july 2011
Glaciers being packed in summer to avoid to fast melting... The Vorab glacier in Switzerland.
Came across the solar mirror plants near Sevilla in Spain. Great view! This is one of the few effective options to generate high temperatures for industry from direct solar radiation .
october 2011
Did not know this before, but just found out that not only The US has fenced Mexico off, but there is also a fence erected by India with the border of Bangla Desh,about 2500 km!, to prevent mass migration and terrorism. see >>
During SB11 in Helsinki I had the oppertunity to visit a few new Buildings. Above is the new Environmental house at Viikki, a low energy building with solar chimney facade. Its a high tech approach from installations point of view. http://ksv.hel.fi/en/node/1465
Below is a zero energy appartment building in Jarvenpaa. Its a home for dementing elderly people. First measurements show that the heat demanded is lower as predicted, caused by a greater amount of nurses working in the building... . See ppt presentation>>
Sustainable Building Support centre
Dutch preparing for floods: Due to the threads of flooding, from the sea and from frequent high river water due to rain and melting in the alps, Dutch are building terpen (Mounds) along the river. On the picture you see one in construction. The Farm left top will be relocated on the terp, which will be around 6 mtr above average river level. See also the link, its in Dutch but the video speaks for itself. see >
Next to the district of tomorrow we have started "The Existing district of Tomorrow" project. A first try out has been completed last week, and 1 house has been renovated for passive and 0-energy standard. See the house before and after, in 8 days completed with prefab facades and roof. We will house students here to do the monitoring. See also >> (Eng. info to follow)
January 2012
Now this is the world upside down: instead of shifting to solar energy in stead of oil, solar energy is now put to work to produce more oil: Chevron and others are testing solar mirror steam production to inject to heat the crude, thereby reducing its viscosity and making it easier to produce. That's the future of solar energy… How hard headed can we be… link1 >> and link2 >>
on the other side of the spectrum we notice some serious shifts, like for instance the use of wood in stead of steel and or concrete for new large buildings. It's a real trend throughout Austria, Germany and Sweden, and a few weeks ago I visited this 8 storey high apartment building in London. The inhabitants are happy, no problems reported. More next time. link 1 and link 2
March 2012
May. 2012 click pictures to enlarge
Disappointing; At the Famous Floriade, the international Agricultural exhibition, there is also attention for environment and biobased and renewable production. Here is a electric car, loaded by a PV roof. Unfortunately the environmental profit is destroyed by the impact from a solid stainless steel carport… link1 >>
Major Peter Vadasz showed me around, and indeed,Gussing, Austria is producing more renewable energy as it needs, within its won borders, without corrupting food or materials need.
Close by is Bad Blumau, where Hundertwasser realized his philosophical dream: The vertical is for man, the horizontal is for nature: The producing roofs, as we will need them physically in the future!
July. 2012 click pictures to enlarge
If you choose Calatrava as an architect, you know two things for sure: you will waste a lot of resources, and end with up in a law suit over costs. Here is a recent example in Maastricht: the project developer went broke, now fights in court, project abandoned, and we are stuck with a genuine Calatrava foundation. Its illustrative of how architects help drive us towards extinction.
Crossing Belgium recently I saw this wind turbine mast: a truss work mast, much more materials efficient as the steel industries favorite. And It can even be done better, if you follow the rules the Russian engineer Shukhov designed some 100 years ago.. Here is a partly remaining tower near Nizhny Novgorod . . link 1
Oct. 2012 click pictures to enlarge
People in cities are trapped, once economic systems collapse, and resources become unavailable. Its illustrated right now in Athens, Greece: people moving out, to the countryside, where family can still grow some food. In Greece they still can, But in other countries and cities?
In Madrid 19 0-energy houses of the Solar decathlon where on display: Students from 19 universities designed and built these houses. Great show, and many interesting ideas. Below the Entry from the RWTH Aachen Germany, named counter-entropy. And that's exact what we should aim at. . We hope the house will get its permanent location in the District of Tomorrow, . see >>link
Dec. 2012 click pictures to enlarge
Oxford street, London. People shopping while snowing. Only, its fake snow: climate makes it warmer, but we just adapt by making our own snow…
Finally, the book has been translated, about our last way out before democracy fails to address climate change… James Hansen introduced the book by Roger Cox , a few weeks ago. A must read ! ( see books for review).
It can however go fast. In Beijing I noticed all motorcycles were electric: how could that have changed so fast? It appears that the government has strengthened the exhaust rules, and immediately enforced: road blocks confiscated the bad ones . The owner received some money as compensation. And went to buy an electric one….
April 2013 click pictures to enlarge
This is what I call 'ego-green': taking away the light and sun for others, and wasting tons of concrete to show off keeping trees in the air. In Milano, Italy. Link >>
Travelling Peru, I was positively surprised seeing still many villagers building houses in loam bricks: this is on the high altitudes of the Andes.
It was on our way to the Uros, living on floating islands made of Tortora reed in Lake Titicaca, on the border With Bolivia. They also use if for their houses, food, medicine and boats. A renewable based society, already for nearly thousend years, although now in decline.
It sounds like a good idea: bringing solar power from the African desert to Europe, but in fact it's the third plundering: first people- slaves, then resources, now we steel their solar radiation ….Isn't that similar to landgrabbing, grabbing the potential to use solar radiation to produce something? . Link >>
june 2013 click pictures to enlarge
okt 2013 click pictures to enlarge
