CambriaBanks – Environmental Stewardship and Urban Infrastructure

December 1, 2016September 28, 2017

Exploring Sustainable Leadership: Andy Hargre

The video discusses a study that was done to look at changes within education over a period of approximately 30 years. Specifically, they considered when schools faced many changes, what changes stayed and what changes disappeared. Through this analysis, they would come up with why some changes stayed over others.

There was a total of 8 schools that were examined. Four in Canada and four in New York state, all of which were high schools. The school’s styles varied between traditional and innovative. Interviews with the teachers and leaders, documents of the school district, surrounding policies and changes and reforms within the schools themselves were all analyzed. Each school was broken down into six broader themes which showed there was a clear shift within the six themes all at the same point in time. Through these themes 7 interrelated principles of sustainability and non-sustainability were determined:

Depth- To be sustainable, there must be focus on something that is important and people must care about the change that is trying to be made.
Endurance- The changes need to be maintained beyond one leader. To be sustainable, the changes should be able to be transferred to successive leaders.
Responsibility- The change needs to be a shared responsibility, no one person can do all of it on their own.
Social justice- How does one change affect the changes going on in other places needs to be considered especially in terms of the environment.
Diversity- Strong environments are bio-diverse rather than standardized.
Energy- Energy needs to be renewable to be maintained in the long run
Conservation- The changes considered should preserve the good things done in the past and learn from the mistakes.

These principles mentioned in the video are in line with the common strategies for developing sustainable leadership. This is interesting because it shows the broader application of these principles and how they can be applied to different fields. To implement sustainable changes, it is important to consider all the principles discussed in the video and in the lesson plan. Some of the highlights that I think are important to mention is that change is a shared responsibility. To make an effective move toward a sustainable change, you can lead it but it is not solely up to you. It is important to present the idea in a way to demonstrate why it is important to make the change and in doing this show how it is a community responsibility. While emphasising the importance of shared responsibility, it is important to implement changes that can be done through various leaders. This will increase the likelihood the changes made will stick. All of the aspects discussed are important to consider while we begin our careers and try to become a sustainable leader.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jkry2I050wIaves, Boston College)

November 10, 2016September 28, 2017

Closer Look Into Green Streets

Green Streets

The traditional design of streets is created of an impervious surface can make large amount of runoff when it rains. As the water runs along the surface it can pick up pollutants that then enter the water system. The water system can either be two separate systems: one for stormwater and the other for sanitary water or it can be a combination of the two. Either way some of these systems can’t handle the large peaks of runoff which a rain storm can produce. These volumes cause overflowing of basins and catchments which can leads to high volumes being released into the environment which can be very harmful. One of the ways to manage these high volumes and contaminant release is implementing green streets. Green Streets are a good example of how sustainable site planning can be implemented to create many benefits to a system that is already in place but can at some times be harmful to the environment. There are many sustainable benefits to Green Street which can be seen in the following list:

Improving water quality, air quality, temperature, aesthetics and safety
Reduce the peak flows that impact the underground storm water infrastructure
- Smaller and fewer pipes and less maintenance
Help prevent flooding
Improving, restoring and protecting water as a resource
Promote alternative surfaces
Promote renewable energy for street lights
Reducing heat that radiates from the hard surfaces
Promotes more appealing pedestrian use by being more walk-able, safe and attractive
Sense of place, higher livability

The following are some examples of what the infrastructure that might be included in a Green Street:

Porous pavement

Porous pavement could be made of pervious concrete, porous asphalt or permeable interlocking pavers. Implementing porous pavement infiltrate, treat and store runoff. It can be cost effective where land values are high and flooding and icing is a problem.

(http://njwsawpu.blogspot.ca/2011/06/permeable-pavement-epa.html)

Vegetated Curbs and sidewalks

Adding more vegetation will result in more of the rainwater being absorbed into the soil rather than being put in the stormwater system. Absorbing the water filters contaminants out of the water stops the contaminants from being released into the environment as well as reduce the peak flow volumes.

(http://www.deeproot.com/blog/blog-entries/the-rise-of-the-curb-cut-part-two)

Planter Boxes

Planter boxes are garden with vertical walls and either have open or closed bottoms. These can collect and absorb runoff from sidewalks, parking lots and streets. They are ideal for space-limited sites in dense areas.

(http://www.lastormwater.org/blog/2015/01/university-park-rain-gardens-to-grow/)

Rain garden: Biowales

Biowales are vegetated, mulched or xeriscaped channels that provide treatment and retention as they move stormwater from one place to another. The vegetated swales slow, infiltrate and filter the flow of stormwater. This system is well suited along the sides of streets and parking lots.

(http://www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2014/01/world-cities-looking-to-portland-for.html)

LED Lights

Implementing LED lights into the street lights will reduce the energy used to light the streets while also, providing a brighter environment at night. This can be an example of how implementing green streets can promote the use of renewable energy.

