Sustainable Infrastructure

If It’s Broke, Fix It

When dealing with ripped jeans, broken appliances, and shattered cell phones, it’s often cheaper to buy new ones than repair them. Why fix the stitching and replace the heels on your fall boots when you can buy a brand new pair for less? This is a major contributing factor to consumerism and waste, which is why Sweden is working to reduce taxes paid on repairs and increase them on items that are unrepairable.

Food for Thought

The demand for flawless fruits and vegetables is fueling food waste across the world. Blemished peaches, flowering broccoli, and misshapen carrots are often deemed unsellable by retailers, forcing farmers to dispose of nutritious and high-value produce. Food is not only wasted in fields, but also in warehouses, in packaging and distribution plants, in supermarkets and restaurants, and even in our homes.

The Good Society--Hedonistic Sustainability

Did you know that 97% of homes in Copenhagen have district heating? Listen to architect Bjarke Ingels talk about the design challenge, how to build units sustainability with architectural alchemy and public participation, create spontaneous social encounters, and a public service market place. How do we take the symbol of the problem and turn it into fun--a CO2 smoke ring? How does a power plant in Copenhagen include a park and a man-made mountain for skiing?

Sustainable Infrastructure

I read an interesting article in the latest edition of Maclean's last night, entitled Building a better city. If you look at how an ecosystem works, it spends as much time on maintaining itself as growing, unlike human systems.  Our infrastructure deficit is continuing, making the cost of replacement greater every year we keep sticking our heads in the sand. The infrastructure deficit is estimated at $123 billion in 2007, up exponentially from $12 billion in 1985 and $60 billion in 2003.