Shade balls are being used to reduce evaporation in water reservoirs in drought-hit California. Shade balls are black polyethylene balls which are placed on water surfaces to reduce evaporation. The black balls, which cost 36 cents each, withstand UV and reduce algae growth as well as evaporative losses. Pictures of a reservoir being covered can be seen here.
Soil is the biggest reservoir of carbon on the planet after the oceans and holds four times more carbon than all the plants and trees in the world. However, deforestation and industrial farming has degraded this capacity in 40% of all agricultural soils.
New research published in Science suggests that regenerative farming methods including woodland regeneration, no-till farming, cover crops, nutrient management, manuring and sludge application, improved grazing, water conservation and harvesting, efficient irrigation, agroforestry practices, and growing energy crops on spare lands can help restore soils. This not only improves food security but also has the potential to sequestrate 5-15% of global fossil fuel emissions.
Invited to speak at the Smart Buildings Summit Africa last week in Cape Town and presented on the following characteristics of Smart Buildings:
The framework from Buckman et al 2014 provided a useful basis to talk about examples and how smart and sustainable built environments were evolving locally.
New maps from Statistics South Africa show racial diversity and segregation in South African cities. These indicate that while some areas have become more integrated, others remain highly segregated. Patterns picked up in the maps include:
Scientists have claimed that 2015 was the warmest year on record. By using climate data from Accuweather, the New York Times have charted the range of actual city temperatures experienced for 2015 relative to normal the normal range. You can access these charts for your city here.
The Hub has been developed in the Netherlands as a way of converting empty buildings into comfortable housing is a short space of time. Hubs include a kitchen, a bathroom, toilet and provide heating, a sound system, an internet connection and are 15m2 in area. Useful ideas for converting disused buildings in African cities for housing? More information is available here.
The buildings above have just been completed and assessed using the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT). On the surface, they may appear similar, and could even be the same building. There may also not be much difference in the functionality of the buildings, but there are very large differences in the sustainability impacts of the buildings.
One building has been constructed using imported components, while the other, is based on locally manufactured materials and components. Local content, or the use of local materials and products and materials can make a big difference in sustainability performance.
Buildings constructed of local materials and components create local jobs, small enterprises and manufacturing capacity. Local jobs pay for local schools, local health facilities and local production of food, improving health and education. Less transportation means less pollution and environmental damage. Locally available skills and materials support effective maintenance and repairs, increasing service life and reducing waste. Procurement of local materials and components create a diversified local economy that is more resilient to global economic shocks and exchange rate changes.
Local content, or localisation, in built environments can be supported through the use of the Sustainable Building Assessment Tool (SBAT) ‘Local Economy’ criteria. The Sustainable Building Materials Index (SBMI) can be used to support more sustainable and efficient local building material and component manufacturing processes.