Sustainable cities, urban sustainability, or eco-city (also "ecocity") is a city designed with consideration for social, economic, environmental impact , and resilient habitat for existing populations, without compromising the ability of future generations to experience the same. These cities are inhabited by people whom are dedicated towards minimization of required inputs of energy, water, food, waste, output of heat, air pollution - CO2, methane, and water pollution. Richard Register first coined the term "ecocity" in his 1987 book, Ecocity Berkeley: Building Cities for a Healthy Future. Other leading figures who envisioned the sustainable city are architect Paul F Downton, who later founded the company Ecopolis Pty Ltd, as well as authors Timothy Beatley and Steffen Lehmann, who have written extensively on the subject. The field of industrial ecology is sometimes used in planning these cities.
Different agricultural systems such as agricultural plots within the city (suburbs or centre). This reduces the distance food has to travel from field to fork. Practical work out of this may be done by either small scale/private farming plots or through larger scale agriculture (e.g. farmscrapers).
Renewable energy sources, such as wind turbines, solar panels, or bio-gas created from sewage. Cities provide economies of scale that make such energy sources viable.
Various methods to reduce the need for air conditioning (a massive energy demand), such as planting trees and lightening surface colors, natural ventilation systems, an increase in water features, and green spaces equaling at least 20% of the city's surface. These measures counter the "heat island effect" caused by an abundance of tarmac and asphalt, which can make urban areas several degrees warmer than surrounding rural areas—as much as six degrees Celsius during the evening.
Improved public transport and an increase in pedestrianization to reduce car emissions. This requires a radically different approach to city planning, with integrated business, industrial, and residential zones. Roads may be designed to make driving difficult.
Optimal building density to make public transport viable but avoid the creation of urban heat islands.
Solutions to decrease urban sprawl, by seeking new ways of allowing people to live closer to the workspace. Since the workplace tends to be in the city, downtown, or urban center, they are seeking a way to increase density by changing the antiquated attitudes many suburbanites have towards inner-city areas. One of the new ways to achieve this is by solutions worked out by the Smart Growth Movement.
Green roofs alter the surface energy balance and can help mitigate the urban heat island effect. Incorporating eco roofs or green roofs in your design will help with air quality, climate and water runoff.
Sustainable transport, incorporates five elements: fuel economy, occupancy, electrification, pedal power, and urbanization.
Sustainable Sites Initiative or SSI,Voluntary national guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. Key areas of focus are soil, vegetation, hydrology, materials, and human health and well being.
Increase of Cycling infrastructure would increase cycling within cities and reduce the amount of cars being driven and in turn reduce car emissions. This would also benefit the health of citizens as they would be able to get more exercise through cycling.
Educating residents of cities about the positive impacts of living in a more sustainable city and why it is important would increase the initiative to have sustainable developments and push people to live in a more sustainable way.
Buildings provide the infrastructure for a functioning city and allow for many opportunities to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability. A commitment to sustainable architecture encompasses all phases of building including the planning, building, and restructuring. Sustainable Site Initiatives is used by landscape architects, designers, engineers, architects, developers, policy-makers and others to align land development and management with innovative sustainable design.
The purpose of an eco-industrial park is to connect a number of firms and organizations to work together to decrease their environmental impact while simultaneously improving their economic performance. The community of businesses accomplishes this goal through collaboration in managing environmental and resource issues, such as energy, water, and materials. The components for building an eco-industrial park include natural systems, more efficient use of energy, and more efficient material and water flows Industrial parks should be built to fit into their natural settings in order to reduce environmental impacts, which can be accomplished through plant design, landscaping, and choice of materials. For instance, there is an industrial park in Michigan built by Phoenix Designs that is made almost entirely from recycled materials. The landscaping of the building will include native trees, grasses, and flowers, and the landscaping design will also act as climate shelter for the facility. In choosing the materials for building an eco-industrial park, designers must consider the life-cycle analysis of each medium that goes into the building to assess their true impact on the environment and to ensure that they are using it from one plant to another, steam connections from firms to provide heating for homes in the area, and using renewable energy such as wind and solar power. In terms of material flows, the companies in an eco-industrial park may have common waste treatment facilities, a means for transporting by-products from one plant to another, or anchoring the park around resource recovery companies that are recruited to the location or started from scratch. To create more efficient water flows in industrial parks, the processed water from one plant can be reused by another plant and the parks infrastructure can include a way to collect and reuse storm water runoff.
Urban farming is the process of growing and distributing food, as well as raising animals, in and around a city or in urban area. According to the RUAF Foundation, urban farming is different from rural agriculture because "it is integrated into the urban economic and ecological system: urban agriculture is embedded in -and interacting with- the urban ecosystem. Such linkages include the use of urban residents as labourers, use of typical urban resources (like organic waste as compost and urban wastewater for irrigation), direct links with urban consumers, direct impacts on urban ecology (positive and negative), being part of the urban food system, competing for land with other urban functions, being influenced by urban policies and plans, etc." There are many motivations behind urban agriculture, but in the context of creating a sustainable city, this method of food cultivation saves energy in food transportation and saves costs. In order for urban farming to be a successful method of sustainable food growth, cities must allot a common area for community gardens or farms, as well as a common area for a farmers market in which the foodstuffs grown within the city can be sold to the residents of the urban system. Berms of fava beans have been planted at Hayes Valley Farm, a community-built farm on the former Central freeway ramps of San Francisco.
Many cities are currently in a shift from the suburban sprawl model of development to a return to urban dense living. This shift in geographic distribution of population leads to a denser core of city residents. These residents provide a growing demand in many sectors that is reflected in the architectural fabric of the city. This new demand can be supplied by new construction or historic rehabilitation. Sustainable cities will opt for historical rehabilitation wherever possible. Having people live in higher densities not only gives economies of scale but also allows for infrastructure to be more efficient.
Walkable urbanism is a development strategy in opposition to suburban sprawl. It advocates housing for a diverse population, a full mix of uses, walkable streets, positive public space, integrated civic and commercial centers, transit orientation and accessible open space. It also advocates for density and accessibility of commercial and government activity.
The most clearly defined form of walkable urbanism is known as the Charter of New Urbanism. It is an approach for successfully reducing environmental impacts by altering the built environment to create and preserve smart cities which support sustainable transport. Residents in compact urban neighborhoods drive fewer miles, and have significantly lower environmental impacts across a range of measures, compared with those living in sprawling suburbs. The concept of circular flow land use management has also been introduced in Europe to promote sustainable land use patterns that strive for compact cities and a reduction of greenfield land taken by urban sprawl.
In sustainable architecture the recent movement of New Classical Architecture promotes a sustainable approach towards construction, that appreciates and develops smart growth, walkability, architectural tradition and classical design. This in contrast to modernist and globally uniform architecture, as well as opposing solitary housing estates and suburban sprawl. Both trends started in the 1980s.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System® encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is an internationally recognized green building certification system. LEED recognizes whole building sustainable design by identifying key areas of excellence including: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Locations & Linkages, Awareness and Education, Innovation in Design, Regional Priority. In order for a building to become LEED certified sustainability needs to be prioritized in design, construction, and use. One example of sustainable design would be including a certified wood like bamboo. Bamboo is fast growing and has an incredible replacement rate after being harvested. By far the most credits are rewarded for optimizing energy performance. This promotes innovative thinking about alternative forms of energy and encourages increased efficiency.
Sustainable Sites Initiative, a combined effort of the American Society of Landscape Architects, The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center at The University of Texas at Austin, and the United States Botanic Garden, is a voluntary national guideline and performance benchmark for sustainable land design, construction and maintenance practices. The building principles of SSI are to design with nature and culture, use a decision-making hierarchy of preservation, conservation, and regeneration, use a system thinking approach, provide regenerative systems, support a living process, use a collaborative and ethical approach, maintain integrity in leadership and research, and finally foster environmental stewardship. All of these help promote solutions to common environmental issues such as greenhouse gases, urban climate issues, water pollution and waste, energy consumption, and health and wellbeing of site users. The main focus is hydrology, soils, vegetation, materials, and human health and well being.
In SSI, the main goal for hydrology in sites is to protect and restore existing hydrologic functions. To design storm water features to be accessible to site users, and manage and clean water on site. For site design of soil and vegetationmany steps can be done during the construction process to help minimize the urban heat island effects, to and minimize the building heating requirements by using plants.
As major focus of the sustainable cities, sustainable transportation attempts to reduce a city's reliance and use of greenhouse emitting gases by utilizing eco friendly urban planning, low environmental impact vehicles, and residential proximity to create an urban center that has greater environmental responsibility and social equity.
