Sea Notes

A Floating Green City?

A city that grows just like a lily floating on the water. A city of the equatorial region where sunlight is plentiful and the impact of typhoons is minimal. A carbon-negative city that absorbs CO2 like a plant.

Fantasy? Perhaps.

But it's one of several concepts put forward by Japan's Shimizu Corporation on the principle that "happiness should be measured separately from material wealth."

The company, a 200-year-old construction and civil engineering firm, is devoted to far more than the bottom line. Its founder embraced the idea that businesses can contribute to society by incorporating a balance between ethics and economics -- earning a fair profit and growing at a manageable pace.

Today, it's putting forth visionary ideas for projects that embody these values. The floating city is one. They also imagine:

-- A networks of lakes and canals bringing life to desert regions.

-- A Luna Ring clean-energy project to meet all our power needs on Earth.

-- New designs for urban communities that would be sustainable for more than a century.

Heady stuff. But we need big dreams if we're going to reshape the world for a sustainable future.

You can let your imagination soar as you consider the possibilities at Shimizu's Dream.

(Many thanks to GizMag for drawing my attention to Shimizu.)

 

A Super Twofer: Green Energy, Healthy Oceans

What do cattails have to do with clean oceans and energy independence? Ask David Blume of the International Institute for Ecological Agriculture.

Blume believes that by growing cattails on floodplains and wetlands, we can create a supply of alcohol to fuel cars and generate energy -- and purify the flow of floodwaters that carry fertilizer runoff into coastal waters, creating dead zones in their wake.

Blume is sharing the concept widely. I caught a moment or two of his interview on NPR's Science Friday, but you can here the entire program here. And his Permaculture.com website is a great source of information on ways to use many fast-growing plants (including kelp, mesquite and prickly-pear cactus) as the raw material for an alcohol energy economy.

All of these native or naturalized plants, he notes, can produce more alcohol fuel per acre than corn, or can do so without the labor of planting and the cost of irrigation water and fertilizer.

Expanding the habitat for cattails means restoring wetlands that provide a vital role in flood control, groundwater recharge and as wildlife habitat. (If his concept catches on, maybe he can convince farmers in North Dakota to start growing cattails instead of killing them off in order to destroy nesting cover for blackbirds that are gobbling up their sunflower crop.)

There's more detail in Blume's best-selling book, Alcohol Can Be a Gas!. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Seawater Synergy

Now here's a brilliant idea:

Pipe seawater into the Sahara Desert, use solar energy to create freshwater via evaporation, then use the water to grow greenhouse crops that will feed a hungry world. And, as a bonus, build enough solar capacity to ship surplus energy from the Sahara to Europe.

It's still a dream, but there are demonstration projects in Tenerife, Oman and the United Arab Emirates -- and a lot of buzz today about the Sahara Forest Project, Check it out.....

As if that weren't enough, the Japanese are dreaming big, too. The Times of London reports on a vision for offshore "eco-rigs" that would generate energy from the sun and waves, and use some of the energy for aquaculture farms to raise seaweed, fish and plankton.

Film Friday: Winged Migration

May 10 is World Migratory Bird Day. Check out this promotional You Tube video.

We hope you can find a way to join the celebration. Click here to find an event near you.

Even if you do not live on the path of a migratory flyway, you can still find ways to help our feathered friends. Many bird populations around the world are in serious decline, but there are simple ways to make a difference.

Did you know that your coffee choice can have an impact on migratory birds?

Look for bird-friendly alternatives, such as shade-grown beans. Coffee is a shade-loving plant, and was traditionally cultivated underneath existing trees in a process that protected the native forest. Today, many farmers continue to raise coffee beneath shade trees, and the plants provide sanctuary to migratory birds.

For more bird inspiration check out the website for the ultimate wildlife documentary on birds: "Winged Migration".