World’s first vertical forest under construction in Milan

This design is close to the full realization of an idea that occurred to me around a decade ago, as I pondered how to house 10 billion humans and still have a biosphere. I built a genetic algorithm framework for modeling these kinds of structures, which was used in Gennaro Senatore: Morphogenesis of Spatial Configurations. It’s amazing to see these kinds of structures actually being built; it’s as though the 21st century has finally arrived.

By Diane Pham
16 October 2011

We've reported extensively on green vertical towers that integrate plant life into their facade, but unlike many of those designs, here's one that goes beyond being a mere concept. Designed by Stefano Boeri - architect, academic and former editor of design and architecture magazine Domus - his Bosco Verticale is a towering 27-story structure, currently under construction in Milan, Italy. Once complete, the tower will be home to the world's first vertical forest.

The Bosco Verticale is a system that optimizes, recuperates, and produces energy. Covered in plant life, the building aids in balancing the microclimate and in filtering the dust particles contained in the urban environment (Milan is one of the most polluted cities in Europe). The diversity of the plants and their characteristics produce humidity, absorb CO2 and dust particles, producing oxygen and protect the building from radiation and acoustic pollution. This not only improves the quality of living spaces, but gives way to dramatic energy savings year round.

Each apartment in the building will have a balcony planted with trees that are able to respond to the city’s weather — shade will be provided within the summer, while also filtering city pollution; and in the winter the bare trees will allow sunlight to permeate through the spaces. Plant irrigation will be supported through the filtering and reuse of the greywater produced by the building. Additionally, Aeolian and photovoltaic energy systems will further promote the tower’s self-sufficiency.

The design of the Bosco Verticale is a response to both urban sprawl and the disappearance of nature from our lives and on the landscape. The architect notes that if the units were to be constructed unstacked as stand-alone units across a single surface, the project would require 50,000 square meters of land, and 10,000 square meters of woodland. Bosco Verticale is the first offer in his proposed BioMilano, which envisions a green belt created around the city to incorporate 60 abandoned farms on the outskirts of the city to be revitalized for community use.

+ Stefano Boeri Architetti

Bosco Verticale in Milan Will Be the World’s First Vertical Forest

Technorati Tags: green architecture,carbon sequestration,solar power,wind power,sewage,carbon dioxide,carbon capture,carbon footprint

Global firms applaud new greenhouse gas yardsticks

BusinessGreen.com staff, BusinessGreen, Friday 20 August 2010 at 00:15:00

More than 60 companies complete road testing of new global standards for measuring carbon footprint of products and supply chains

More than 60 leading global firms have finished testing two new greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting standards, taking industry a step closer to a universal approach for measuring and managing emissions.

Sixty-two firms from 17 countries, including household names such as 3M, Deutsche Telekom and IKEA, tested blueprints for two new GHG protocol reporting and accounting standards.

The first protocol, dubbed "Product Lifecycle", provides a standardised approach for measuring the greenhouse gas emissions associated with individual products, while the second protocol, known as "Scope 3 (Corporate Value Chain)" , covers emissions from a business's supply chain.

The standards were developed by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), which said the new benchmarks should help firms and public sector organisations measure, analyse and manage GHG emissions through their wider value chains.

"Companies, policymakers and individuals are looking for ways to reduce their contribution to climate change, but do not always have the tools they need to make informed decisions," the partners said. "Increasingly, companies are looking beyond their own boundaries and developing strategies to reduce emissions in their supply chains and in the products they make and sell."

According to WRI and WBCSD, the majority of firms involved in the testing encountered little difficulty when using the protocols and were able to produce reports detailing their supply chain, or Scope 3, emissions. …

Global firms applaud new greenhouse gas yardsticks

Technorati Tags: carbon accounting,carbon footprint

China, India, Brazil commit to meet Copenhagen Accord deadline

By Gaurav Singh

Jan. 25 (Bloomberg) -- China, Brazil, South Africa and India will disclose the voluntary steps the countries will take to help reduce global warming by the Jan. 31 deadline set during negotiations in Copenhagen, India’s environment minister said after talks between the four nations in New Delhi yesterday.

The four will communicate their plans to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by the deadline this weekend, Jairam Ramesh, India’s environment minister, said. He added the countries will work to build support for the global climate accord agreed in December.

Negotiators met in the Danish capital for two weeks of talks through Dec. 19 on curbing global warming. Debate stumbled on aid to developing countries, pollution-reduction goals and how to verify country pledges to cut emissions. Bolivia, Sudan and Venezuela were among countries that opposed the accord, which will serve as a framework for talks this year.

“The value of the Copenhagen Accord lies not as a stand- alone document but as an input into the two-track negotiating process under the UNFCCC, which will culminate in Mexico City in December 2010,” Ramesh said. He spoke at a briefing with Xie Zhenhua, China’s top climate negotiator, Brazil’s Environment Minister Carlos Minc and South Africa’s Buyelwa Sonjica.

Rich nations should ensure the early distribution of $10 billion pledged at Copenhagen for this year to address climate change in the least developed nations and island states, according to a joint statement issued after yesterday’s meeting between the so-called BASIC states.  …

Technorati Tags: global warming,climate change,Copenhagen,carbon reduction,carbon dioxide,carbon footprint

BP signs Aussie deal to offset carbon emissions by planting 10 million eucalyptus trees

My only hope is that they plant these trees where the changed Australian climate can support them.