Due to the significant impact that transportation services have on a city's energy consumption, the last decade has seen an increasing emphasis on sustainable transportation by developmental experts. Currently, transportation systems account for nearly a quarter of the world's energy consumption and carbon dioxide emission. In order to reduce the environmental impact caused by transportation in metropolitan areas, sustainable transportation has three widely agreed upon pillars that it utilizes to create more healthy and productive urban centers.
The Carbon Trust states that there are three main ways cities can innovate to make transport more sustainable without increasing journey times - better land use planning, modal shift to encourage people to choose more efficient forms of transport, and making existing transport modes more efficient.
The concept of car free cities or a city with large pedestrian areas is often part of the design of a sustainable city. A large part of the carbon footprint of a city is generated by cars so the car free concept is often considered an integral part of the design of a sustainable city.
Created by eco friendly urban planning, the concept of urban proximity is an essential element of current and future sustainable transportation systems. This requires that cities be built and added onto with appropriate population and landmark density so that destinations are reached with reduced time in transit. This reduced time in transit allows for reduced fuel expenditure and also opens the door to alternative means of transportation such as bike riding and walking. Transportation in downtown Chicago Furthermore, close proximity of residents and major landmarks allows for the creation of efficient public transportation by eliminating long sprawled out routes and reducing commute time. This in turn decreases the social cost to residents who choose to live in these cities by allowing them more time with families and friends instead by eliminating part of their commute time.
Sustainable transportation emphasizes the use of a diversity of fuel-efficient transportation vehicles in order to reduce greenhouse emissions and diversity fuel demand. Due to the increasingly expensive and volatile cost of energy, this strategy has become very important because it allows a way for city residents to be less susceptible to varying highs and lows in various energy prices.
Among the different modes of transportation, the use alternative energy cars and widespread installation of refueling stations has gained increasing importance, while the creation of centralized bike and walking paths remains a staple of the sustainable transportation movement.
In order to maintain the aspect of social responsibility inherent within the concept of sustainable cities, implementing sustainable transportation must include access to transportation by all levels of society. Due to the fact that car and fuel cost are often too expensive for lower income urban residents, completing this aspect often revolves around efficient and accessible public transportation.
In order to make public transportation more accessible, the cost of rides must be affordable and stations must be located no more than walking distance in each part of the city. As studies have shown, this accessibility creates a great increase in social and productive opportunity for city residents. By allowing lower income residents cheap and available transportation, it allows for individuals to seek employment opportunities all over the urban center rather than simply the area in which they live. This in turn reduces unemployment and a number of associated social problems such as crime, drug use, and violence.
Although there is not an international policy regarding sustainable cities and there are not established international standards, there is an organization, the United Cities and Local Governments (UCLG) that is working to establish universal urban strategic guidelines. The UCLG a democratic and decentralized structure that operates in Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Europe, Latin America, North America, Middle East, West Asian and a Metropolitan section work to promote a more sustainable society. The 60 members of the UCLG committee evaluate urban development strategies and debate theses experiences to make the best recommendations. Additionally, the UCLG accounts for differences in regional and national context. All the organizations are making a great effort to promote this concept by media and internet, and in conferences and workshops. An International conference was held in Italy at Università del Salento and Università degli Studi della Basilicata, called 'Green Urbanism', from 12–14 October 2016.
Recently, local and national governments and regional bodies such as the European Union have recognized the need for a holistic understanding of urban planning. This is instrumental to establishing an international policy that focuses on cities challenges and the role of the local authorities responses. Generally, in terms of urban planning, the responsibility of local governments are limited to land use and infrastructure provision excluding inclusive urban development strategies. The advantages of urban strategic planning include an increase in governance and cooperation that aids local governments in establishing performance based-management, clearly identifying the challenges facing local community and more effectively responding on a local level rather than national level, and improves institutional responses and local decision making. Additionally, it increases dialogue between stakeholders and develops consensus-based solutions, establishing continuity between sustainability plans and change in local government; it places environmental issues as the priority for the sustainable development of cities and serves as a platform to develop concepts and new models of housing, energy and mobility.
The City Development Strategies (CDS) addresses new challenges and provides space for innovative policies that involves all stakeholders. The inequality in spatial development and socio-economic classes paired with concerns of poverty reduction and climate change are factors in achieving global sustainable cities. According to the UCLG there are differences between regional and national conditions, framework and practice that are overcome in the international commitment to communication and negotiation with other governments, communities and the private sector to continual to develop through innovative and participatory approaches in strategic decisions, building consensus and monitoring performance management and raising investment.
According to UN Habitat, around half of the world's population is concentrated in cities, which is set to rise to 60% within a couple decades. The UCLG has specifically identified 13 global challenges to establishing sustainable cities: demographic change and migration, globalisation of the job market, poverty and unmet Millennium Development Goals, segregation, spatial patterns and urban growth, metropolisation and the rise of urban regions, more political power for local authories, new actors for developing a city and providing services, decline in public funding for development, the environment and climate change, new and accessible building technologies, preparing for uncertainty and limits of growth and global communications and partnerships.
In Adelaide, South Australia (a city of 1.3 million people) Premier Mike Rann (2002 to 2011) launched an urban forest initiative in 2003 to plant 3 million native trees and shrubs by 2014 on 300 project sites across the metro area. The projects range from large habitat restoration projects to local biodiversity projects. Thousands of Adelaide citizens have participated in community planting days. Sites include parks, reserves, transport corridors, schools, water courses and coastline. Only trees native to the local area are planted to ensure genetic integrity. Premier Rann said the project aimed to beautify and cool the city and make it more liveable; improve air and water quality and reduce Adelaide's greenhouse gas emissions by 600,000 tonnes of C02 a year. He said it was also about creating and conserving habitat for wildlife and preventing species loss.
The Rann government also launched an initiative for Adelaide to lead Australia in the take-up of solar power. In addition to Australia's first 'feed-in' tariff to stimulate the purchase of solar panels for domestic roofs, the government committed millions of dollars to place arrays of solar panels on the roofs of public buildings such as the museum, art gallery, Parliament, Adelaide Airport, 200 schools and Australia's biggest rooftop array on the roof of Adelaide Showgrounds' convention hall which was registered as a power station.
South Australia went from zero wind power in 2002 to wind power, making up 26% of its electricity generation by October 2011. In the five years preceding 2011 there was a 15% drop in emissions, despite strong economic growth.
For Adelaide the South Australian government also embraced a Zero Waste recycling strategy, achieving a recycling rate of nearly 80% by 2011 with 4.3 million tonnes of materials diverted from landfill to recycling. On a per capita basis this was the best result in Australia, the equivalent of preventing more than a million tonnes of C02 entering the atmosphere. In the 1970s container deposit legislation was introduced. Consumers are paid a 10 cent rebate on each bottle, can, or container they return to recycling. In 2009 non-reusable plastic bags used in supermarket checkouts were banned by the Rann Government, preventing 400 million plastic bags per year entering the litter stream. In 2010 Zero Waste SA was commended by a UN Habitat Report entitled 'Solid Waste Management in the World Cities'.
City of Moreland. The City of Moreland in Melbourne's north, has programs for becoming carbon neutral, one of which is 'Zero Carbon Moreland', amongst other existing sustainable implementations and proposals.
City of Melbourne. Over the past 10 years, various methods of improving public transport have been implemented, car free zones and entire streets have also been implemented.
The City of Greater Taree north of Sydney has developed a masterplan for Australia's first low-to-no carbon urban development.
Belo Horizonte, Brazil was created in 1897 and is the third largest metropolis in Brazil, with 2.4 million inhabitants. The Strategic Plan for Belo Horizonte (2010–2030) is being prepared by external consultants based on similar cities' infrastructure, incorporating the role of local government, state government, city leaders and encouraging citizen participation. The need for environmental sustainable development is led by the initiative of new government following planning processes from the state government. Overall, the development of the metropolis is dependent on the land regularization and infrastructure improvement that will better support the cultural technology and economic landscape.Southern cities of Porto Alegre and Curitiba are often cited as examples of urban sustainability.
Bafut, is a town and traditional kingdom which is working towards becoming an eco-city by 2020, through the Bafut Council Eco-city Project.
The GreenScore City Index studies the ecological footprints of Canadian cities and splits them into three population categories: large, medium, and small. The index studies 50 cities in Canada.
Vancouver had 2016's highest green score for large cities.
Burlington had 2016's highest green score for medium cities.
Victoria had 2016's highest green score for small cities.
Most cities in Canada have sustainability action plans which are easily searched and downloaded from city websites.
In 2010, Calgary ranked as the top eco-city in the planet for it's, "excellent level of service on waste removal, sewage systems, and water drinkability and availability, coupled with relatively low air pollution." The survey was performed in conjunction with the reputable Mercer Quality of Living Survey.
