100 Days Of Savvy CO2 Reduction Ideas
by April Streeter, Gothenburg, Sweden on 01. 9.08
Al Gore is coming to Gothenburg to collect one million Swedish crowns (US$ 157,000) the city is giving him for his work in sustainability (wonder how he's getting here, tee hee). Not a big deal, as Al Gore goes a lot of places, but for 50 days before his January 22nd arrival, and for 50 days afterward, the city of Gothenburg is posting tips and inspirational stories on saving energy and reducing CO2, both in the local newspaper, and on a 14-meter-high display at the Universeum natural science and technology museum. While many are government initiatives or simple life shifts many a treehugger has already adopted, it is also powerful to see daily reminders that sometimes we haven't yet picked the low-hanging climate-friendly fruit. See some of Gothenburg's ideas after the jump.
- At the new passive-construction Parkhuset apartment house, residents will pay all their own energy costs (uncommon in Sweden) but daily digital graphs help them see how usage is rising and falling. Parkhuset generates 75 percent of heating needs from passive solar, recycling appliance heat as well as residents' own body warmth through the ventilation system.
- Energy efficiency isn't very popular, but giving people ways to measure their energy use is the best way to get them to reduce. In Gothenburg, libraries are starting to freely loan out electricity meters so patrons see how much appliances drain while plugged in.
- At-work incentives are good to help people get out of their cars for commuting. At Gothenburg's SDF Lundby, fees were implemented at the formerly free garage and income is being used to improve bike access and cycling amenities.
- Big energy savings (between 50-70 percent) can be had from intelligent road lights with IP addresses that can be remotely controlled to dim or brighten for specific lighting needs and also report when their bulbs need changing. Oslo has more than 7,000 of these lights already, Gothenburg a handful. Via ::VartGoteborg (Swedish)
"Click forward to see some smart ideas."
HOW?!