducing carbon emissions is by planting trees, trees stock carbon and uses it for its metabolism. But if it is not possible planting ones backyard can also help but remember not to use any form of chemical fertilizers, going organic is more sustainable aside from being healthier. Using conventional fertilizer like animal dung and decaying plant litter is better than chemical fertilizers.

When shopping, bring a bag so that using paper bags or plastics are reduced. There are many ways to live green and protect the environment without sacrificing the comfort of living. Sharing tips and teaching others to preserve our environment can really go a long way. If everyone can live green, sustainability and management of resources will not be a problem anymore. Everyday should be an opportunity to save the planet and protecting the environment is an everyday struggle. The environment cannot restore itself immediately with people using it continuously. People need the natural resources then it is a prerequisite for humans to pay back what nature has given them.

What are green roof surfaces?

Green roof surfaces are typically referred to as roofs of buildings that are partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium then planted over a waterproofing membrane. Green roof surfaces may also include additional layers such as drainage and irrigation systems. The use of the word green also refers to the growing trend of environmental consciousness and does not merely refer to roofs which are coloured green. Green roof surfaces are also known as living roof surfaces and serve several purposes for a building. These purposes include absorbing rainwater, providing insulation, and creating sometimes a habitat for wildlife. There are two types of green roof surfaces, intensive roofs which are thicker and can support a wider variety of plants but are heavier and require more maintenance, and extensive roofs, which are covered in a light layer of vegetation and are lighter than an intensive green roof.

What are the benefits of green roof surfaces?

Not only are green roof surfaces great for the environment but they are also save money by reducing your energy bills and extending the lifespan of your room by up to 70%.

Green roof surfaces can also create an added garden space for you to enjoy your own private sanctuary. Green roof surfaces bring a variety of benefits to your home and your lifestyle. They are especially useful if you live in a city centre where open greenery is limited. Green roof surfaces provide much needed insulation for the winter months as well as reducing the heat in the summer months thus making your home cooler. Lastly, green roof surfaces are also added insulation against outside noise.

Where you can go for green roof surfaces for your home

If you have decided that green roof surfaces are worth looking into for your home then look no further than by going online to www.leakypipe.co.uk. There you will find high quality and environmentally friendly green roof surfaces at a cost you can afford. Visit their website today to find out about how green roof surfaces can save you money as well as help the environment.

Glass greenhouse as its name suggests is one of the many greenhouse models that give a better atmosphere for all kinds of plants growth. Though you can find different varieties of these houses plants these days including those made from metal, nylon ropes, plastic etc., yet glass always scores above the rest and the reasons are many.

Adds beauty to your garden area:
Glass house for plants has always been a choice of the elites. Remember old Hollywood movies showing glass houses in their cottages? These are always synonymous with the concept of beauty. Imagine a vacation with a greenhouse with lots of flowering plants of different colors in full bloom. Nothing can be more pleasant to witness than this. Put one in your house, and it is certain to catch everyone’s eye. You would simply love to relax in this corner.

Glass houses for plants to ensure adequate sunlight:
Natural sunlight is the lifeline of all living creatures.

Plants are no exception to this rule. Glass greenhouse allows heat and sunlight in appropriate measurements to reach the plant foliage and growing plants. This allows for building a conducive environment for the growth of plants naturally. However, before this type of greenhouse installation proper care is to be taken to include all the factors essential for plant growth like providing adequate sunlight, water and other natural elements. Remember, that excessive sunlight is also not good for the plant’s health.

Aesthetic appeal of glass house for plants:
Any type of glass houses has great visual attraction. The same applies with this type of houses for proper growth of plants.

Apart from beautifying your garden area, these ones when used for research like glass greenhouse for schools make students attracted towards botany lessons. Students would just love to go into these houses filled with colorful blooming flowers and budding vegetable. This becomes more appealing during summers when the soft rays of the sun falls on them and reflects its beauty in full.

Getting the best glass houses for your flora:
To get the maximal benefit from plant houses it is essential that you use the right and latest greenhouse construction. This ranges from coolers, heaters to humidifiers, misting controls among many others. Nowadays, you can get these types of glasshouses online for growing that are tempered for safety. They are laminated and on breaking crumbles into small pieces with relatively smooth edges, thus ensuring user safety.
Get the best glass greenhouses online and enjoy the difference.