Tianjin: The Chinese are working with investment and technology supplied by the Singapore government to build an ecocity in Binhai, named the "Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-city".
Dongtan Eco-city, Shanghai: The project, located in the east of Chongming Island developed by Arup and Parthers, was scheduled to accommodate 50,000 residents by 2010, but its developer has currently put construction on hold. An additional project was made in 2007 in this area: an Eco-Village based on the concept made by an Italian professor from the School of Architecture of Tianjin University.
Huangbaiyu, Benxi, Liaoning is a small village of 42 homes that has come under great criticism: most of the homes are unoccupied by villagers.
Nanjing: As of April 2008, an ecocity collaboration project is being proposed here.
Rizhao, Shandong mandates solar water heaters for households, and has been designated the Environmental Model City by China's SEPA.
Chengdu Tianfu District Great City is a planned city located just outside Chengdu that is planned to be sustainable and has the goal of being a self-sustaining city that discourages the use of cars.
Two comprehensive studies were carried out for the whole of Denmark in 2010 (The IDA Climate Plan 2050) and 2011 (The Danish Commission on Climate Change Policy). The studies analysed the benefits and obstacles of running Denmark on 100% renewable energy from the year 2050. There is also a larger, ambitious plan in action: the Copenhagen 2025 Climate Plan.
On a more local level, the industrial park in Kalundborg is often cited as a model for industrial ecology. However, projects have been carried out in several Danish cities promoting 100% renewable energy. Examples include Aalborg, Ballerup and Frederikshavn. Aalborg University has launched a master education program on sustainable cities (Sustainable Cities @ Aalborg University Copenhagen). See also the Danish Wikipedia.
Copenhagen: Cycling in Copenhagen: One of the most bicycle-friendly city's in the world where over 50% of the population get around on bikes. The city has infrastructure that caters to cycling with hundreds of kilometres of curb segregated bike lanes to separate cyclists and car traffic. A notable feature is The Cycle Super Highways that feature elevated bike lanes which ensures fast, unhindered travel between destinations.
Freiburg im Breisgau is often referred to as green city. It is known for its strong solar economy. Vauban, Freiburg is a sustainable model district. All houses are built to a low energy consumption standard and the whole district is designed to be carfree.
The Finnish city of Turku has adopted a "Carbon Neutral Turku by 2040" strategy to achieve carbon neutrality via combining the goal with circular economy.
No other country has built more eco-city projects than Germany. Freiburg im Breisgau is often referred to as a green city. It is one of the few cities with a Green mayor and is known for its strong solar energy industry. Vauban, Freiburg is a sustainable model district. All houses are built to a low energy consumption standard and the whole district is designed to be carfree. Another green district in Freiburg is Rieselfeld, where houses generate more energy than they consume. There are several other green sustainable city projects such as Kronsberg in Hannover and current developments around Munich, Hamburg and Frankfurt.
Berlin: The Tiergarten (park) is a large park that takes up 520 acres and is an example of social sustainability where it is a green space but also used for transportation. The Tiergarten has inter paths where people can safely bike and walk without the disturbance of cars. Paths connect to notable areas within the city, such as government buildings, shopping areas and monuments.
The government portrays the proposed Hung Shui Kiu new town as an eco-city. The same happened with the urban development plan on the site of the former Kai Tak Airport.
Auroville was founded in 1968 with the intention of realizing human unity, and is now home to approximately 2,000 individuals from over 45 nations around the world. Its focus is its vibrant community culture and its expertise in renewable energy systems, habitat restoration, ecology skills, mindfulness practices, and holistic education.
Andhra Pradesh state New capital also coming up with a future sustainable city.
South Dublin County Council announced plans in late 2007 to develop Clonburris, a new suburb of Dublin to include up to 15,000 new homes, to be designed to achieve the highest of international standards. The plans for Clonburris include countless green innovations such as high levels of energy efficiency, mandatory renewable energy for heating and electricity, the use of recycled and sustainable building materials, a district heating system for distributing heat, the provision of allotments for growing food, and even the banning of tumble driers, with natural drying areas being provided instead.
In 2012 a energy plan was carried out by the Danish Aalborg University for the municipalities of Limerick and Clare. The project was a short-term 2020 renewable energy strategy giving a 20% reduction in CO2 emissions, while ensuring that short-term actions are beneficial to the long-term goal of 100% renewable energy.
India is working on Gujarat International Finance Tec-City or GIFT which is an under-construction world-class city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It will come up on 500 acres (2.0 km2) land. It will also be first of its kind fully Sustainable City.
Hacienda - Mombasa, Kenya. It is the largest development of eco-friendly residential properties in East Africa; construction is currently ongoing, and it will eventually be one of Africa's first self-sustaining estates.
Songdo IBD is a planned city in Incheon which has incorporated a number of eco-friendly features. These include a central park irrigated with seawater, a subway line, bicycle lanes, rainwater catchment systems, and pneumatic waste collection system. 75% of the waste generated by the construction of the city will be recycled.
Gwanggyo City Centre is another planned sustainable city.
As of 2014 a Low Carbon Cities programme is being piloted in Malaysia by KeTTHA, the Malaysian Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water, Malaysian Green Technology Corporation (GreenTech Malaysia) and the Carbon Trust.
Malacca has a stated ambition to become a carbon-free city, taking steps towards creating a smart electricity grid. This is being done as part of an initiative to create a Green Special Economic Zone, where it is intended that as many as 20 research and development centers will be built focusing on renewable energy and clean technology, creating up to 300,000 new green jobs.
The Federal Department of Town and Country Planning (FDTCP) in peninsular Malaysia is a focal point for the implementation of the Malaysian Urban Rural National Indicators Network for Sustainable Development (MURNInets)MURNInets includes 36 sets of compulsory indicators grouped under 21 themes under six dimensions. Most of the targets and standards for the selected indicators were adjusted according to hierarchy of local authorities. In MURNInets at least three main new features are introduced. These include the Happiness Index, an indicator under the quality of life theme to meet the current development trend that emphasizes on the well-being of the community. Another feature introduced is the customer or people satisfaction level towards local authorities' services. Through the introduction of these indicators the bottom-up approach in measuring sustainability is adopted.
The city of Waitakere, the Western part of the greater Auckland urban region, was New Zealand's first eco-city, working from the Greenprint, a guiding document that the City Council developed in the early 1990s.
Clark Freeport Zone is a former United States Air Force base in the Philippines. It is located on the northwest side of Angeles City and on the west side of Mabalacat City in the province of Pampanga, about 40 miles (60 km) northwest of Metro Manila. A multi-billion project will convert the 36,000 hectare former Clark Air Force Base into a mix of industrial, commercial and institutional areas of green environment. The heart of the project is a 9,450-hectare metropolis dubbed as the "Clark Green City". Builders will use the green building system for environmentally-friendly structures. Its facilities will tap renewable energy such as solar and hydro power.
The organization Living PlanIT is currently constructing a city from scratch near Porto, Portugal. Buildings will be electronically connected to vehicles giving the user a sense of personal eco-friendliness.
Bilbao: The city faced economic turmoil following the decline of the steel and port industries but through communication between stakeholders and authorities to create inner-city transformation, the local government benefited from the increase in land value in old port areas. The Strategic Plan for the Revitalisation of Metropolitan Bibao was launched in 1922 and have flourished regenerating old steel and port industries. The conversion from depleted steel and port industries to one of Europe's most flourishing markets is a prime example of a sustainable project in action.
Barcelona: The city is planning an urban redesign of civic super blocks, they plan to convert nine-block areas into unified mega block neighbourhoods. The aim is to decrease car related traffic, noise and pollution by over 20% and to free up to 60% of road areas for reuse as citizen spaces. This is being done because they realized that people in Barcelona die prematurely due to poor air quality and everyday noise levels are deemed harmful. By converting roads to spaces for festivals, farmer markets, bikes, and walkability it promotes a healthier lifestyle and potentially a happier one.
Norra Älvstranden (Swedish), in Gothenburg by the river Göta älv, is an example of a sustainable city in Sweden. It has low environmental impact, and contains passive houses, recycling system for waste, etc.
Masdar City, Abu Dhabi is a planned city under development that will rely entirely on solar energy and other renewable energy sources, with a sustainable, zero-carbon, zero-waste ecology.
London Borough of Sutton is the first One Planet Region in the United Kingdom, with significant targets for reducing the ecological footprint of residents and creating the UK's greenest borough.
Middlesbrough is another One Planet Region in the United Kingdom.
St Davids, the smallest city in the United Kingdom, aims to be the first carbon neutral city in the world.
Leicester is the United Kingdom's first environment city.
Treasure Island, San Francisco: is another project that aims to create a small eco city.
Coyote Springs Nevada largest planned city in the United States.
Babcock Ranch Florida a proposed solar-powered city.
See also the Sustainability navigational box at the bottom of the page.
↑ Worldwatch Institute. (2007). State of the World : Our Urban Future.
Richard Register (2006) Ecocities: building cities in balance with nature, New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-552-1.
Timothy Beatley (2000) (1997) [http://worldcat.org/oclc/36695680&referer=one_hit Eco-city dimensions : healthy communities, healthy planet, New Society Publishers. ISBN 0-86571-353-7.
Richard Register (1987) Ecocity Berkeley: building cities for a healthy future, North Atlantic Books. ISBN 1-55643-009-4.
Sim Van der Ryn and Peter Calthorpe (1986) Sustainable communities : a new design synthesis for cities, suburbs, and towns, Sierra Club Books. ISBN 0-87156-629-X.
Paolo Soleri (1973) Arcology : the city in the image of man, MIT Press. ISBN 0-262-19060-5.
Ian L. McHarg (1969) Design with nature, Published for the American Museum of Natural History [by] the Natural History Press.
Ecocity Summit 2008, April 22–26, San Francisco, California.
Which way China? Herbert Girardet, 2006 October 2, chinadialogue. Discusses the emergences of ecocities in China.
Resource Guide on Sprawl and the New Urbanism edited by Deborah Sommer, Environmental Design Library, University of California, Berkeley.