By Asa Wahlquist | October 15, 2009

EUROPE'S second-largest oil company, BP, has hired Perth-based Carbon Conscious to plant 10 million gum trees in Australia to absorb greenhouse gas emissions as companies prepare for the introduction of climate change laws.

The deal sent Carbon Conscious shares soaring 10 per cent to close at 44c.

The company will begin planting trees on marginal farmland in 2010, at an initial cost of $2.5million.

It is the second major deal for Carbon Conscious, which confirmed an agreement with Origin Energy in July to plant $26m worth of trees over three years.

The trees "sequester" carbon dioxide, pulling it out of the atmosphere and storing it.

Carbon Conscious chief executive Peter Balsarini said the mallee eucalyptus trees would be planted on working farms.

"We go to farmers and we look for their marginal, less productive country," he said.

This included land that had been over-cleared or affected by salinity, Mr Balsarini said.

"We are looking at preventing salinity by getting our tree roots into the water table and lowering it. It has risen because of the over-clearing of the land," he said. Carbon Conscious became an accredited provider under the federal government's Greenhouse program last December. …

BP signs Aussie tree deal to offset carbon emissions

Technorati Tags: carbon sequestration,carbon market,carbon offset,carbon footprint,oil production,reforestation,carbon dioxide

IT industry to finalise global carbon footprinting standard

BusinessGreen.com Staff, BusinessGreen, Friday 2 October 2009 at 00:15:00

UN-backed agency to agree carbon measurement methodology next month

The global IT and communications industry is on track to release a new methodology for measuring the carbon footprint of a vast array of IT products designed to provide a standardised approach for tracking the sector's carbon emissions.

The International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the UN agency that represents the global IT and communications industry, will next month host a meeting of one of its standardisation study groups where it expects to finalise the new standard.

"At the moment the carbon figures you see from IT companies differ as everyone is using different methodologies," said Malcolm Johnson, director of the ITU Telecommunication Standardization Bureau. "This will give the industry the credible figures it needs – we are aiming to finalise it as an ITU standard next month." …

Johnson insisted technologies such as online meeting systems and smart-grid systems demonstrated that IT had a key role to play in delivering deep cuts in overall emissions. "We recently undertook some research which showed that IT could help cut global emissions 15 per cent by 2020," he said. " We are going to Copenhagen to highlight that IT can play a key role in cutting emissions."

IT industry to finalise global carbon footprinting standard

Technorati Tags: climate change,global warming,carbon accounting,carbon dioxide,carbon footprint

Family planning has major environmental impact

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Some people who are serious about wanting to reduce their "carbon footprint" on the Earth have one choice available to them that may yield a large long-term benefit – have one less child.

A study by statisticians at Oregon State University concluded that in the United States, the carbon legacy and greenhouse gas impact of an extra child is almost 20 times more important than some of the other environmentally sensitive practices people might employ their entire lives – things like driving a high mileage car, recycling, or using energy-efficient appliances and light bulbs.

The research also makes it clear that potential carbon impacts vary dramatically across countries. The average long-term carbon impact of a child born in the U.S. – along with all of its descendants – is more than 160 times the impact of a child born in Bangladesh.

"In discussions about climate change, we tend to focus on the carbon emissions of an individual over his or her lifetime," said Paul Murtaugh, an OSU professor of statistics. "Those are important issues and it's essential that they should be considered. But an added challenge facing us is continuing population growth and increasing global consumption of resources."

In this debate, very little attention has been given to the overwhelming importance of reproductive choice, Murtaugh said. When an individual produces a child – and that child potentially produces more descendants in the future – the effect on the environment can be many times the impact produced by a person during their lifetime.

Under current conditions in the U.S., for instance, each child ultimately adds about 9,441 metric tons of carbon dioxide to the carbon legacy of an average parent – about 5.7 times the lifetime emissions for which, on average, a person is responsible. …

Family planning a major environmental impact

Technorati Tags: climate change,carbon dioxide,carbon footprint,population

Urban EcoMap in San Francisco

Urban EcoMap Visual Preview from Urban EcoMap on Vimeo.

Cities create 80% of global carbon emissions. As we move from educating people about climate change to taking action to mitigate climate impacts, we need innovation to help spur a shift to climate-friendly social behavior in cities. Urban EcoMap helps address this objective. Begun in fall 2008, this pilot project is a collaborative effort involving Cisco and the City and County of San Francisco.

San Francisco is the first city worldwide to introduce the Urban EcoMap. On Earth Day 2009 (22 April), Mayor Gavin Newsom launched the Urban EcoMap pilot in San Francisco. The web-based tool will be made available to the general public at the Connected Urban Development conference in Seoul, 21st May 2009.

Please view the demonstration of the Urban EcoMap San Francisco in the viewer above. We would like to hear your feedback and comments. In addition, please return here for the latest information as the public go-live day for the web-based Urban EcoMap approaches. …

Technorati Tags: carbon dioxide,carbon footprint,carbon reduction