Natural Environment Blog

Masdar city's compact and shaded design will encourage walking and cycling. Photo: Foster + Partners.

A brand new city is being built in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates which, when finished, will be the world’s first zero carbon, zero waste city.

Masdar City, a completely self sustaining city, will be powered by renewable energy and all waste will be recycled or reused. 

The city will be built in the most energy efficient way possible. Because of this, its power requirements will be about a quarter of that of a similar sized city.

A solar-powered desalination plant will provide the city’s water. As with its power, Masdar will be extremely water efficient. Masdar’s water requirements will be 60 percent lower than other similar sized cities. 

The city will cover an area of roughly 6 square kilometers and will eventually be home to around 1,500 businesses and 50,000 residents. As many as 60,000 people will commute to the city on a daily basis via a light rail line.

The name Masdar translates into “the source” in Arabic. 

Designed by Foster + Partners, Masdar City is due for completion in around 8 or 9 years. The first stage of development will be complete in 2009.

Artist's impression of Masdar city, the world's first zero carbon, zero waste city. Photo: Foster + Partners.

A World First

This is the first time a city has ever been built with the aim of producing zero carbon and zero waste.

“The environmental ambitions of the Masdar Initiative – zero carbon and waste free – are a world first.” said Norman Foster Chairman of Foster + Partners.

“They have provided us with a challenging design brief that promises to question conventional urban wisdom at a fundamental level. Masdar promises to set new benchmarks for the sustainable city of the future.”

No Cars

Instead of using cars, Masdar residents can use eco-friendly travel pods, like the one above, that run on magnetic tracks.

Masdar city will be completely car-free. 

Instead of cars, residents will be able to use travel pods running on magnetic tracks. To use a travel pod, a passenger will simply locate a pod station, get into the pod, and program where they want to go.

And the stations will be plentiful. With around 1,500 stations, no point in the city will be more than 200 meters from a transport link.

But, due to the city’s layout, it is anticipated that many residents will cycle or walk to most destinations. Walkways will be shaded to make walking more bearable in the region’s extreme heat.

A solar-powered light rail system will connect Masdar city with other nearby cities.

Masdar’s Initiatives

Because of the ambitious goals of the Masdar initiative, the project includes a number of supporting initiatives to assist in acheiving the ultimate outcome. In particular, the Masdar initiative will include the following:

• substantial investment in innovative and renewable energy technologies
• the fostering of talent, expertise, and knowledge sharing in renewable energy disciplines
• the construction of local and regional green power production facilities that complement and balance fossil fuel production
• the reduction of carbon emissions through active participation in carbon markets
• the creation of a model, zero carbon, zero waste city that demonstrates the practical viability and appeal of living in alternative energy environments

The Masdar Initiative is currently seeking suitable partners from around the world to help achieve its ambitious goal.

For more on the initiative, see the official Masdar Initiative website.

WWF, the global conservation organization, has just released the 2008 version of their Living Planet Report (as I was anticipating), and things are not looking good for planet Earth - or those of us who reside here.

The report, prduced in conjunction with  the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) and the Global Footprint Network (GFN), is released every two years and is recognized as probably the most authoritative report on the state of the world’s ecosystems. It could be viewed as biennial bank statement for natural resources. 

According to the report, our global footprint now exceeds the world’s capacity to regenerate by about 30 per cent. This has increased from 25% in the 2006 report.

Furthermore, our global footprint is expected to keep increasing unless we do something about it. The report says that if our demands on the planet continue at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we will need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles.

WWF International Director-General James Leape said “Most of us are propping up our current lifestyles, and our economic growth, by drawing - and increasingly overdrawing - on the ecological capital of other parts of the world,”

“If our demands on the planet continue to increase at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles” he continued.

World Economical Crisis vs World Ecological Crisis

The 2008 report draws comparisons between the world economic crisis and the “world ecological crisis”.

It says:

The recent downturn in the global economy is a stark reminder of the consequences of living beyond our means. But the current  financial recession pales in comparison to the looming ecological credit crunch.

Whether we live on the edge of the forest or in the heart of the city, our livelihoods and indeed our lives depend on the services provided by the Earth’s natural systems.

The report continues to say that we are consuming the resources that underpin those services much too fast – faster than they can be replenished.

Just as reckless spending is causing recession, so reckless consumption is depleting the world’s natural capital to a point where we are endangering our future prosperity.

ZSL co-editor Jonathan Loh said “We are acting ecologically in the same way as financial institutions have been behaving economically - seeking immediate gratification without due regard for the consequences,”

“The consequences of a global ecological crisis are even graver than the current economic meltdown.”

The report also says that in the past 35 years, Earth’s wildlife populations have declined by a third”

5 Countries with the Highest Footprints

The five countries with the highest footprints per person were:

• United Arab Emirates
• the United States of America
• Kuwait
• Denmark
• Australia 

5 Countries with the Lowest Footprints

These countries were found to have the lowest footprints per person:

• Bangladesh
• Congo
• Haiti
• Afghanistan
• Malawi

Reckless Lifestyles at the Expense of Others

The report says that more than three quarters of the world’s population live in nations that have outstripped their country’s biocapacity. It says:

Most of us are propping up our current lifestyles, and our economic growth, by drawing (and increasingly overdrawing) upon the ecological capital of other parts of the world.