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Collected Miscell.
1 November: Online writing in China Q & A | Indonesia at Frankfurt, the year after | Thomas Bernhard: 3 Days review
2 November: Javier Marías Q & A | November Word without Borders
3 November: Literary prizes: Prix Médicis - Ясная Поляна | Publishing in ... Rwanda | Nexus review
4 November: French literary prizes | Translating Arno Schmidt's Zettel�s Traum | Chinese science fiction | Translating The 120 Days of Sodom | Crush review
5 November: Bookselling in ... (South) Korea | Prix du Premier roman | Jung Young Moon Q & A | Writing in (and away from) ... Syria
6 November: Literary zombification abroad | Stach and Kehlmann in conversation
7 November: Hungarian literature abroad | Virtual Competition review
8 November: Peter Weiss at 100 | Giller Prize | Grand prix de littérature américaine | Conclave review
9 November: Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Literary potential | Memoirs of a Polar Bear review
10 November: Literary prizes: Österreichischer Buchpreis - Nordic Council Literature Prize - Goldsmiths Prize | Proust(ish) questionnaire: Chetan Bhagat
10 November 2016 - Thursday
Literary prizes: Österreichischer Buchpreis - Nordic Council Literature Prize
Goldsmiths Prize | Proust(ish) questionnaire: Chetan Bhagat
Literary prize: Österreichischer Buchpreis
After the German Book Prize (started 2005) and the (limited to German titles) Swiss Book Prize (2008), the Austrians decided they needed one all their own too (though Swiss and Austrian-authored titles are in fact also eligible for the German Book Prize), and so now there's an Österreichischer Buchpreis -- and they've announced the first winner, fleurs, by Friederike Mayröcker; see also the Suhrkamp foreign rights page.
A nonagenarian winner might not exactly be seen as encouraging fresh talent, but Mayröcker is no staid old author (and the much-honored name presumably gives the prize a bit of instant credibility ...).
Literary prize: Nordic Council Literature Prize
I'm embarrassed that I completely missed this when it was announced last week -- despite the fact that more titles that have won this prize are under review at the complete review than Pulitzer and (American) National Book Award winners combined -- but they've announced the winner of this year's Nordic Council Literature Prize -- the poetry collection Sånger och formler, by Katarina Frostenson; see also the Wahlström & Widstrand publicity page.
Frostenson isn't well-known in English, but she's been a member of the (Nobel-selecting) Swedish Academy since 1992 -- Chair no. 18 --, admitted when she was just 39.
Literary prize: Goldsmiths Prize
They've announced that the Goldsmiths Prize -- 'awarded to a book that is deemed genuinely novel and which embodies the spirit of invention that characterizes the genre at its best' -- goes to Solar Bones, by Mike McCormack -- apparently a single-sentence-novel. See also judge Erica Wagner's comments at the New Statesman.
It was published by Irish Tramp Press; see their publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
Proust(ish) questionnaire: Chetan Bhagat
The Hindu has a now-"weekly feature that derives its name from French writer Marcel Proust, whose personality-revealing responses to these questions went on to popularise this form of celebrity confession", and the most recent one of these 'Proust questionnaires' is with Chetan Bhagat (yes, the author of Revolution 2020, etc.).
Always a fun exercise -- and even more fun in this case, because you can compare it to the (slightly different set of) questions he answered almost exactly five years ago.
9 November 2016 - Wednesday
Prime Minister's Literary Awards | Literary potential
Memoirs of a Polar Bear review
Prime Minister's Literary Awards
They've announced the winners of this year's (Australian) Prime Minister's Literary Awards, with several of the categories (fiction; non; Australian history) splitting the prize.
Literary potential
Mario Vargas Llosa picked up an honorary degree from De La Salle University, and Marc Jayson Cayabyab reports on that in the Philippine Daily Inquirer, in Vargas Llosa on defeating dictators with literature.
Good for Vargas Llosa for his belief in the power of literature -- but how convincing are claims such as:
Llosa said reading good literature instills on a reader the civic duty to criticize the world and aspire for a better society.
Would that it were that easy.
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Tawada Yoko's Memoirs of a Polar Bear, just out in the US from New Directions (with UK edition to follow from Portobello in March).
8 November 2016 - Tuesday
Peter Weiss at 100 | Giller Prize
Grand prix de littérature américaine | Conclave review
Peter Weiss at 100
Today is the centenary of Peter Weiss' birth -- and it's good to see, for example, performances of Marat/Sade at both Adelphi University (8 through 13 November) and Temple University (9 through 19 November). (Those planned performances of a play inspired by The Aesthetics of Resistance at the Sarajevo International Theatre Festival MESS, on the other hand, don't seem to have gone so well.)
Aside from his dramas and fiction, Weiss is also worth remembering as a painter -- and at the Uppsala konstmuseum they have an exhibit devoted to his work through 8 January; see also the SvD report for more painting samples.
Meanwhile, see also the peterweiss100.de site for more information and links to Weiss-anniversary-related activities.
Giller Prize
They've announced that Do Not Say We Have Nothing (by Madeleine Thien) has won this year's Canadian Scotiabank Giller Prize -- less than two weeks after taking a Governor General's Literary Award
See also, for example, the W.W.Norton publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
Grand prix de littérature américaine
Apparently not trusting Americans to be able to pick their own best books, the French award a 'Grand prix de littérature américaine' -- and they've now announced this year's winner, Preparation for the Next Life (by Atticus Lish).
See also, for example, the Oneworld publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
Conclave review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Robert Harris' new papal-election thriller, Conclave (not to be confused with ... Roberto Pazzi's papal-election novel, Conclave ...).
Appropriate election-day reading, perhaps -- though a very different sort of election-procedure.
7 November 2016 - Monday
Hungarian literature abroad | Virtual Competition review
Hungarian literature abroad
At hlo they have a Q & A with 'Zsuzsanna Szabó, the head of the Balassi Institute's Publishing Hungary programme about the recent Frankfurt Book Fair, Krakow Book Fair and the Conrad Festival'.
It's always interesting to see what foreign countries are promoting, and for example here we learn that at Frankfurt: "Five Hungarian writers were there to represent the country: Ferenc Barnás, László Darvasi, András Forgách, Gergely Péterfy and Zoltán Böszörményi".
But what of the US/UK market ? (You've seen books by all of the five ? Some of them ? Heard of any of them ?)
Very little mentioned here that's 'coming soon' -- or ever ? -- to the US/UK. At least Szilárd Borbély's The Dispossessed is set for publication soon -- from Harper Perennial; see their publicity page, or pre-order your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk
Still, it would be great to see more of these kinds of articles, from other nations/languages, for those of us missing the book fairs -- and hence what they're trying to push abroad.
Virtual Competition review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice E. Stucke's look at The Promise and Perils of the Algorithm-Driven Economy, in Virtual Competition, just out from Harvard University Press.
6 November 2016 - Sunday
Literary zombification abroad | Stach and Kehlmann in conversation
Literary zombification abroad
It's been a while since Pride and Prejudice and Zombies came out, but the trend of 'zombifying' classical literature is apparently as hard to kill as the danged creatures themselves -- even abroad: even Multatuli's Max Havelaar isn't safe, as Martijn Adelmund has now published Max Havelaar met zombies; see also the publisher's publicity page.
I wonder whether this will spread to other languages as well, the (pseudo-)genre taking on local classics elsewhere, too.
Stach and Kehlmann in conversation
Reiner Stach's three-volume biography of Franz Kafka is now complete with the publication of the last (but first) of the volumes, Kafka: The Early Years (see the Princeton University Press publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk), and he'll be in conversation with Daniel Kehlmann at the Goethe Institut in New York tomorrow, 7 November, at 18:30.
The conversation, Narrating the Lives of Great Writers and Scientists, will be moderated by Stach-translator Shelley Frisch, and sounds fairly promising.
5 November 2016 - Saturday
Bookselling in ... (South) Korea | Prix du Premier roman
Jung Young Moon Q & A | Writing in (and away from) ... Syria
Bookselling in ... (South) Korea
In The Korea Times Park Jin-hai finds that "small, independent bookstores with unique concepts, as opposed to major bookstore chains, are emerging as hot places to go" (even as "many neighborhood bookstores are vanishing"), in Small concept bookstores thriving.
While figures show that local bookstore numbers fell more than 70 percent over the past two decades, small, concept bookstores, armed with genre books, books by independent publishers and with strong local communities, are increasing.
It is somewhat disappointing, if not too surprising, that it apaprently takes specialization -- or a gimmick-- but, hey, whatever works, right ?
Petit Pays, by 'rappeur' Gaël Faye, was the runner up for the prix Goncourt announced on Thursday, but the author now has some consolation, as his novel has won the French 'first novel'-prize.
They also award one for best foreign first, and that went to the French translation of On Earth as It Is in Heaven, by Davide Enia -- a book Farrar, Straus and Giroux brought out a couple of years ago; see their publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
Jung Young Moon Q & A
At the Literary Hub Tyler Malone has a Q & A with The Novelist Who Gave Up On The World, Jung Young Moon -- whose Vaseline Buddha and A Contrived World recently came out in English.
Writing in (and away from) ... Syria
At Qantara.de Dima Wannous writes on 'Syrian literature in times of turmoil', in An author on standby
4 November 2016 - Friday
French literary prizes | Translating Arno Schmidt's Zettel�s Traum
Chinese science fiction | Translating The 120 Days of Sodom | Crush review
French literary prizes
They've announced the winners of the two biggest French book prizes:
The prix Goncourt goes to Chanson douce, by Leila Slimani; see also the Gallimard publicity page
The prix Renaudot goes to Babylone, by Yasmina Reza; see also the Flammarion publicity page
See also the Irish Times report by Lara Marlowe, Women lead in prestigious French literary awards. (Marlowe writes that Chanson douce: "had already sold 76,000 copies before winning the Goncourt", but Livres Hebdo only claim "plus de 35 000 exemplaires" have been shifted (and 28,000 of the Reza book).)
Translating Arno Schmidt's Zettel�s Traum
John E. Woods' career-culminating translation of Arno Schmidt's Bottom's Dream recently came out, and at The New Yorker's Page-Turner weblog Esther Yi reports on that, in A Great Translator Takes on One Final and Nearly Impossible Project.
(And remember that if you want more Arno Schmidt background, you can always turn to my Arno Schmidt: a centennial colloquy; get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk (or on Kindle, at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk).)
Chinese science fiction
At the Mithila Review Regina Kanyu Wang offers what's billed as A Brief Introduction to Chinese Science Fiction -- and, while it is quite compact and quick, it does offer a good, broad overview. [via]
Translating The 120 Days of Sodom
I've mentioned the new Penguin Classics translation, by Will McMorran and Thomas Wynn, of the Marquis de Sade's The 120 Days of Sodom before, and now in The Independent McMorran explains that: 'When translating The 120 Days of Sodom, we had a duty to be just as rude, crude, and revolting as Sade', in We translated the Marquis de Sade's most obscene work -- here's how -- an interesting look at the difficulties of translating these terms.
See also the Penguin publicity page for The 120 Days of Sodom, or get your copy at Amazon.co.uk, or pre-order at Amazon.com
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of Frédéric Dard's 1959 Crush, the third of his dark little thrillers brought out by Pushkin Press.
3 November 2016 - Thursday
Literary prizes: Prix Médicis - Ясная Поляна
Publishing in ... Rwanda | Nexus review
Literary prizes: Prix Médicis
The awarding of the big French prizes this week opens up with the threefer that is the prix Médicis: they've announced that Laëtitia ou la fin des hommes (by Ivan Jablonka) takes the fiction prize (see also the Seuil publicity page -- and recall that Jablonka's A History of the Grandparents I Never Had recently came out in English from Stanford University Press; see their publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk).
The foreign literature prize went to (the French translation of) De utvalda (by Steve Sem-Sandberg) -- available in English as The Chosen Ones; get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk. (I have seen both this and the previous Sem-Sandberg, but don't really know what to do with them; reviewing them is entirely beyond me.)
(They also awarded a non-fiction prize. to Boxe (by Jacques Henric).)
Literary prizes: Ясная Поляна
They've announced the winners of this year's Ясная Поляна Literary Awards, which come in a variety of categories; see also the (English) Russia Beyond the Headlines report.
Vladimir Makanin won in the 'Modern Classics' category, while Orhan Pamuk's A Strangeness in My Mind won in the foreign literature category.
Publishing in ... Rwanda
In The New Times Sharon Kantengwa profiles the publisher of Huza Press, Louise Umutoni, in Umutoni on promoting African literature and knowledge production.
Great to see these efforts, especially in some of the smaller African countries.
Nexus review
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of the first in Ramez Naam's science fiction trilogy, Nexus.
Yeah, not sure I'll bother with the next two .....
Javier Marías Q & A | November Word without Borders
Javier Marías Q & A
Javier Marías' Thus Bad Begins is now out in the US as well, and at the Literary Hub Jonathan Lee has a Q & A with Javier Marías on Dictatorship, Shakespeare, and Literary Ghosts.
I haven't seen a copy yet, but expect to get to it fairly soon; meanwhile, see the Alfred A. Knopf publicity page, or get your copy at Amazon.com or Amazon.co.uk.
November Word without Borders
The November issue of Word without Borders is out, focusing on 'Modernization and Its Discontents: Contemporary Thai Writing', and also offering a dose of 'Interwar Avant-Garde Poetry'.
Online writing in China Q & A | Indonesia at Frankfurt, the year after
Thomas Bernhard: 3 Days review
Online writing in China Q & A
In The New York Times Amy Qin has a Q & A with Zhang Wei -- no, not 张炜, but 张威, "better known by his pen name, Tang Jia San Shao" -- apparently China's highest-earning author, whose success comes largely via his online output -- hence also the title of the piece: Making Online Literature Pay Big in China.
(For examples of his work, see his Wuxiaworld page -- with links to ... English versions of his work.)
As I've frequently noted, online writing (especially in China) is an under-reported/analyzed phenomenon that deserves more attention.
Indonesia at Frankfurt, the year after
Indonesia was the 'guest of honour' at the Frankfurt Book Fair last year, and in The Jakarta Post Stevie Emilia now looks at how they handled their year-after visit.
Hey, they sold 72 Indonesian titles -- and a total of 148 on the entire international book fair circuit -- apparently impressive, given that:
Indonesia only came with 10 publishers and a literary agent, as well as 11 writers, 10 performers and several chefs
I don't really get the traveling chef concept (yes, cookbooks, but still ...) -- but maybe that makes them more memorable: "Our food promotions were getting great responses" ..... (Well, sure -- people like to eat. No doubt, booze promotions would have gotten an even better response.) I guess expecting literature to be the big selling point is expecting too much.
Fun to hear that there's some regional competition, too -- with a barrage of below-the-belt blows:
Indonesia's success, he said, also made neighboring countries envious -- since, unlike Indonesia, they do not have big-name writers.
"They probably have lots of money and support from their governments, but do not have strong content like ours."
The most recent addition to the complete review is my review of the book taken From the film by Ferry Radax, Thomas Bernhard: 3 Days, just out from Blast Books.
(You can also get the DVD of the actual film -- or catch it on YouTube: see parts one and two.)
previous entries (21 - 31 October 2016)

