Who Says One Person
Can’t Make a Difference in the Economic Development?
Can’t Make a Difference in the Economic Development?
One person can make a difference and that one
person is YOU! The ECO-Effect shows you how Economics (money) and Ecology (all
plants, animals and humans) together can have a big impact on both your wallet
and the world! I’ll show you how small changes to your behaviour can have a big
impact on the planet. You will also have a chance to “ECHO” your new ideas to
us, so we can share them with other adults, schools, businesses, military,
religious organizations, after-school programs, your community . . . and the
world!
About Eco Effect Program
The ECO-Effect program celebrates what we all can
do to make the world a more ECOnomically and ECOlogically healthier place for
everyone and everything.
Tips, tools, and lessons will be presented for your
school, home, office, and community so we can all share our ideas and “ECHO”
these throughout the planet.
ECO-Effect Award winners will be selected based
upon their demonstration of how they (children, adults, businesses, schools,
etc.) have reduced their carbon footprint and “ECHO” their suggestions to others.
Eco – City Criteria
There are currently no set criteria for what is
considered an “eco-city,” although several sets of criteria have been
suggested, encompassing the economic, social, and environmental qualities an eco-city
should satisfy. The ideal “eco-city” has been described as a city that fulfills
the following requirements.
§ Operates on a self-contained economy,
resources needed are found locally
§ Has completely carbon-neutral and renewable
energy production
§ Has a well-planned city layout and public
transportation system that makes the priority methods of transportation as
follows possible: waking first, then cycling, and then public transportation
§ Resource conservation—maximizing efficiency
of water and energy resources, constructing a waste management system that can
recycle waste and reuse it, creating a zero-waste system
§ Restores environmentally damaged urban
areas
§ Ensures decent and affordable housing for
all socio-economic and ethnic groups and improve jobs opportunities for
disadvantaged groups, such as women, minorities, and the disabled
§ Supports local agriculture and produce
§ Promotes voluntary simplicity in lifestyle
choices, decreasing material consumption, and increasing awareness of
environmental and sustainability issues
In addition to these initial requirements, the city design must be able to
grow and evolve as the population grows and the needs of the population change this is especially important when taking into
consideration infrastructure designs, such as for water systems, power lines,
etc. These must be built in such a way that they are easy to modernize (as
opposed to the dominant current strategy of placing them underground, and
therefore making them highly inaccessible). Each individual eco-city
development has also set its own requirements to ensure their city is
environmentally sustainable; these criteria range from zero-waste and
zero-carbon emissions.
Economic Impact
One of the major and most noticeable economic impacts of the movement
towards becoming a eco-city is the notable increase in productivity across
existing industries as well as the introduction of new industries, thus
creating jobs.
First, the movement away from carbon-producing energy sources to
more renewable energy sources, such as wind, water and solar power,
provides local economies with new, thriving industries. The creation of these
industries, in turn, births an increase in the demand for labour; thus, not
only does total employment increase, but an increase in wages also mimics
increasing employment.
Moreover, one of the main priorities of a sustainable city is to reduce
its ecological footprint by reducing total carbon emissions,
which, economically speaking means increasing productivity. Merely increasing
the rate of productivity in an industry reduces costs, both monetary and
environmental; that is, as an industry becomes more productive, it can more
efficiently allocate and use both its physical and human capital, reducing
the time it takes to make the same amount of goods which also allows for a
higher wage (because employees are doing more) and a lesser environmental
impact (because using less energy and resources to produce the same amount).
In all, although the initial movement towards becoming a
sustainable city may be quite costly for a smaller, poorer city, the benefits
of such movement are plentiful in the long-run economic model. Moreover, as
more and more countries move towards becoming more sustainable, the
technologies required to initiate this movement will become more readily
accessible and cheaper; therefore, many rich, developed nations should put
themselves forth as an example of what other cities should model themselves
like, thus sparking the innovation towards a future of sustainable
technology
Environmental Standards
The primary goal for all sustainable cities is to
significantly decrease total carbon emissions as quickly as possible
in order to work towards becoming a carbon-free city; that is, sustainable
cities work to move towards an economy based solely on renewable energy.
Actions towards carbon-reductions can be seen on both the corporate and
individual levels: many industries are working towards cleaner production, but individuals
are also moving away from environmentally-costly forms of transportation to
more sustainable methods.
Often times, a city’s primary goal is to
increase environmental education in hopes of achieving better citizen
involvement and cooperation. By making the private sector more aware of how its
behaviour affects the environment, a reduction in carbon emissions becomes more
of a reality.
In terms of international standards, however, we
can look to the International Finance Corporation (IFC). The IFC has
a long history of implementing environmental and social standards in localized
economies, and its primary mission is to promote sustainable development across
the globe, primarily in developing countries. One of its plans to accomplish
this goal is to encourage international cooperation in order to accelerate and
promote sustainable growth across nations.
