Recycling To-Go/Recyclage à Emporter

Recycling is easy when the right facilities are provided for you. But what if they are not? What do you do? Do you simply give in to your conditioning and use the regular trash bins? How do you feel after you have thrown away that plastic salad container, aluminium can or plastic bottle and/or the cardboard packaging? If you feel guilty and feel that you were left with no choice, I have the answer – try take-away recycling!

Sometime ago, while eating lunch in a Parisian café, I was alarmed by all the vast amounts of recyclable debris that is discarded. This scene made me more determined than ever to really embrace my 'take-away recycling' practice. Since then, I have always ensured that I have a fold-up canvas bag in my backpack.

This canvas sack is my eco-doggy bag. Wherever I go, if recycling facilities are not available, I simply take containers and packaging with me and put it in the proper receptacles later.

The Responsibility Is Ours

Mandatory recycling laws only do so much if they even exist where you live. The chances are that more often than not, you are throwing away recyclables during your average day and (hopefully) feeling guilty about it. Take-away recycling has become my way of solving this problem.

In my office and others in the US and EU, paper and cardboard recycling is compulsory, but plastics and other recyclable products frequently end up in the trash. Restaurants and bars do little or nothing to provide recycling facilities for customers, even though most of what is used to package salads, drinks and meals is non-biodegradable and recyclable. So until recycling is the law everywhere, for anything that can be reused, I’ll take my recycling to go.

Make Recycling the Norm, not the Exception

The idea to write about this occurred to me the other day when a colleague asked me why I always take my “garbage” home. I explained that when recycling facilities are not immediately available – at lunchtime, for example– I prefer to recycle this “garbage” later by using the alternative bins at my home.

I walked away and wondered if what I had said had made any impact. Others in my office and in my life have seen me carry out this practice on a number of occasions, but I have seen little or nothing to convince me I’ve made an impression.

The reward, for now, is that I am improving my efforts to help the environment by finding new and creative ways to live ‘green’. I have not given up hope that my examples will go noticed. Hopefully, as the green revolution continues to gain momentum, the thankless acts so many of us carry out on a daily basis will become the norm, rather than the exception.

As we know, every little bit counts. Sure, in the big picture, even if I achieve a zero carbon footprint, it won’t have a very noticeable impact. But as Abbey Hoffman once said, “change doesn’t come about through conformists.” By taking my “trash” home or to proper recycling facilities, I have turned the tide. I have challenged the notion that throwing away recyclables is ok.

So by carrying an extra bag in my backpack I am able to take home everything I use during a workday or a day out that can be recycled. Whether it’s a take-away lunch, a sit-down meal or a picnic in the park, nothing gets wrongfully put in the trash on my watch!

© bflo12, 2009

Positive Peer Pressure from the European Union on Climate Change?

On 26 June 2009, the day the American Clean Energy and Security Act (ACES) of 2009 was narrowly approved by the House of Representatives, President Obama, standing next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, openly admitted that the US lags behind Europe on climate change. Perhaps an understatement for those of us following the progress the European Union (EU) has made over the past few years. America's dawdling approach to tackling the climate crisis has forced others to step up to the challenge.

The world understands, just 6 months before the all-important UN climate change conference Dec. 7-18 in Copenhagen that real leadership in the fight against climate change must come, in part, from the United States. Yet even with the success of the ACES in the House of Representatives, the US must have, at least, a clear cap-and-trade law in place or else the chances for a global agreement in Copenhagen may collapse.

One hope is that Europe's strong commitment to the environment will act as an example for the US. Europe's go at it alone position in the fight against climate change may just act as the positive peer pressure the US needs to once again be a beacon of change in the world. As the world's second largest polluter behind China, the US has a responsibility to at least match the efforts of its European counterparts.

The 27-nation EU has agreed on what many are calling the 20-20-20 - a 20% cut in greenhouse gas emissions, a 20% improvement in energy efficiency and 20% of energy to come from renewable sources, all by 2020. They have even upped the ante by indicating that it would raise its own targets for emissions cuts from 20% to 30% if other developing nations sign on.

That remains a big 'if'. In the US, the ACES must still meet the agreement of the Senate. Although this is likely to happen, the bill remains imperfect. Many environmentalists argue that the bill's aim to cut green house gases by 17% below the level in 2005 by 2020, is not only less than initially promised, but simply not enough in the face of such a crisis.