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


Our mission at Frisco Fastpacs is simple. We want to ensure that no child in Frisco has to endure hunger when school is not in session. Caring for kids, one pack at a time. Every week throughout the school year, we deliver individual pre-packed bags to FISD schools that include enough food for 7 meals for each qualifying child for them to eat over the weekend at home. We can only accomplish this mission with your help and the help of others. Along with donations, we are always looking for volunteers who have a servant's heart and who want to impact and make a difference in the community.
Our non-profit began in 2013 and served 32 kids in 1 school. To date we are in 63 Frisco ISD schools and are feeding 1000+ children. If you are interested in getting involved at a deeper level, please visit the "How to Help" page.
Copyright © 2017 Frisco FastPacs. All rights reserved.


Bank of Ireland has today announced a 2 stage increase in its SVR from 2.99% to 4.49%, with a 1% increase in June, followed by a further 0.5% in September.
Bank of Ireland and its subsidiary, Bristol & West, withdrew from new mortgage lending in the UK in their own names January 2009 and since then Bank of Ireland's only UK mortgage lending has been through its long term contract with The Post Office, which includes a requirement to offer mortgages under the Post Office brand.
The current range of Post Office mortgages reverts to Bank Rate + 3.99%, not Bank of Ireland's SVR, and so this huge increase of over 50% (from 2.99% to 4.49%) in its SVR brings the rate for borrowers who took out a Bank of Ireland mortgage up to its exit from the market 3 year ago into line with its current "revert to" rate.
As a bank which required a bail out and is still making losses the most surprising thing is that Bank of Ireland kept its SVR at 2.99% for so long.
Nevertheless this will still be a massive blow to Bank of Ireland and Bristol & West borrowers, but they are lucky to have enjoyed the 2.99% rate for so long. Many who were very happy to stay with Bank of Ireland while they were paying only 2.99% will now look to remortgage and even those only 15% equity in their property will in many cases be able to find a cheaper fixed rate for up to 5 years or a variable rate.
As a result Bank of Ireland is now likely to see the size of its UK mortgage book decline substantially, which is of course what the Irish Government wants, but one negative is that the quality of its UK book will decline, because only its lower risk customers will be able to remortgage.
What are the Implications from the Increase in Halifax's SVR Cap?