You may be surprised to learn that renewable energy and green power are not synonymous! This is due to the fact that the two do not have the same source, have different effects on the environment and have different costs. In fact, green power is simply a subset of renewable energy. It often has higher environmental benefits and is defined as electricity produced from solar, wind, geothermal, biogas, biomass and low-impact small hydroelectric sources. Green power is appealing to many individuals who would like to have less of a negative impact on the environment and would like to contribute to greenhouse gas reduction efforts.

Green power sources produce electricity that is superior to conventional power technologies and resources.

Green power sources produce zero greenhouse gas emissions. The EPA controls green power and requires that green power resources must have been built within the last 12 years (the voluntary market began on 1/1/97) in order to support “new” renewable energy development.

Renewable energy includes resources that rely on fuels that restore themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish. These sources are the sun, wind, moving water, biomass (organic plant and waste material) and geothermal energy. Some renewable energy technologies have an impact on the environment. Large hydroelectric resources can have environmental trade-offs associated with issues such as fisheries and land use.

Conventional power, which is the least environmentally beneficial, requires the use and combustion of fossil fuels as well as the nuclear fission of uranium. Fossil fuels have the added negative impact and cost of the environmental costs incurred from mining, drilling and extraction and as well as the added negativity of greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution (created during combustion). Nuclear power generation is positive in the sense that it emits no greenhouse gases during power generation, but does still require mining, extraction and long-term radioactive waste storage.

Anthropogenic emissions are produced through human activity that unnaturally releases CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. One of the largest sources of anthropogenic CO2 emissions is the combustion of fossil fuels or fossil fuel-based products to produce electricity. Biogenic emissions contrast starkly to anthropogenic emissions and result from the natural biological processes, such as the decomposition of vegetative matter. Biogenic emissions are part of a closed carbon loop. Biogenic CO2 emissions are balanced by the natural uptake of CO2 by growing vegetation, resulting in a net zero contribution of CO2 emissions to the atmosphere. Examples of biogenic emission sources include burning vegetation (biomass) to produce electricity or using plant-based biofuels for transport.

EnviroCitizen.org is extremely pleased to see an increase in research and technology in the area of green power. If you are still interested in alternative forms of power, consider researching green power further !

LED plant lights have a number of advantages over the usual grow lights used. They don’t require any outside power supply and are therefore, very convenient to use. The light they emit is fully utilized by plants for the process of photosynthesis, and promotes good plant growth. They are perfectly suited to all stages of plant growth. They also cover an impressive thirteen square meters per LED plant light.

Using these lights has a host of advantages but the positive effects it has on the environment are just amazing. Foremost of all, unlike ordinary grow lights which utilize up to 120 volts, the LED will use up only 20 volts. A tremendous amount of electricity is saved in this manner, which in turn means that you also pay a lot less where bills are concerned.

In the same way, while normal grow lights radiate an extraordinary amount of heat to perform well, LED ones will use up very little heat anywhere they are functioning, and yet give the same, if not, better result.

In fact, while you would probably burn your hand from the heat of a grow light, an LED one will only be a little warm to the touch. This is true even if it has been on for a couple of hours. This basically means that very little heat is ever wasted.

In connection to this, compared to others, the LED bulb has a much longer life span too. Even if it is switched on day and night, it can last up to ten years. This means less bulbs thrown away every year and thus, the burden on the environment reduced. Conventional grow lights never last so long; some actually work for only a year before replacements become necessary.

Another energy saving factor is that these lights work on the concept of delivering only those colored lights that plants actually need.

Ordinary grow lights function by providing broad spectrum lights, most of which are not used by the plants. LED grow lighton the other hand, will showcase only those colors which help plants to thrive; a big way to save energy. Similarly, these lights give plants the light they need to survive without giving off heat as well. Not only does this contribute towards energy saving but it also means that plants don’t get their roots damaged, as is known to happen if they are subjected to too much heat.

In addition to this, these plant lights come with the benefit of having few parts as compared to other grow lights, which for example, use a ballast. LED bulbs don’t need this part, and by having fewer parts they influence the environment positively. Also, this way the user doesn’t have to replace the ballast every time it burns out.

One more advantage of using this option is that when you use them, plants lose less water than usual. This way you can reduce the quantities of water that you have to feed your plants.

Plant culture aims to create the best growing conditions for crops. In order to achieve the best results farmers make small-scale changes to the growing conditions for plants.

