CitiesGoGreen - October 2008 - (Page 6) In Motion Green Walls Grow Community in L.A. Can walls of fresh vegetables help create community? A partnership between Green Living Technologies, Elmslie Osler Architect and the Urban Farming Food Chain shows that the answer is yes. Green walls also lower the heat index in mostly concrete and steel neighborhoods, and help combat global warming. The pilot program in Los Angeles has four walls in place. The walls are 24 to 30 feet by about 6 feet tall, built of recycled stainless steel, and have produced harvests of strawberries, peppers, tomatillos and other vegetables. The big surprise was the high level of community engagement and connection they produced. Living walls can produce more than just fresh vegetables. Photo courtesy Weingart Center Association Geothermal School in Klamath Falls, OR Oregon Institute of Technology in Klamath Falls aims to be the first university entirely powered by geothermal energy. The school plans to build a $7.6 million geothermal plant on campus in the next couple of years to tap energy readily available underground. The City already uses geothermal energy to heat buildings and melt snow from roads, and the university heats all its water with geothermal. The school will be the first in the state to use geothermal for electricity, and faculty hope this will create an ideal environment for geothermal research and innovation. Photo courtesy Oregon Institute of Technology Zero Waste Park Will cities invest $300 million (comparable to purchasing an incinerator) in Zero Waste Parks that handle all their recycling, composting and waste? What if these parks also reduce landfill by 90% and mostly eliminate methane emissions? Eric Lombardi pulls together all the ways people currently handle waste. “None of the technologies in my park is new,” said Lombardi. “They’re simple, proven, low-tech and little risk.” If landfill organics were eliminated, the climate change effect would be equivalent to eliminating 20% of US coal fired power plants, he says. Courtesy bryan bowen architects, p.c. © 2007 Eco-Cycle Working to Build Zero Waste Communities 6 October 2008 http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/green-walls-grow-community-in-la http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/geothermal-school-in-klamath-falls-or http://citiesgogreen.com/issues/october-2008/in-motion/zero-waste-park
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