If you're fan of villas and mansions, then Los Angeles area is perfect for you. There are countless eye catching homes like Sunset Plaza Drive Residence and Sunset Strip luxury modern house, made for millionaires and celebrities located from Malibu to Pasadena.
This 4 bedroom and 7 bathroom modern multi milion mansion is located right above the Sunset Boulevard offering unobstructed city views and high level of privacy. The house is designed to allow views from every room, including gym, home office, bedrooms and bathrooms and of course large swimming pool with outdoor fireplace on the terrace.
This Hollywood villa sold for almost $14 million also includes large modern guest house with music room and recording studio.


text:
Беневенто (, ) — місто та муніципалітет в Італії, у регіоні Кампанія, столиця провінції Беневенто.

Беневенто розташоване на відстані близько 210 км на південний схід від Риму, 60 км на північний схід від Неаполю.

Населення —   (2014).
Щорічний фестиваль відбувається 24 серпня. Покровитель — святий Варфоломій apostolo.

Демографія

Також мешкають всиновлені діти з України

Уродженці
 Кармело Імбріані (1976 — †2013) — відомий у минулому італійський футболіст, півзахисник, згодом — тренер.
 Нунція Де Джіроламо (* 1975) — італійський адвокат та політична діячка.
 П'єр Франческо Дзадзо (*1959) — італійський дипломат.

Сусідні муніципалітети

 Аполлоза
 Кастельпото
 Фольянізе
 Франьето-Монфорте
 Падулі
 Песко-Санніта
 П'єтрельчина
 Понте
 Сан-Леучіо-дель-Санніо
 Сан-Нікола-Манфреді
 Сант'Анджело-а-Куполо
 Торрекузо

Див. також
 Список муніципалітетів провінції Беневенто

Примітки

Посилання

Міста Італії
Муніципалітети провінції Беневенто

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


contributing to its class leading handling.
Three riding modes - Linked to the ride-by-wire system, the three selectable riding modes, Sport, Road and Rain, each with dedicated throttle maps and traction control settings, providing enhanced rider control and safety, and in 'Sport', a more immediate throttle response.
ABS - The contemporary safety standard, with minimal visual impact, the ABS is responsive yet unobtrusive.
Switchable traction control - Managing the Speed Twin's high torque delivery when traction is compromised, the switchable system offers increased rider control.
LED DRL headlight - Incorporated into the headlight, the LED daytime running light brings excellent visibility and a distinctive light profile (where legislation allows).
LED rear light & indicators - Built into the classically inspired minimal tail set-up, the LED rear light and indicators bring a distinctive rear light pattern and excellent power efficiency.
Ride-by-wire - Enhancing throttle responsiveness, safety and feel.
Torque assist clutch - Optimised for a lighter touch and feel to the clutch to make it easier to ride, and ride longer.
Switchgear - Elegant switchgear presents simple fingertip controls for easy access to the key features on the new twin clocks.
USB charging socket - For maximum rider convenience, the USB charging socket charges riders' essential devices.
Engine immobiliser - Transponder integrated into the key adds greater security.
Stylish twin clocks - New twin clocks, beautifully detailed and premium, incorporate a digital menu system accessed by the handlebar mounted scroll button.
to help you add even more style, practicality and security.


I posted this earlier today on Pharyngula, commenting on a post by PZ Myers about the New York Times article from August 24th, about the struggle to teach evolutionary reality in high school biology classes in the US.
Enough with all the bickering about science and religion asking different questions, occupying non-overlapping magesteria, or whatever. They both ask the same questions; how does the universe really operate and what is our relevance to the rest of everything?
The difference between science and religion is not WHAT they ask, or what answers they offer. The difference is HOW each tries to answer its questions, and its a difference that even the most lunatic godbots have to acknowledge… because most of them are proud of it.
Every religious answer to life, the universe and everything comes back to an argument from authority. Every one. The entire mindset of religion is based on the premise that there is a non-questionable ultimate authority hovering out there in space, and if you're a minion of this cosmic mastermind you're also above questioning. It's a pyramid scheme of ever larger and more ridiculous "authority" figures, each one a blank stone wall blocking the path of actual knowledge.
This is the ultimate, final, fundamental difference between science and religion: authority. Science doesn't have authorities that are above questioning. In science we accept heroes not because they say they're heroes with some deep, mystical understanding of their own little fantasy world, but because they demonstrate something amazingly cool that no one knew before, and which the rest of us can go out there and test for ourselves. In contrast, the Pope asserts something he came up with in a dream, or the shower that morning, or where ever fiction writers come up with their ideas, and a billion people just say "yes, master".
This is also the reason that religious people keep insisting that science is a religion. They can't imagine anything else. They can't imagine that it is possible to think about uncomfortable possibilities or new paradigms without asking someone's permission. It's the permission part that separates the rational people from the ones with a god infection. I don't need permission to think for myself and conclude that two plus two is actually four.
As a scientist, when I get asked something about my field, I reference the work of others so they get fair credit for being first to demonstrate something, but you better believe I'm also the first to point out any and all flaws in their work. Even my scientist friends. Even my most respected science heroes. Every science book ever written contains flaws, imperfect explanations, voids where I'd love to see evidence instead. Those voids are where the future work starts. But in religion, those voids are "mysteries" that cannot be questioned, or must be papered over by apologists who weave convoluted retconning explanations like something out of a Marvel comic. What? The tales of other virgin-born, miracle-wielding gods who came back from the dead centuries before Jesus were just stories put there by Satan after he went back in time? Yes, and Jean Grey didn't really die when she shot herself with a blaster dug up from ruins in the Blue Area of the Moon when she was the Dark Phoenix, because in reality that was the Phoenix Entity who had taken her place and had long ago put Jean's hibernating body in stasis on the bottom of the ocean after she saved the X-Men when they were about to crash in a space shuttle. Please.
~ by Planetologist on September 4, 2008.
Tags: "PZ Myers" "Pharyngula" "Evolution Denial" "Evolution"


Freedom Quest focuses on empowering youth and families in their journey to a healthy life.
Freedom Quest is an organization that believes in working cooperatively with every person in their journey to a healthy life. They offer confidential services to Youth and Families throughout the West Kootenay Boundary area ranging from youth drug and alcohol prevention, counseling and support, to family support and referral.
They approach treatment by encompassing the behavioral, physical, spiritual, mental and emotional facets of life and incorporate this philosophy into their program content. Some of that content includes outings at Whatshan Lake Retreat and its ropes challenge course.
Freedom Quest's innovative programs are progressive and diverse, utilizing a harm reduction approach, ensuring that people who use their services are treated as individuals and are receiving the best possible services for their needs.
The Whatshan Lake Retreat is proud to support Freedom Quest, as one of many organizations, with its services to youth and families throughout the West Kootenay Boundary area. In conjunction with its community partners like the DHRS, Freedom Quest is able to offer a continuum of services ensuring youth and families do not fall through the cracks, that they are informed and are able to access these free services to help lead the way to a healthier life.
Click here to find out more about Freedom Quest.


text:
Category: IRS
Baltimore mayor resigns amid kickback scandal – State's accountant: Book-selling arrangements 'brazen, cartoonish corruption'
By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) 05/02 — Baltimore's mayor resigned under pressure Thursday amid a flurry of investigations into whether she arranged bulk sales of her self-published children's books to disguise hundreds of thousands of dollars in kickbacks.
FBI, IRS agents search Baltimore mayor's homes and City Hall offices – Mayor sold $800,000 of her own books in questionable transactions
By DAVID McFADDEN, Associated Press BALTIMORE (AP) 04/25 — Federal agents raided the homes and City Hall offices of Baltimore's embattled mayor on Thursday amid dramatically widening investigations to determine whether she used bulk sales of her obscure self-published children's books to disguise kickbacks.
Trump replaces high court's swing vote with conservative Judge Brett Kavanaugh of the Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
By CATHERINE LUCEY, ZEKE MILLER and MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) 07/10 — President Donald Trump chose Brett Kavanaugh, a solidly conservative, politically connected judge,
IRS strikes back as agents make big dent in identity theft
STEPHEN OHLEMACHER, Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) 03/09 — The IRS strikes back: The tax agency reports that the number of identity theft victims plummeted last year after agents struggled for years to combat what has become a multibillion-dollar industry.


