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Thursday, February 24, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Floating 'Slinky' Hotel Can Survive Rising Seas
by A.K. Streeter, Portland, Oregon
Design & Architecture
Rendering courtesy of Remistudio.
Remember Biosphere 2? Well, fast forward to the Ark, designer Alexander Remizov's floating (or not) eco-friendly, energy-generating bubble hotel.
Remizov came up with the Ark's plans as part of a program on architecture and disaster relief through the International Union of Architects (UIA). According to the Remizov's Remistudio web site, the Ark is designed as: "an integrated energy system with an uninterruptible power supply using alternative energy sources." And instead of glass and steel, the Ark is made of durable 'self-cleaning' and reportedly recyclable plastic panels.
The Ark mimics Biosphere in its attempt to create a self-sustaining, oxygen-generating building. Rendering courtesy of Remistudio.
According to this Spiegel International article, the Ark would be built around a central, lightweight pillar connecting both to roof-top wind generators and heat pumps, as well as to energy storage and thermal conversion units in the basement. Remizov also plans to have a 'tornado' energy generating spiral at the top of the central pillar.
Rendering courtesy of Remistudio.
The dome-shaped Ark, constructed of wooden arches falling out from the spire, steel cables, and transparent Ethyl TetraFluoroEthylene (ETFE) plastic (instead of glass) is made to be able to withstand earthquakes and stay afloat in the event of floods or rising seas. Remizov said on the web site that the ETFE foil shell of the building would also serve as a solar hot water collector as well as gutters to trap rainwater for us.
Rendering courtesy of Remistudio.
Remizov collaborated with a German design and engineering firm and the Moscow-based scientist Lev Britvin, who, according to Remizov, has developed energy-saving solutions for space stations. The company is now searching, according to Spiegel, for investors to make the design a reality.
Remizov also told Spiegel that prefabricated sections of the hotel would make construction possible in three to four months nearly anywhere in the world. Perhaps his design firm needs to take a page from the Chinese construction company that erected this hotel in 6 days.
The Ark would contain 150,000 square feet of living space.
Climate refugee 'crisis' will not result in mass migration - new research
4th February, 2011
By Ecologist author
Researchers dismiss 'alarmist predictions' about hundreds of millions of people being forced to migrate across international borders because of climate change
Climate change is more likely to lead to local and regional migration as people's livelihoods are lost through drought, flooding or other types of environmental degradation. Research by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) in Africa and South America found most migrants were likely to move to other rural areas or local towns on a temporary basis.
Seasonal movement is historically common with, for example, pastoralists in East Africa having long-developed strategies to cope with unpredictable environments. In Sub Saharan Africa, the study found, many women migrate to towns during dry seasons to work as cleaners and street traders. While in the Bolivian Andes, women are already moving for 3-6 months of the year to take llamas to pasture.
A number of NGOs have predicted as many as one billion people could have been forced to relocate by 2050 because of the effects of climate change. However, the IIED findings back up other research that suggests relocation is likely to be local with people whose livelihoods are most sensitive to the environment also tending to be the ones who do not have the means to move very far.
The study says farmers should be helped to diversify their incomes to provide a 'safety net' against environmental degradation. But governments often view migrants as a problem and provide little support, the study found. As a result, when people have relocated they are often returning back to their original homes due to frustration with the lack of help in adapting to a new climate and different agricultural practices.
'Policymakers need to redefine migration and see it as a valuable adaptive response to environmental risks and not as problem that needs to be tackled,' said study author Dr Cecilia Tacoli, who said she was worried alarmist predictions would backfire and result in policies that marginalise the poorest and vulnerable groups.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) says it still wants climate refugees to be given legal protection by the UN and international community.
'Whilst migration can be a positive adaptation strategy to environmental change, we must not lose sight of the fact that some people are being forcibly displaced. Climate change is putting vulnerable people into more precarious situations,' said EJF executive director Steve Trent. 'This is exactly what we found in Bangladesh, where families told us how their homes had been torn down overnight by cyclones and that their land remains inundated by floodwater. They did not have a choice, they had to move without warning or an opportunity to prepare or plan where to go.'
'Currently there are no legal provisions for people displaced as a result of climate change. That is why EJF is calling for a new international instrument for their recognition and protection,' he added.
Useful links
IIED report
Seasonal movement is historically common with, for example, pastoralists in East Africa having long-developed strategies to cope with unpredictable environments. In Sub Saharan Africa, the study found, many women migrate to towns during dry seasons to work as cleaners and street traders. While in the Bolivian Andes, women are already moving for 3-6 months of the year to take llamas to pasture.
A number of NGOs have predicted as many as one billion people could have been forced to relocate by 2050 because of the effects of climate change. However, the IIED findings back up other research that suggests relocation is likely to be local with people whose livelihoods are most sensitive to the environment also tending to be the ones who do not have the means to move very far.
The study says farmers should be helped to diversify their incomes to provide a 'safety net' against environmental degradation. But governments often view migrants as a problem and provide little support, the study found. As a result, when people have relocated they are often returning back to their original homes due to frustration with the lack of help in adapting to a new climate and different agricultural practices.
'Policymakers need to redefine migration and see it as a valuable adaptive response to environmental risks and not as problem that needs to be tackled,' said study author Dr Cecilia Tacoli, who said she was worried alarmist predictions would backfire and result in policies that marginalise the poorest and vulnerable groups.
The Environmental Justice Foundation (EJF) says it still wants climate refugees to be given legal protection by the UN and international community.
'Whilst migration can be a positive adaptation strategy to environmental change, we must not lose sight of the fact that some people are being forcibly displaced. Climate change is putting vulnerable people into more precarious situations,' said EJF executive director Steve Trent. 'This is exactly what we found in Bangladesh, where families told us how their homes had been torn down overnight by cyclones and that their land remains inundated by floodwater. They did not have a choice, they had to move without warning or an opportunity to prepare or plan where to go.'
'Currently there are no legal provisions for people displaced as a result of climate change. That is why EJF is calling for a new international instrument for their recognition and protection,' he added.
Useful links
IIED report
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