Nearly 45 percent of the electricity in Portugal’s grid will come from renewable sources this year, up from 17 percent just five years ago.
Land-based wind power — this year deemed “potentially competitive” with fossil fuels by the International Energy Agency in Paris — has expanded sevenfold in that time. And Portugal expects in 2011 to become the first country to inaugurate a national network of charging stations for electric cars.
— via.
“Green roofs sprout toward the horizon in Stuttgart, Germany, where since 1989 municipal regulations have required all new, flat-roof buildings to have them. Steven W. Peck, founder of the Canada-based industry association Green Roofs for Healthy Cities, says ‘all you have to do is climb a tall building in Germany, and you’re going to see green roofs all over the place.’”
Photograph by Diane Cook and Len Jenshel, National Geographic
Some Green News:
While I swing to this, here’s a quick update —
- In Portland — RT @sarahmirk Standing ovation for @MayorSamAdam’s promise: “By the end of the week, we will have a draft ordinance out that will ban single-use bags.”
- Spain overtakes US with world’s biggest solar power station http://bit.ly/abZCM6
- Monitor Your Electricity Usage: 1 Million in Southern California Already Have a Smart Meter. http://bit.ly/9LtTLO
Five Links:
- Forty Great Ad Campaigns.
- Martin Clark on Grime/Dubstep.
- New Chilean President supports a decrease in its GHG growth of 20% by 2020 http://bit.ly/aLW7rc #cop16 #climate
- Women of The Daily Show Speak.
- ROMA in Buenos Ares / Escif in Spain.
Crowd sourcing every single tree in San Francisco and determining its ecological and economic impact.
(The link takes you to the trees around the BoA tower.)
Department of brilliant ads — ‘What will it take before we respect the planet?’
via.
Copenhagen Adopts a Mandatory Green Roof Policy
This is just so brilliant. I love it.
“As part of its overall strategy to become a carbon neutral city by 2025, Copenhagen has become the first Scandanavian city to adopt a policy that requires green roofs for all new buildings with roof slopes of less than 30 degrees. Copenhagen presently has 20,000 square meters (over 215,000 square feet) of flat roofs. It is hoped that as much as 5,000 square meters of new development each year will be covered with vegetation.
Read more: Copenhagen Adopts a Mandatory Green Roof Policy | Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World“