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An opiate addiction is a very serious matter. As addictions go, an opiate addiction is one of the most dangerous addictions a person can have. Overdosing on opiates is easy, and the consequence has all too often been death. An opiate overdose can lead to respiratory failure and the individual dies of a lack of oxygen. Withdrawing from opiates is one of the most unpleasant types of withdrawal there is, which keeps opiate users addicted out of fear of withdrawal. Opiate addiction is not something to leave unattended. If you or someone you care about has an opiate addiction, seek professional treatment right away.
Every human brain and physiology has opioid receptors that ingested opiates latch onto. They have a sedating effect on the individual, sending them into a state of deep tranquility and minimal consciousness. All bodily systems are slowed down considerably by taking opiates, and the euphoric state that one goes into under their influence is very hypnotic. This is the reason that opiates are so highly addictive. However, their down side is just as immense as their upside. A person pays for every bit of pleasure they enjoy under the influence of opiates when they attempt to quit them.
Opioid receptors in the body become physically dependent on opiates very quickly, so when their supply is suddenly stopped or decreased, the body reacts with extreme withdrawal symptoms. Nausea, cramps, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, headaches, dizziness, chills and even seizure and fainting spells are common opiate withdrawal symptoms. The individual's moods are also largely destabilized, causing emotionality and unpredictability in their behavior. If a person is going to recover from an opiate addiction, they need to detox under professional oversight, meaning they need to check into a detox center or addiction treatment facility where a medical professional can oversee their detoxification around the clock. Following this process, the individual should stay checked into rehab until their coping skills and their triggers to use opiates are better managed.


text:
MU Library Treasures
Conserving a Caxton
January 12, 2021 January 12, 2021 Special Collections
By Gretchen Allen, Library Conservator, Special Collections & Archives
William Caxton printer's mark
William Caxton was an English printer and translator active in the latter half of the 15th century. He is thought to be the first printer in the English language, and his work had an enormous impact on English literature and the wider book trade. Born in 1422, Caxton traveled to Belgium and then later to Germany where he learned how to operate the newly invented printing press. As all of Caxton's editions were printed before the year 1500, they are classed as "incunabula", the oldest and most highly prized class of early printed work. While there are many surviving Caxtons in the UK, there are vanishingly few in Ireland.
One of his later printed works was a 1483 edition of the poet John Gower's "Confessio Amantis". The poem tells of a lovesick poet "Amans", who confesses his misadventures in love to Genius, the chaplain of Venus, in an effort to be cured of his infatuation. The work is dedicated to Gower's friend and contemporary, Geoffrey Chaucer.
The recto and verso of the framed print, showing the letter taped to the back
When Maynooth University acquired the Otway-Maurice collection of early printed works on long term loan from St. Canice's Cathedral in Kilkenny, there was a single framed page of Caxton's "Confessio" found in the collection. However, the page was in poor condition: it was heavily discolored with evidence of past water damage, and the paper had tearing and losses along the bottom edge. The most pressing concern was that only one side of the page was visible–due to the method of framing it was impossible to tell if there was text on the other side. It was not even possible to dismantle the frame as the back was covered by a taped-on letter of authentication. It was clear a conservator's intervention would be necessary.
The letter of authentication was removed from the frame, then the remaining sellotape was removed from the letter, which was then surface cleaned and flattened. The frame was carefully dismantled, revealing that the print was encapsulated between two panes of glass. This can be a risky form of encapsulation to remove due to the strong static cling between glass panes, but it was even trickier in this case since one of the panes was broken.
The dismantled frame and the print encapsulated in glass
The tape along the edges was removed and the glass was safely lifted away from the object. The label was also lifted away, and the print was free of its enclosure. It was also finally possible to view the text on the back! The print was photographed, then both sides were gently and carefully surface cleaned. The substrate and media were spot-tested to check for solubility, and the print was then washed using a capillary wetting method which allowed water to slowly travel through the paper, taking discoloration and dirt with it.
The treatment is still ongoing: a light consolidant will be applied to return some structural integrity to the page, then the torn edges will be repaired and reinforced using a very light Japanese tissue paper. The finished print will then be rehoused and stored in Special Collections where it can be safely accessed by readers.
The recto and verso of the print pre-cleaning
Discoloration leaving the print during a capillary wash
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Nearly 1.8 million Iraqis are estimated to have fled their homes since January 2014, with most fleeing the rapid advance of the Islamic State (IS, formerly known as ISIS) as it swept through much of western and northern Iraq in June, destroying towns, attacking communities, and sowing fear across vulnerable sectarian lines.
IS's brutal violence has pervaded the country's multi-ethnic society, with everyone affected: Shia, Sunni, Yazidi, Christian; Arab, Kurd, Turkomen and Assyrian.
Valerie Amos, the UN under-secretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, estimates that roughly 20 million Iraqis in total have been affected.
Semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan has received more than 850,000 displaced civilians, the region's relative stability quickly becoming a magnet for those forced to flee. Some left their homes in the middle of the night, as word spread of a mounting siege by IS.
In coordination with Kurdish authorities, the UN Refugee Agency and implementing partners have established a number of camps throughout the region. Others have fled to war-torn Syria.
"There is no returning to that place for my family," a young Sunni man named Muhammed staying in a recently erected part of a camp near Peshkhabour, in Iraqi Kurdistan, says of his home in western Iraq. "There is death on all sides there." Like Muhammed, few expect the dynamics to change soon.
While Kurdish and Iraqi forces have been bolstered recently by US airstrikes and growing international support in the form of lethal and non-lethal aid, IS has shown a resilience and determination many presume will persist for years to come.


Mike Rogerson Estate Agents welcomes to the rental market this commercial ground floor shop unit which is suitable for a variety of uses subject to relevant permissions being sought. Situated on Front Street East in the town centre of Bedlington, close to amenities with good bus routes and road links to neighbouring towns/cities.
Benefitting from good window frontage to two sides and shutters for added security.
The property is currently tenanted by a 'dog grooming' business under 'sui generis' use. However, the landlord advises that it has been previously let with Class A1 use.