Even the EU's bold initiatives are not enough if they must continue to go at it alone. Their pledge to raise their already ambitious target to 30% if others sign on is a clear indication that the EU, not only means business, but that they clearly perceive this in less abstract terms than others around the globe.

Europe's decisions demonstrate their leadership and commitment in facilitating an agreement in Copenhagen. Many in the EU, citizens and politicians alike, understand that time is not on our side. Thus it is time for the United States to close the partisan divide on this issue and lay out clear initiatives like the EU.

As the President of the European commission recently stated, "Developed countries have a special responsibility to take the lead" on climate change. This may have been a plea to the US to pursue a global cooperative effort to prepare a better, cleaner world for future generations.

image taken from: www.greenprophet.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/09/g

Paris’s Sustainable Museum of Modern Architecture

From every corner of the globe, an estimated 8 million visitors flock to Paris every year to marvel at architectural wonders such as Notre Dame, the Louvre museum or the world-famous Eiffel Tower. Yet, few tourists extend their cultural visit to take in what is frequently referred to as "the world's museum of modern architecture" - La Défense - Europe's largest business district.

This Manhattan-like area in the west of Paris is divided into 12 sectors and covers an area over 400 acres. It is the home to the city's Grande Arche and the tallest high-rise buildings which house over 1,500 businesses and 150, 000 employees.

In an attempt to stay competitive with rival European cities such as London and Milan, a revival project for La Défense was begun in 2006. The project focuses on regenerating outdated skyscrapers, the construction of new buildings, ensuring a better balance between offices and residential housing and improving the commute for employees to and from their place of work. The target for the development of the area extends to 2015.

On the list of priorities for the modernisation of the area, is a commitment from the organisation responsible for the project; Etablissement Public d’amènagement de la Défense (EPAD) to incorporate sustainable guidelines into the design of the new buildings. The planned projects respect the latest environmental standards put in place by the EU and will prove more economical and more environmentally friendly.

Construction green lights were granted for several key 300-320 metre (980 to 1,000 ft) tall ‘sustainable’ skyscrapers such as Tour Generali, Tour First, Tour Phare and the Tour Signal, designed by award-winning French architect Jean Nouvel. These architectural giants could pave the way for greener, more sustainable design standards in the building construction and business centres in Europe and further afield. The ambitious plans for La Défense could be the example others will emulate in future, maybe even Manhattan?

60% more energy-efficient than a conventional skyscraper
The 312-metre high Tour Generali, proposed by the Generali Insurance Company, for example, aims to emit just 500 tonnes of CO2 per year, 70% less than a conventional tower. It will recover and recycle rainwater and will be equipped with 400m² of photovoltaic cells, 800m² of solar panels and 18 axial wind turbines on site to produce energy. Overall, it will be 60% more energy-efficient than a conventional skyscraper.

The Tour Phare is a planned 300-metre-tall skyscraper designed as a green building. The curvature of the tower will allow for a bouquet of wind turbines to be installed on the roof. According to its designer Tom Mayne, it will be "a prototype for a green building" with a wind farm generating its own heating and cooling for five months of the year.

The Tour First, one of the many reconstruction projects, will be the first in France to obtain the standard High Environmental Quality (HQE). It will utilise the exterior air circulation and the heat from the sun for heating and cooling of the building. Its bioclimatique façade, made up of double-glazed windows will help to maintain a moderate interior temperature, which will further reduce the buildings dependence on traditional heating and cooling.

The Tour Signal will become the symbol of the modernisation of La Défense. This 301-metre-tall structure, through a combination of solar panels, wind turbines and mirrors integrated with windows, according to Jean Nouvel, should not exceed 50 kWh per square meter per year of energy consumption.

We have created a way of life that is dependent on economically healthy business. As our businesses continue to flourish, it is our responsibility to ensure business practices work in concert with our attempt to improve the quality of our environment. These buildings provide a few examples of what could and should become the global trend in construction. One of the pillars of sustainable development is the conservation of natural resources. At the very least, these projects aim to do that, and more.


image taken from: www.linternaute.com/.../la-defense-2015/1.shtml