More on EuropaCity and Post-Oil City

Last week I profiled a story about an entire city being covered in green roofs. The development seems to be more cultural and commercial development outside of Paris, as opposed to an actual "new" city, but here's an artist's rendering of what it may look like:

-In Toronto this week the Evergreen Brickworks, an amazing repurposed environmental center, opens the Post-Oil City, an exhibition, film, and talk concerning shrinking footprints.
Presented will be innovative projects from Africa, America and Asia that address a number of questions, for instance "How will the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy affect the process of urban planning and the city?"

-Simon Fraser University's Burnaby campus will get British Columbia's first modular, community gardening/student education space. Featured are easily removable sheds, rain barrels, composting units and 60 planting beds all atop shipping pallets.

-Interested in more moveable gardens? Check out the Nomad Gardens.

-New York City is accepting new applications for community gardens.

Urban agriculture + horticultural therapy summer internships

A couple of GILA stories which have fallen through the cracks, but first it's that time of year again. If you're looking for summer work, here are a few of opportunities to whet your appetite:

-The Chicago Botanic Garden has a horticultural therapy internship and in Toronto there are multiple opportunities to work with kids and to garden.

-Switching to peak oil, it looks like Sweden wants to be oil free in 7 years and Europe's biggest living wall now resides in ?

Your Thursday Peak Oil Movie - "The End of Suburbia"

Released in 2006, I was thinking about this film the other day and thought I would post it for others to watch again or view it for the first time.

Enjoy!!!

A collective "what?" from the peak oil movement

As the U.S. will surpass Saudi Arabia by 2020 as the biggest oil exporter.
Let the debate begin!

A long overdue peak oil post

It’s been a while since I posted anything about peak oil and climate change, so here are a couple of recent related stories.

Because of the wacky weather across North America the last few weeks, it seems more and more people are thinking about climate change. Top of the list is an excerpt from an upcoming book you can check out on Scientific American. Concerning both peak oil and climate change it takes a look at a quintessitially American town and what the author believes will happen to it in over the next few decades.

-Also worth checking out is the National Wildlife Foundation's article about what we might expect, in terms of mental health, in a world shaped by global warming and climate change.

-We already know that man-made noise affects human beings and other mammals, now we know that it affects plants and their pollinators as well. Note to self or anyone else looking for a research project: Green roof and green wall studies need to be done to compare the performances of common green roof plants on noisy versus noise free environments.

One last somber read for this week. In the Southeastern USA there is a water battle pitting Georgia (spurred into action by Atlanta’s sprawling growth) against neighbors Florida and Alabama. Things don’t look good for the ATL.

-While there are massive concerns around the globe, I am folks are continuing to make changes for the betterment of their local communities. Minneapolis has good news for urban agriculture enthusiasts.

-And in the Bronx students planted dozens of fruit trees. Hopefully this is the start of an East Coast food forest.

Peak oil deal o' the day: Food Storage Kit - 1 year - 40 people - only $30,000

This may be a hardcore peak oilers dream and I have soooooo many questions for someone at Sam's Club.

1) Who is the marketing genius behind this? And does he/she have Peter Thiel on speed dial?
2) How many have they sold so far?
3) How did they do their market research? "Excuse me, ma'am, I'm calling from Sam's Club. Let me ask you a question. How much would you pay for 43,800 meals? $30 Grand? Okay, done deal."
4) So if you live in Hawaii, Alaska or a commonwealth like Puerto Rico, it's no soup for you... but, if you live in the Northern Mariana Islands, you are golden?

Buen prubechu!

Green roofs pick up steam in British Columbia

For the peak oil fans out there, last week via the wonderfully eclectic Journal of Sustainable Human Development came an address from Richard Heinberg (of the Post Carbon Institute) to the graduating class of Worchester Polytechnic Institute in Worcester, Massachusetts. He gave an "alternative" commencement speech, some objected to having an oil company CEO be the only voice they heard before leaving the Institute.

-Port Coquitlam, in British Columbia, is one of the few cities to have a green roof bylaw. And it's great to see there isn't push back
from developers or retailers, everyone seems to be quite happy to do their part. The mayor, in particular, seems to be a big advocate and it lends credence to the belief that change starts with a few people in power at the top or a lot of people at the grassroots level.

-The web has made our world so small, I now know how urban agriculture and food security benefits those in Ethopia.

-Toledo, Ohio has it's own urban farming training center
opening in February 2012. Partnering with a local community college, it will feature greenhouses, a commercial kitchen and much more.