Water Footprints

For the first time the Living Planet Report also includes new measures of global, national and individual water footprints.

It finds that globally, each person consumes about 1.24 million liters of water per year.

But the actual figures vary significantly between countries. The nation with the highest water consumption per capita was United States, with 2.48 million liters of water consumed per year (about the size of an Olympic swimming pool). The nation with the lowest water consumption was Yemen, with 619,000 liters per person. 

The Good News…

Despite the apparent gloom and doom, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

WWF believes that it’s not too late for us to do something about the looming “ecological credit crunch”. 

In order to tackle climate change, the WWF refers to its own “WWF Climate Solutions Model” which outlines a model for achieving reductions in carbon emissions of 60 to 80 per cent by 2050.

The report offers some more advice for dealing with the issue:

Success requires that we manage resources on nature’s terms and at nature’s scale. This means that decisions in each sector, such as agriculture or fisheries, must be taken with an eye to broader ecological consequences. It also means that we must find ways to manage across our own boundaries – across property lines and political borders – to take care of the ecosystem as a whole

Download the Report

The report should be available on the Living Planet Report section of the WWF website very soon.

Alternatively, you can download the report here [PDF File 4.35 MB].

New Zealand Environment Minister congratulated local communities today for taking such an “enthusiastic interest” in World Environment Day 2008.

World Environment Day 2008 is being held around the world today, June 5.

The main international celebrations for this year’s event are being hosted in Wellington, New Zealand. According to the United Nations’ World Environment Day website, the agenda for the day is:

…to give a human face to environmental issues; empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development; promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues; and advocate partnership, which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.

The theme this year is:

Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy

The theme also includes the role of forest conservation and sustainable forestry in achieving domestic and global climate change goal.

There are many ways you can participate in World Environment Day 2008. Here are some suggestions from the official World Environment Day website:

• street rallies
• bicycles parades
• green concerts
• essay and poster competitions in schools
• tree planting
• recycling efforts
• clean-up campaigns

You could also check out the World Environment Day Alphabet - 80 Ways to Celebrate.

World Environment Day is an annual event that was established by the United Nations General Assembly in 1972 to mark the opening of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment.

Previous Cities

Previous Cities to host World Environment Day include:

• 2008 - Wellington, New Zealand
• 2007 - Tromsø, Norway
• 2006 - Algiers, Algeria
• 2005 - San Francisco, USA
• 2004 - Barcelona, Spain
• 2003 - Beirut, Lebanon
• 2002 - Shenzhen, People’s Republic of China
• 2001 - Torino, Italy and Havana, Cuba
• 2000 - Adelaide, Australia
• 1999 - Tokyo, Japan
• 1998 - Moscow, Russian Federation
• 1997 - Seoul, Republic of Korea
• 1996 - Istanbul, Turkey
• 1995 - Pretoria, South Africa
• 1994 - London, United Kingdom
• 1993 - Beijing, People’s Republic of China
• 1992 - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• 1991 - Stockolm, Sweden
• 1990 - Mexico City, Mexico
• 1989 - Brussels, Belgium
• 1988 - Bangkok, Thailand
• 1987 - Nairobi, Kenya

Previous Themes

Previous themes for World Environment Day are (including this year’s theme):

• 2008 - Kick the Habit! Towards a Low Carbon Economy
• 2007 – Melting Ice – A Hot Topic?
• 2006 – Deserts and Desertification – Don’t Desert Drylands!
• 2005 – Green Cities – Plan for the Planet!
• 2004 – Wanted! Seas and Oceans – Dead or Alive?
• 2003 – Water – Two Billion People are Dying for It!
• 2002 - Give Earth a Chance
• 2001 - Connect with the World Wide Web of Life
• 2000 - The Environment Millennium - Time to Act
• 1999 - Our Earth - Our Future - Just Save It!
• 1998 - For Life on Earth - Save Our Seas
• 1997 - For Life on Earth
• 1996 - Our Earth, Our Habitat, Our Home
• 1995 - We the Peoples: United for the Global Environment
• 1994 - One Earth One Family
• 1993 - Poverty and the Environment - Breaking the Vicious Circle
• 1992 - Only One Earth, Care and Share
• 1991 - Climate Change. Need for Global Partnership
• 1990 - Children and the Environment
• 1989 - Global Warming; Global Warning
• 1988 - When People Put the Environment First, Development Will Last
• 1987 - Environment and Shelter: More Than A Roof
• 1986 - A Tree for Peace
• 1985 - Youth: Population and the Environment
• 1984 - Desertification
• 1983 - Managing and Disposing Hazardous Waste: Acid Rain and Energy
• 1982 - Ten Years After Stockholm (Renewal of Environmental Concerns)
• 1981 - Ground Water; Toxic Chemicals in Human Food Chains and Environmental Economics
• 1980 - A New Challenge for the New Decade: Development Without Destruction
• 1979 - Only One Future for Our Children - Development Without Destruction
• 1978 - Development Without Destruction
• 1977 - Ozone Layer Environmental Concern; Lands Loss and Soil Degradation; Firewood
• 1976 - Water: Vital Resource for Life
• 1975 - Human Settlements
• 1974 - Only one Earth