The Lockheed Martin P-175 Polecat was a worthy successor to the reconnaissance aircraft projects that had come to Groom Lake from the Skunk Works through the decades.
The first X-45A, with its weapons bay door open, dropped its first bomb in March 2004.
The Phantom Ray, the successor to the X-45C J-UCAS, made its first flight in 2011.
In the world of popular interest in aviation, the first decade of the twenty-first century could be called the Decade of the Drone. Certainly the drone has become synonymous with clandestine military operations in places such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. These aircraft, called RPVs in the third quarter of the last century and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) more recently, were first widely used for aerial reconnaissance missions during the war in Southeast Asia and for combat operations since the turn of the century.
However, drones have been around for almost a century. The first military drone designed for combat, the Kettering Bug, was being tested in 1918 and might have played a role in World War I had that conflict not ended when it did. By midcentury, the hobby of flying remotely controlled airplanes was widespread. During World War II, an enterprising Californian named Reginald Denny started a company called Radioplane, which sold thousands of scaled-up radio-controlled models to the US Army and US Navy as target drones. Northrop later bought Radioplane and continued building both piston-engine and jet target drones.
After World War II, as discussed in chapter 12, Ryan Aeronautical (later Teledyne Ryan) developed a line of jet-propelled target drones that were called Firebees. In turn, these were adapted for reconnaissance missions over North Vietnam, Laos, and elsewhere during the 1960s, propelling the company down a path toward more sophisticated RPV reconnaissance aircraft such as Compass, Compass Cope, and Patent Number 4019699.
By the 1990s, as RPVs were now being called UAVs, they were growing in sophistication. Many surveillance drones in service then, as now, such as the RQ-2 Pioneer, RQ-5 Hunter, or Boeing Insitu ScanEagle, were small, slow, piston-engine aircraft. Others are larger and much more sophisticated. Teledyne Ryan's experience with the Compass Cope, for example, led to the RQ-4 Global Hawk, a large jet aircraft that can operate at 60,000 feet and stay aloft for more than 24 hours.
Drones captured the headlines after 2001, not only for their reconnaissance capability, but also for their offensive capabilities. Arming the General Atomics RQ-1 Predator with Hellfire missiles to take out terrorists and insurgents came as an afterthought to its original concept. However, when operations were watching the enemy in real-time video feeds, there was a natural inclination to attack the enemy that could be seen. The reconnaissance RQ-1 became the armed, multimission MQ-1, and General Atomics developed the much larger and more capable MQ-9 Reaper, which was capable of carrying more and varied offensive ordnance.
In the meantime, in 1998, DARPA and the US Air Force had initiated the Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) program, aimed at demonstrating unmanned stealth aircraft that could be flown on deep penetration missions, such as suppression of enemy air defenses, into heavily defended air space. This led to the Boeing Phantom Works X-45A, first flown in 2002, and the Northrop Grumman X-47A Pegasus, which made its debut in 2003.
Under the program, the Phantom Works project utilized technology from the Bird of Prey, while the X-47A would have benefited from the obscure Teledyne Ryan 4019699 research.
The UCAV program later became the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS). The "J" was inserted when the US Navy expressed keen interest in the previously US Air Force program, specifically in the X-47A. Meanwhile, UCAV became UCAS when the DOD decided to consider the overall system developed within a program, not just the vehicle. Meanwhile the term UAS was introduced to supersede UAV, although in practice the UAV acronym continued to prevail.
The "white world" X-45A and X-47A never inhabited that arcane world where their existence was denied and are not known to have been tested in the skies over Area 51. However both projects involved technology that suggests that they may have "black world" cousins whose existence may not be disclosed for decades.
One unmanned aircraft definitely straddles that line in the Lockheed Martin RQ-3 DarkStar, which brings the narrative full circle and back to the Skunk Works. Indeed, the DarkStar has evolved into programs that are known to have been seen over Area 51 and to others that simply remain unknown.
The DarkStar originated as Lockheed's entry in DARPA's High Altitude Endurance (HAE) UAV advanced airborne reconnaissance program, which was initiated in 1993 and which DARPA managed on behalf of the Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office (DARO). HAE had evolved out of DARPA's High-Altitude, Long-Endurance (HALE) program of the 1980s that led to the development of the Boeing Condor, a huge UAV with a service ceiling of 67,000 feet.
During the 1990s, each of the armed services developed a complicated and confusing taxonomy of "tiers" to define its UAV program, but this practice fell out of use in later years, probably because the respective nomenclature of the services did not align, and within the services, the drones themselves did not conform precisely to the tiers. The two complementary US Air Force aircraft developed under HAE were described not as Tier II and Tier III, but as Tier II Plus and Tier III Minus. Tier II Plus identified a strategic UAV operating up to 65,000 feet with a range of 3,000 miles, slightly beyond the performance envelope of Tier II. Tier III Minus UAVs were strategic HAE vehicles embodying LO characteristics, but they had a shorter endurance than Tier II Plus or Tier III aircraft.
Under HAE, the Tier II Plus aircraft was the RQ-4 Global Hawk, while the Tier III Minus was the RQ-3 DarkStar. Both were intended to be reconnaissance aircraft, not UCAVs. The DarkStar first flew in 1996, while the RQ-4 Global Hawk first flew in 1998. The Global Hawk was a longer endurance, higher flying aircraft, while the DarkStar was designed as a stealth aircraft capable of operating in hostile environments.
While elements of the Global Hawk's ongoing twenty-first century operational career remain classified, it has been widely photographed and was never a black program. The DarkStar, meanwhile, came and went quickly, leaving much speculation about follow-on aircraft.
Resembling a "flying saucer" from the front, the DarkStar airframe was composed primarily of nonmetal composites, and it had no vertical tail surfaces. It was only 15 feet from front to back, but its wing spanned 69 feet. The DarkStar had a gross weight of 8,600 pounds and was powered by a single Williams FJ-44-1 turbofan engine. It had an endurance of 12.7 hours, or eight hours above 45,000 feet.
The first DarkStar prototype made a successful debut flight in March 1996 at Edwards AFB but crashed on its second flight a month later. After twenty-six months of reworking, the second DarkStar made a forty-four-minute fully autonomous first flight in June 1998, but the Defense Department officially terminated the Tier III Minus program in January 1999. By this time, it seemed that there was more interest in the potential usefulness of a long range Global Hawk than a stealthy DarkStar.
This aircraft, which could possibly be considered a "nephew of DarkStar," was developed by Lockheed Martin as Unmanned System P-175 and named Polecat. This is a term that describes a member of the weasel family but is also synonymous with "skunk" in American slang, therefore suggesting a reference to the Skunk Works. Polecat could also be a reference to the pole that is used to hold a model of an aircraft aloft when evaluating the RCS of its airframe shape. Whatever the origin of the moniker, the P-175 was first flown in 2005 and disclosed to the media in July 2006 at the Farnborough International Air Show in England. The aircraft itself made no appearance, remaining safely beyond public gaze within the confines of Area 51.
Indeed, the company had spent $27 million of its own money on the program, which Mauro described as a "significant" proportion of the company's research aircraft budget during the period. However, it is also significant that the Polecat was developed in a year and a half, a very short time to bring an aircraft that involves innovative technology from initial concept to first flight.
Only one Polecat was built, constructed of 98 percent composite materials, and with a wingspan of 90 feet. The company acknowledged having pioneered a low-temperature curing process for composites used in the aircraft. In this case, the composites were cured at 150 degrees Fahrenheit rather that the 350 degrees of a conventional autoclave. The idea was cost savings. The Polecat had a gross weight of 9,000 pounds and was designed with a payload bay between the wings that could accommodate a half ton of sensors, reconnaissance gear, or weapons. It was powered by two FJ44-3E Williams International engines.
An innovative "twisting strut" inside the Polecat's wings had, according to Lockheed Martin, been designed to "flex in air and improve the laminar flow over its swept wings, propelling the UAV to high altitudes." The intended operational altitude of the Polecat was specified at 60,000 feet, much greater than that of the UCAV/UCAS demonstrators.
An important design feature that the DarkStar and Polecat shared with the X-45 and the X-47, as well as with the B-2, is the absence of vertical tail surfaces. This design feature, which helps to reduce the RCS, is still considered to be very leading edge technology in the twenty-first century. However, recall that this innovation had been pioneered a half century earlier in Germany by Walter and Reimer Horten.
Lockheed Martin intended to continue flying the Polecat in an ambitious series of high-altitude test flights, but on December 18, 2006, over the Nellis Range, the sole Polecat prototype suffered what Lockheed Martin characterized as an "irreversible unintentional failure in the flight termination ground equipment, which caused the aircraft's automatic fail-safe flight termination mode to activate." The aircraft was destroyed in the ensuing crash.
In March 2007, Flight International reported that the notion of "building a replacement" for the Polecat was under consideration.
When a Lockheed Martin statement affirmed that a Polecaat replacement was "certainly being discussed," few outside the Skunk Works and the shadowy corners of the world of Tonopah and Groom Lake realized that something else was already in development. Nor was there any indication that such a thing might be afoot until a tailless flying wing very similar to the Polecat was observed in the skies over Afghanistan later in 2007.
This aircraft was Lockheed Martin's Sentinel, a UAV that bore the designation RQ-170. Assigned for no reason that was then apparent, this designation was far out of sequence with the US Air Force reconnaissance drone nomenclature that then topped out at just eighteen with the Boeing YMQ-18A Hummingbird, a rotorcraft UAV. The higher number suggests that the RQ-170 designation was that used by the CIA, where manufacturer model numbers, rather than military designations, are used. The Lockheed A-12 and the Ryan Model 147 are examples of such aircraft. The Polecat did bear the nearby company designator, P-175. It is possible that Sentinels were operated by both the US Air Force and the CIA, as are Predator drones.
The Air Force Sentinels were based inside the deep black world of the Nellis Range and the Tonopah Test Range, where they were assigned to the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron. This unit dated back to World War II and was operational until inactivated in 1976. Reactivated in 2005, the 30th was assigned first to the 57th Operations Group at Nellis AFB and then to the 432nd Air Expeditionary Wing at Creech AFB, the umbrella organization for UAVs, such as the Predator and Reaper, that were active over southwest Asia.
It was no secret that American UAVs had been operating routinely over Pakistan for years, and Sentinels were probably also active. Numerous RQ-170 missions were reportedly flown in preparation for Operation Neptune Spear, the successful effort to take out Osama bin Laden, who was killed at his compound in Abbotabad, Pakistan, on May 2, 2011, by US Navy SEALs.
Both Sweetman and Fulghum were on the mark in suggesting that the Beast's primary mission was to snoop on places such as Iran. This intent became painfully clear on December 4, 2011, when one of the stealthy aircraft fell into the hands of the Iranian government near the city of Kashmar in northeastern Iran, 140 miles from the Afghan border.
Western news media reported that it had been "shot down," although when the Iranians put the RQ-170 on display it was clear that it had not been hit by a surface-to-air missile. The Iranians claimed that their cyber warfare experts took over the control telemetry channel and landed the aircraft. The US DOD said it was "flying a mission over western Afghanistan" when control was lost, adding that the aircraft had crash-landed.
With this, the United States predictably asked that the RQ-170 be returned, and the Iranians, just as predictably, refused. Also as could have been expected, the Iranians insisted that they were going to build a copy of the aircraft. As of February 2013, when Iran first released FMV footage downloaded from the RQ-170, the reverse-engineered replica had not yet appeared.
Back in the United States, a window into the future of twenty-first century black airplanes continued to be found in a look at industry-funded projects such as the Bird of Prey and the Polecat. Boeing and Lockheed Martin had not funded these programs internally on a whim, but under the assumption that the technology being developed would evolve into a salable future product—such as the RQ-170 and who knows what else.
The Phantom Ray entered its flight test program with a seventeen-minute first flight from Edwards AFB on April 27, 2011. While this first flight was announced, and it took place at an officially acknowledged facility rather than at Groom Lake, little more has been said officially, so it is hard to know the nature of the black world iceberg of which the Phantom Ray is the tip.
"The fact of the matter is that we have a stealthy, remotely piloted aircraft that's out there," General David Deptula, the Air Force Deputy Chief of Staff for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance, told reporters back in 2010 when he was asked about the secrecy surrounding the RQ-170.
There are other ongoing, but little heralded, programs that provide tantalizing clues into what might be going on at Area 51 and the other areas about which we know even less. There is DARPA's Vulture program, aimed at developing a solar-powered UAV that can stay aloft for five years. The Boeing X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle is a UAV spaceplane that has already been operational in space on missions lasting more than a year.
Speed, as well as duration, has always been the hallmark of the black programs at Area 51. An indication of what might be going on in the black world is indicated by the Boeing X-51 Waverider. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne SJY61 scramjet engine, it rides its own shockwave to hypersonic flight. By 2012, the Waverider had demonstrated speeds up to Mach 4.88.
The only certain thing about the skies over Area 51 are shapes and treatments that will keep black airplane speculators and aviation enthusiasts busy well into the twenty-first century.