Microclimates

Small-scale changes create modified climates called micro-climates or modified environments called micro-environments. Features such as temperature, humidity, moisture levels, sunlight and soil acidity can all be changed resulting in better growing conditions for plants.

Plant nursery operators regularly advise customers about the best way to look after a plant. For example, the location and type of soil will have a big influence on the level of success a gardener will achieve with any particular plant. In essence, gardeners are being advised on how to create the best microenvironment for that plant.

Keeping in mind the optimum requirements for a crop, the next challenge comes when providing the required conditions in a practical way.

Matching the correct growing season when planting will help to provide the broad climatic needs for the plant.

Wind, Sunlight, Soil …

Local conditions can then be modified further by making changes to factors such as exposure to wind, sunlight and humidity. Farm structures such as buildings will provide a range of environments allowing a wider range of plants to be grown successfully.

North facing walls in the southern hemisphere trap more sunlight and heat creating a warmer microclimate

Concrete or brick walls and paths will also radiate heat at night keeping a frost prone area warmer. Shelter spots behind walls and under trees will provide protection from excess heat in summer and suit plants requiring cooler conditions.

The shape and density of windbreaks will also change the way in which wind moves around these structures. A solid brick wall for example will cause wind to swirl, while a more open structure composed of shade cloth or plant vegetation will provide a more gentle flow of air.

Frost Damage

Planting on hillsides will allow for an increase or decrease in the level of sunlight received depending on the aspect or direction chosen.

Hillside plantings generally have a reduced incidence of frost during cold weather. Locations near the sea or lakes will also have a reduced risk of frost damage due to the moderating influence of water on temperature.

Inland locations will usually have a wider range of temperature changes between day and night and may need more changes to the microenvironment for success.

Soil microenvironments

Soil cultivation and general cultural activities such as the application of organic matter, lime and gypsum will improve soils in relation the specified crop. Deep ripping of soil before planting trees will also break up compacted soils and rock layers allowing improved penetration of water and plant roots. These activities usually result in improvements to the soil microenvironment and lead to better plant growth.

Water and irrigation management, often necessary for summer crops, modifies levels of moisture and air in soil. Should there be an excess of moisture in winter provisions for drainage may be required modifications in order to prevent soil waterlogging and damage to plant roots.

Microenvironment And Hobby Farming

The range of modifications is endless and often takes time to achieve. Getting the right mix of microenvironments requires experience and patience. There is always a level of uncertainty regarding weather and climate, disasters will always occur, but good management can reduce these risks.

Getting the microenvironment right is well worth the effort. You will be rewarded with a wider range of healthy plants that may not normally grow in your area.

Green power includes natural energetic processes that can be utilized with little contamination. Anaerobic digestion, geothermal power, wind power, small-scale hydropower, biomass power, tidal power, solar energy and wave power fall under such a category.

In many countries with common carrier arrangements, electricity retailing arrangements make it possible for consumers to purchase green electricity (renewable electricity) from either their utility or a green power provider. All sources of energy require energy and give rise to some degree of pollution from manufacture of the technology. No power source is totally impact-free. When energy is brought from the electricity network; the power reaching the consumer will not necessarily be generated from green power sources. The local utility company, electric company, or state power pool purchase their electricity from electricity producers who may be generating from fossil fuel, nuclear or renewable energy sources.

In many countries this energy currently provides a very small amount of electricity, generally contributing less than 2 to 5% to the overall pool. It is generally windier at night when electricity demand is not high. Renewable energy requires excellent storage capacity in the form of large battery banks in order to mesh with our current electrical system and supply consistent power. All forms of this energy are considered to be renewable forms of energy in the sense that they use sources of power that are renewable and will not exhaust finite supplies of fuel on the planet. Examples of renewable and green power sources are tidal powers, wave powers, solar power, wind power, geothermal power, and biomass power.

One of the main problems with purchasing green power through the electrical grid is the current centralized infrastructure that provides the consumers electricity. This infrastructure has led to increasingly frequent brown outs and black outs, high CO2 emissions, higher energy costs, and power quality issues.

Imagine millions of people getting power at very low costs to nature and their pocketbooks. Imagine the whole country and there are no longer wars and relentless fights over oil fields and ownership. Imagine world free of smokestacks and dirty costly coal plants. This is the nature of our energy consumption future if we can just make the switch from fossil fuel derived energy to green energy.