Green Options » Curitiba

The Twelve Days of sustainablog: Biofuels, Preachers, and Echinacea

Jeff McIntire-Strasburg — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 18:43:05 +0000

May Day, Mother’s Day, Memorial Day and even Cinco de Mayo… lots to celebrate in May. We had lots to celebrate at sustainablog, also… especially a bevvy of new voices who joined us during the month.

Those new writers got us over our Spring fever slump, and took sustainablog in some very interesting new directions…

May 2008

Keith Rockmael reviewed the film A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba.
Our friends at Low Impact Living suggested five eco-smart ways to spend your tax rebate.
GO editorial intern Oscar Cardenas explored the environmental impact of using echinacea to fight colds.
Guest poster Max Gladwell argued that social media can change the world.

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Cities as the Solution, Not the Problem

Becky Striepe — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 12:00:16 +0000

Jaime Lerner is obsessed with cities. Specifically, he is obsessed with improving their sustainability through urban planning.

[Curitiba, where Jaime Lerner served three terms as mayor. Creative Commons photo by Felipe Freeze]

He transformed the city of Curitiba, Brazil while he was mayor there and now helps urban planners across the world build and improve cities.

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Film Review- A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil

Keith Rockmael — Fri, 16 May 2008 16:08:35 +0000

When discussing the world most progressive “eco” cities one might toss out San Francisco for it various green initiatives (such as banning plastic bags), New York City for its effective subway system, or Munich with it’s use of alternative energy especially solar but after watching this recent documentary “A Convenient Truth: Urban Solutions from Curitiba, Brazil” some people may change their green tune. The film highlights the surprisingly progressive sustainable city and using urban examples to highlight various topics into well paced film.

First time director Giovanni Vaz Del Bello neatly divides the film down into four areas of innovation: Transportation, Recycling, Affordable Housing and Urban Parks. Convenient Truth shows how convenient the transportation remains in this million plus city. Their progressive mayors like Jamie Lerner, city planners and designers determined that the city should revolve around people, not cars. From the cost-effective yet expansive bus system (with the notable bus station tubes) to the pedestrian-only walkways, then documentary highlights how effective, people friendly and sustainable changes can be made with minimal or no cost.

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City is not the Problem, City is the Solution

Janel Sterbentz — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 20:56:24 +0000

Last night at the Nob Hill Masonic Center Auditorium in San Francisco, the Ecocity World Summit hosted San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and former Mayor of Curitiba, Brazil, now Governor of Paraná Jaime Lerner.

Mayor Newsom started off proudly declaring that San Francisco has the highest recycling rate in the country at 70 percent, with a goal of zero waste by 2020. The city accepts all types of plastics and even provides a bin to compost all food, including meat! One of the few items not accepted are plastic bags, but last year San Francisco banned plastic bags from all major grocery stores.

The city has one of the most aggressive green building programs in the US. This is important because construction and operation of buildings are responsible for 40 percent of total energy use, 65 percent of total electricity use, 40 percent of air pollution and 38 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. The building below is the California Academy of Sciences which is planned to be LEED Platinum, the highest green building rating by the US Green Building Council, opening September 27, 2008.

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