-15,000 signatures was no problem for Agriculture Montreal! They made the deadline in time and now Montreal's executive committee will hold public hearings on urban agriculture in Montreal. Congrats to the fifty organizations and thousands of people who worked so hard!

A living wall fails...or did it?

Whenever a green or living wall fails in the UK, it always hits the newspapers, so it comes as no surprise the Guardian is all over the latest failure. What makes it even worse is that it was controversial to start and, over the course of the last month, seems to have increased in price by about $34,000 USD. Yikes! It's unclear if a few plants didn't make it or a substantial number died, either way, it's not good.

-When chatting with prospective clients interested in living walls they are always floored by the cost. Me too! The industry is still new and it will probably be a few years before the costs come down. Research on how to make them more affordable and sustainable is definitely needed, so it's great to read what is happening in Singapore.

-A recent report, summarized nicely by the Guardian, (they are really on it today, huh?), details how white roofs might actually increase temperatures all in all. U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu, we await your comments. So the moral is, we shouldn't rely on one technology (not that we have even made it that far). And we must also finds ways to make technologies inexpensive, so that everyone can participate in lowering our collective carbon footprint.

Ride the Green Roof Wave in the Phils

-Green Mountain College announced earlier in the week that it will offer a distance-learning master's degree in Sustainable Food Systems (MSFS). The first of its kind??? I dunno, someone needs to verify that! Also it looks like a mayoral candidate in Denver would take it to the next level, if elected. Could he take a page out of Edmonton's book?

-It looks like we are witnessing the beginning of a green wall and green roof movement in the Philippines. If you're there, get in now!!! (That little push is for our massive Philippines audience!)

-The Wall Street makes a good point, you don't hear much about "peak oil" in mainstream oil publications. Heavy oil is the euphemismmost often used.

-Agriculture + Development = Opportunity

-Oh yes, and I keep forgetting. Great instructions on how to build a hoop house.

New Jersey next on the green roof leg. list? + Wikileaks clears up peak oil picture

More on the LEED AP lawsuit.

-Score one for those who say that oil reserves are overstated, Wikileaks confirms that and leaves me wondering what else is in those wikileaks. Oh yeah, and, what else is in those cables?

-Food czars, responsible for addressing obesity, hunger and food deserts, can now be found in five American cities. Am I the only one uncomfortable with the word "czar"?

The latest Journal of Agriculture, Food Systems, and Community Development will be out soon. "This issue’s papers offer a smorgasbord of views on food production in a wide range of urban environments" including features on cities including Detroit, Flint, Toronto, Vancouver, Havana and Lima!

-Meanwhile in Brazil, we've got kids leading the way in developing green technologies, including green roofs and rainwater harvesting.

-Last but not least, New Jersey's assembly Environment committee approved green and blue roof legislation. It has not yet been introduced in the Senate yet, but tap of the cap goes to NJ.

Urban ag rewind

It’s been a while since the last posting, there’s a tremendous amount going on including a recent move. I have lots of good posts waiting in the wings, so let’s get to it.

-First up is your monthly financial post peak oil warning.

-The Atlantic has a tremendous story on the role five urban gardens are having in New Orleans. And Atlanta and Oaklandwill be getting new urban gardens as a result of some great collaborations and a little bit of dough.

-But small contributions and efforts can be important as well. I hope that more companies follow this one's example and use living walls to produce food for their employees and local food banks or give a small grant to start vocational training programs in urban agriculture or a local community garden none of the programs cost that much money, but the impact will be worth every dollar.

-And a quick job alert if you're in NY.

Hydroponic farming in Mexico and the USA

-A planning high school! How incredible is this? Required reading will no doubt include this bareknuckled Duany vs Krieger aka New Urbanism vs Ecological Urbanism dispute. Okay, slight exaggeration. These gentleman disagree a little, but "bareknuckled" really got your attention, didn't it?

Switching coasts, there's a nifty hydroponic set-up at a NYC school scheduled to open up in a week, but it's startling the difference in price versus what Sembradores Urbanos is doing in Mexico City, demonstrating simple, economical replicable urban agriculture projects.

-The Brooklyn Queens Expressway has a few green options , my personal favorite is green canopy...naturally!

-Won't be heading to Vancouver for the Cities Alive conference. I am a little bummed, but with everything happening here it makes sense to focus! Hopefully they'll be a post soon announcing some big stuff. 2011 looks like it's going to be a fantastic year for verticiel!

US Green Building Council sued + windmill with no blades

Tis true.A mechanical systems designer, Henry Gifford, says "that USGBC is fraudulently misleading consumers and fraudulently misrepresenting energy performance of buildings certified under its LEED rating systems". Yikes!!!