An Example of Implementations:

Philadelphia has multiple projects that were implement all over the city. One of them is the Queen Lane Water Treatment Project. They implemented vegetated curb extension that protrude into the street creating a new curb. This curb is made of a layer stone topped with soil and plants. The curb design allows the runoff to flowing into the vegetation area so the plants can store and filter the runoff. Excess runoff can flow into the existing inlet which leads to the treatment plant. As well there is a downspout planter which allows the runoff from roof gutters to flow through the plants, which has the similar benefits as the curb design discussed above.

(http://www.phillywatersheds.org/what_were_doing/green_infrastructure/projects/QueenLane)

For more examples of other green street implementation in Philadelphia refer to their Green Streets Programs (http://www.phillywatersheds.org/what_were_doing/green_infrastructure/programs/green_streets).

Resources:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TxqxEqnHIKw&app=desktop

https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure

http://www.phillywatersheds.org/what_were_doing/green_infrastructure/projects/QueenLane

October 26, 2016September 28, 2017

Summary of Sarte’ Sustainable Infrastructure: Energy

This is a summary of the reading in Sarte’s Sustainable Infrastructure focusing on the energy section (p.178-183).

Energy-Efficient Systems fro Communities

All infrastructure and generation facilities must be designed to handle the evening hour peaks in energy demand plus a buffer for emergencies. Improving efficiency and balancing the peak loads are important to incorporate into a city and community scale projects. Here are some of the ways this can be done:

Combine Heat and Power (Cogeneration) – ‘waste’ heat from producing electricity is used to heat water and make steam which can be distributed through pipes to heat buildings

Integrating these systems can reduce cost and greenhouse gas emissions
Ex. Copenhagen supplies hot water to 97% of the city by harvesting the heat from local clean-burning biomass plants

District Heating- Shared heating systems

Effective in dense communities where steam doesn’t need to travel far
Reduces the community’s overall demand from the grid
Can be used with other heating sources but is more practical in colder climates
Ex. New York City has the largest commercial steam system

District Cooling- distributing chilled water in pipes throughout dense neighborhoods for cooling

More efficient compared to single-unit air conditioning

Trigeneration -similar to cogeneration with the addition of an absorption chiller that uses the steam to create cool air or water

Primarily used in warm climates where the cooling demand is higher
In some case it could be used to create district cooling networks in dense communities

Smart meters and smart grids

Smart meters provided real-time reports on power use and demand which allows customers to see their electricity rates and adjust energy (Ex. thermostats) to reduce loads at peak times
Smart grids is the incorporation of smart meters into a community’s power network
Allow to reduce the total demand at peaks which can lead to the reduction of the capacity for the generators which increases the efficiency
Allows more renewable electricity to exist in the grid due to the better management and distributing of a variety of power
Improves overall reliability of the system

Accounting for Water as an Energy Use

Energy inputs occur when extracting, conveying, storing, treating, distributing and using water
Additional energy is required to collect, convey, treat, reuse or discharge wastewater
- Pumping can be the most energy intensive part of the cycle
- Transporting chemicals
- Heating and lighting facilities
- Electronic monitoring system
- Transportation related to maintenance and monitoring
- Construction of these infrastructures consumes energy
Laying pipes and building dams, sewer systems, and water treatment plants embodies the large amounts of energy
On-site water sources typically require less operational energy per volume of water compared to traditional water systems
- Pumping demands are minimal
- segregate water sources based on quality and each can be deliver to the appropriate demand with minimal treatment required (less energy to treat water)

Reducing Demand Through Transportation Changes

US dependency on automobiles has lead to a steady increase in energy required for transportation
In 2008, transportation accounted for 28% of overall energy use (almost equal to industry use 31%)
Transportation doesn’t only included automobiles
- Need to consider energy efficient forms of transportation as the most effective modes of travel because people will travel which every way meets their needs the best

The Energy Impact of Automobiles

Automobiles and their infrastructure increase a project’s energy demands and capitals costs
- Some examples of how roads increase energy demand and cost:
  - Take up a lot of space
  - Dark pavement soaks heat and can increase the local temperature which increase the cooling cost of buildings
  - in snowy climates, more energy spent on maintenance (plowing)
  - Drainage systems which embodied energy in the infrastructure, pumping demands and maintenance
  - Other infrastructure like traffic lights, signage and gas station embodied energy
  - Larger home footprint for parking
It can be more beneficial to look into other options for transportation other than automobiles
- Sometimes using automobiles can out weigh the cost of designing around them
- In order to reduce the impact of the automobiles there are saving opportunities that can be done including:
  - Adopting a two-part approach for alternative fuel: acquiring vehicles that run on alternative fuel and creating infrastructure to refuel those vehicles
Alternative fuel options include biodiesel, electricity, compressed natural gas and/or propane
- Benefits:
  - Cleaner cars and reduce local pollution and global impact
  - Propane and natural gas burn cleaner (compared to gasoline)
  - Bio-diesel more sustainable fuel
- Can be applicable for vehicle fleets that have a fixed route and parked in the same fueling and maintenance facility each night (ex. city buses, maintenance trucks, emergency vehicles)