Poverty Reduction
The development of eco-cities has aided in reducing
poverty in various locations via job creation in environmentally friendly
business sectors. By promoting social equity based on meeting the needs of
local populations, eco-cities create sustainable business models that encourage
local investment and the subsequent expansion of the job market. According
to the United Nations Environment Program, the “EcoCity has mobilized the
disadvantaged and unemployed people of the city to form co-operatives to grow
and buy food, to recycle, to repair bicycles, to build homes, to use and
promote green energy solutions to become eco-tourism effective.
By creating small local businesses, residents
of eco-cities create self-sufficient small enterprises that, as an aggregate,
greatly alleviate the scarcity of quality employment and create economic
opportunities that continuously aid in poverty reduction. These ecologically
sound small-scale practices are additionally less sensitive to economic shocks,
allowing for enduring economic sustainability in eco-cities.
In addition to creating green jobs,( according
to the United Nations Environment Program, "work in agricultural,
manufacturing, research and development (R&D), administrative, and service
activities that contribute(s) substantially to preserving or restoring
environmental quality. Specifically, but not exclusively, this includes jobs
that help to protect ecosystems and biodiversity; reduce energy, materials, and
water consumption through high efficiency strategies; de-carbonize the economy;
and minimize or altogether avoid generation of all forms of waste and
pollution.") Eco-cities promote the deployment of green methods of saving
money, such as investing in ecologically sustainable local infrastructure,
carpooling, and reducing consumption of water and energy, to decrease the
financial burden on the poor.
Public Health
Eco-cities aid in creating healthier urban populations
through the implementation of sustainable practices that improve environmental
standards and, as a result, decrease the strain on public health. By employing practices that aim to
reduce air pollution, eco-city standards have an indirect effect on
decreasing rates of respiratory disease within urban areas. According
to the World Health Organization, urban outdoor air pollution is
responsible for over 1.3 million deaths worldwide per year. Through the
implementation of “clean” practices, eco-cities greatly assist in decreasing
the disease burden placed on urban residents by decreasing the risk factors
associated with cardiovascular and respiratory diseases as well as various
forms of cancer.
Energy
Eco-cities look to employ renewable energy sources, such as wind
turbines, solar panels, and biogas, to reduce emissions. Wind
turbines present the opportunity of being able to provide both localized
districts within eco-cities and the larger region as a whole with emission-free
renewable energy that can additionally supplement existing power sources.
Furthermore, by designing buildings with natural ventilation systems,
eco-cities reduce the need for air conditioning, thus, drastically decreasing
commercial and residential energy use. Many eco-cities additionally look to
deploy solar thermal energy. By installing solar collectors,
developers will be able to provide hot water for space heating and individual
and community needs while reducing dependence on gas fueled boilers. While solar
thermal energy appears to be a more efficient source of renewable energy, many
urban planners also view photovoltaics as a viable source of energy.
Photovoltaics directly convert solar energy into electricity; however, the
extensive costs associated with developing this technology on the city-scale
may limit its use when compared to its potential payback.
Biogas technology is also deployed as a source of renewable energy as the
organic material from wastewater is converted into fuel.
Water
Eco-cities aim to decrease
water consumption by employing technologies that reduce the amount of water
that is needed for irrigation and sewage
flow while also preventing black water and grey water runoff
from entering ground water sources. Developers suggest installing low
flow fixtures, rainwater harvesting systems,
and sustainable urban drainage systems to meet eco-city standards.
Additionally, advanced irrigation systems (xeriscaping) aid in
maintaining green infrastructure while decreasing green space
consumption of water for irrigation.
References
1 . Kenworthy, Jeffrey.
"The eco-city: ten key transport and planning dimensions for sustainable
city development". Retrieved 17 November 2011.
2 . Fook, Lye Liang (2010). Towards a
Liveable and Sustainable Urban Environment: Eco-cities in Asia.
Singapore: World Scientific.
3 . "Air quality and health". World
Health Organization. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
4 . "Towards a Green Economy".
United Nations Environment Program. Retrieved 17 November 2011.
5 . "Ecocity: The Energy Concept".
Ecocity. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
6
. http://india.carbon-outlook.com/content/eco-cities-india
7. Experiences on Development of Model Eco
City At Namakkal , Tamil nadu ,India
8. The Background
and History of Kitakyushu Eco-town Projects.
9 . http://www.rff.org/rff/documents/rff-dp-02-71.pdf
10. Lindberg and
Mckercher,Source: C.H.Sekercioglu. 2003. Conservation through Commodification.
Birding Vol. 35 N° 4 August 2003: 394-402
Thank you for your courtesy of listening to
me