-Really interesting story from Ecuador where the United Nation's trust fund has paid them to preserve the rainforest and NOT drill...ever, undereneath it.

-Green roofing is gaining popularity in Israel,

-Perhaps in cities which are right sizing, they can give this idea a try: use your swimming pool to farm fish. Urban farms are also sprouting up in Southern Florida, also gotta keep tabs on the newly created South Florida Food Policy Council . Oh and there's a new website for those looking for jobs in sustainable food.

Cool blades!

Urban agriculture...the global, the local, the wacky

My computer goes down and all of a sudden a million great things are happening around the world. But I'm back like Hawaii 5-0, so here are a few things that I've spied...

-On the global front, in South Africa , Argentina, China, and Brazil lots of news about how urban agriculture programs and projects can provide jobs and food for thousands of people.
Speaking of Brazil, that article was the most sarcastic one I've read in a while!!!

-Stateside, some investors have begun to favor farmland over stocks as an investment vehicle. Following the money thread, Forbes has an article where Weeden & Co.'s Charles Maxwell tells us how we can "profit" from peak oil.
And in a sign of things to come...let me stop there, because I couldn't keep a straight face. As we discovered last year, we know farmers sometimes destroy their crops, rather than bringing them to market. Has anyone ever heard of a farmer being sued for producing too much food?

Lloyd and Dickson

Lloyd's of London is sounding the alarm about peak oil.

Okay, so, this bumming you out, you say? We need solutions. Good, there are some...

-It looks like politicians in Newark are seriously considering the first vertical farm by Dr. Despommier. And the USDA has taken an in depth look at local food systems. And Terraform One announces the winners of an ideas competition focused on creating productive green spaces in cities.

Now, I think that I can sleep tonight!

Peak Oil expert Richard Heinberg in Toronto

Peak oil expert and author Richard Heinberg will be speaking in Toronto on March 22, sponsored by Post Carbon Toronto. The talk will be held at Trinity-St. Paul’s United Church, 427 Bloor St. West, Toronto. Doors will open at 6:00 pm. A member of Post Carbon Toronto will present a primer and an overview of the Peak Oil issue at 6:30pm and then Mr. Heinberg will speak at 7:00, followed by audience discussion.

Author of nine books, including the newly released Blackout, Richard Heinberg is widely regarded as one of the world’s most effective communicators of the urgent need to transition away from fossil fuels. With a wry, unflinching approach based on facts and realism, Mr. Heinberg exposes the tenuousness of our current way of life and offers a vision for a truly sustainable future.

Senior Fellow-in-Residence at Post Carbon Institute, Mr. Heinberg is best known as a leading educator on Peak Oil—the point at which we reach maximum global oil production—and the resulting, devastating impact it will have on our economic, food, and transportation systems.

“All of the debts for society’s century-long industrial fiesta are coming due at the same time. We have no choice but to transition to a world no longer dependent on fossil fuels, a world made up of communities and economies that function within ecological bounds. How we manage this transition is the most important question of our time.” Richard Heinberg

http://transitiontoronto.ning.com/

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The Sierra Club lists it's books of the week, all dealing with food, they include:

Fat of the Land: Adventures of a 21st Century Forager (by Langdon Cook, $27, Skipstone, 2009): Former fast-food consumer Langdon Cook started foraging to impress his future wife. Now a seasoned gatherer, Cook shares his acquired love of finding dinner in unexpected places. Each chapter concludes with a recipe featuring wild ingredients such as dandelions, wild nettles, berries, mushrooms, and clams.

A Little Piece of Earth: How to Grow Your Own Food in Small Spaces (by Maria Finn, $20, Universe, Mar. 2010): Maria Finn proves that green-thumbed urbanites needn't feel limited to a few houseplants. Charming illustrations accompany instructions for growing lemons, shitake mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, figs, and more on windowsills, balconies, patios, and rooftops. Chapters on foraging and community gardening round out the book.

Public Produce: The New Urban Agricuture (by Darrin Nordahl, $30, Island Press, 2009): City planner Darrin Nordahl examines the impact of public gardens, profiling successful efforts and detailing opportunities for change. Nordahl weighs in on food literacy, foraging, community health, and public policy.

A World Without Oil - Jan 21 @ the Design Exchange in Toronto

Gotta be there on January 21, 2010 from 9 am-6pm at the Design Exchange (DX) to check out this conference, it's part of the Interior Design Show and Toronto Design Week. Passes are a must, check out the Interior Design Show or the Design Exchanges for details.

Bonus! More permaculture resources in Spanish! Downloadable PDFs, the works.