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#10 |
What Future Society Do You Imagine? |
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Sweden's vision of the future |
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Green Zone is a parking garage where the facilities and buildings on site and the services that are used conform to natural cycles and take into consideration the effective use of new and recycled materials. Participating in this project are Carstedts (automobile dealer), Ford (automobile manufacturer), Statoil (gasoline company), McDonalds (fast food company), local governments, engineers, architects, and consultants, among others. |
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The "Green Zone" pamphlet includes the following statement: |
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A hundred years ago the Earth's population was one and a half billion and around 15 percent lived in urban areas. Today, we are six billion people and half of us live in cities. In fifty years we can expect the global population to be around ten billion with 70-75 percent living in cities.
We humans are entirely dependent upon the quality of what is provided by the ecosystem; air, water, climate and food. Industrialism and urbanisation, with their increasing pressure, are not long term sustainable systems in their present form.
In the end, our mistakes will be corrected by the forces of nature. We must adapt.
Therefore we're faced with a major system change where the true challenge lies in how we can muster new driving forces that lead to long-term, sustainable development.
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If you are only creating the hardware for an "environmentally-conscious" building, then all you need to do is have professionals draw up the various plans and have technicians purchase the materials and put it together. But, Green Zone took the entire "Social System" into consideration and gathered all the knowledge and technology of every participant, from the first planning to the completion of the projects, not just from a single part of the project. The participants varied from consulting companies, corporations, and local governments to energy specialists and electric and water supply specialists.
Under this idea, these facilities adopted several new leading technologies such as using bolts and joints instead of nails in construction for easy dismantling later, plants for the indoor air purification system, and the heat energy generated in the kitchens of McDonalds to heat other buildings. In addition, this full-scale project also covered the software side by providing training to the workers, enabling them to understand and use the facilities fully.
All the companies operating here represent products that will certainly still be around in any future society, e.g., sales of alternative energy (ethanol) cars (Carstedts) and marketing of recycled parts and gasoline with low toxicity emissions (Statoil).
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Indoor air purification system using plants. Toxic materials are absorbed by the leaves. |
Solar panels attached to the side of the building. They help to keep the building warm even in winter. |
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Grass on the McDonalds and STATOIL roof.
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A planned workplace: a comfortable work area that promotes efficient use of materials |
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The results are remarkable. For example, by attaching solar panels to the side of the building, a heat-supply reduction of 60% from past years was realized. Also remarkable are a 99% resource recycle rate, 60% reduction in electrical consumption, 100% use of renewable energies, and a 76% reduction in water consumption.
Of course, there were some unexpected results as well. For example, the recycled water had a high iron content and the pipes were clogged with rust. But solving these problems as you go along is part of being an experimental facility. |
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Per Carstedts, the originator of "Green Zone," states in a distributed pamphlet, "We are not using magic; we' re using feasible technologies. If we can accomplish this, you can also accomplish it." |
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The lantern skylights on the roof reflects sunlight into the building efficiently. This minimizes the use of indoor lighting. |
The pond and biotope attract life. |
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The parking lot is made of tile and soil and allows rain water to seep underground. |
Mr. Nyquist, Green Zone designer, and Ms. Lena Lindahl, tour guide and interpreter |
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2. EKO ARENA: A place for community exchange, environmental education, aid for the unemployed @ City of Lulea |
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EKO ARENA: a repaired military warehouse |
This building, built in 1940 for use as a military warehouse, was left standing, renovated, and opened to the public as environmentally-considerate building.
The entire site is a display, including the materials used on the building. The displays educate the public on how to be environmentally conscious in daily life and on materials and products that can replace current items. |
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EKO ARENA, a complete environmental center, has these features:
- Greenhouses and fields for vegetables cultivated without agricultural chemicals or chemical fertilizers
- Herb and medicinal plant gardens that use composts from homes
- Hall for environmental expositions
- Lecture rooms
- Cafeteria
- Recycle Shop
- Recycle Center (Collection and Separation Center), etc.
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Growing herb and vegetable seedlings in the greenhouse |
The vegetables flourish in the sunlight.
There is also a biotope. |
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Cafe where vegetables harvested on-site are served |
Lecture hall with the aroma of the forest |
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Refrigerator that uses subterranean air for cooling (instead of electricity) |
The recycle shop and recycle center are linked |
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The EKO ARENA offers the unemployed a chance to earn some income and learn by cultivating vegetables and taking care of the garden. It is also a place for students to intern before going to college.
According to Lulea city employee Lena Bengten, a major point of EKO ARENA is that it does not focus only on the environment. She says, "EKO ARENA has three purposes: to exhibit leading environmental technologies offered by corporations, to bring together people from various fields, and to train the unemployed." |
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# Making Economy, Society, and Environment Function Well |
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As in the EKO ARENA example, many efforts in the environmental area are in conjunction with unemployment policy and welfare policy. A fundamental solution cannot be reached by working with the environment alone. If the economy and society do not function well, the environment cannot improve.
The city of Sundsvall appointed local youth as project leaders to clean up the Nacksta region, a formerly unsafe neighborhood. By involving senior citizens and immigrants, repairing buildings, and supervising the public pool, the neighborhood is now a safe, comfortable place with a much improved environment.
In the city of Lulea, a NPO managed organic farm hires immigrants. Immigration policy is also important in Sweden, a country with many political refugees.
Torbjorn Lahti, the tour planner and "Esam" representative, currently consults in planning environmentally-conscious local governments. He began consulting local governments when he was asked to help on policies for depopulated areas. |
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GaddvikCorp: Lulea Citizen's Farm |
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A new arrival from Afghanistan |
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# Planting the Seeds of Thought in Children |
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Children will live in the future. So, it is important to plant the seeds of thinking about the environment in our children.
I spoke with Ms. Ann-Britt Aasa, a kindergarten teacher in the city
of Overtornea. |
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The kindergarten schools in Overtornea have signs that read "Environmental Kindergarten." If the sign is in blue, it shows that the school is involved in energy-efficiency. If it is in yellow, the school participates in garbage separation and recycling. Green shows the school cultivates organically and red shows that the school has outdoor activities all year long and plans a creative campus.
One day, I was talking about how using fossil fuels and automobiles are not good for the environment when a student asked, "Isn't there something we can do about this terrible problem?" When I asked the students what we should do, they suggested things like "don't use cars so much," "use wood instead of oil," and "kids can buy fewer toys." That day, one of my students told his mother when she came to pick him up, "Mom, we have to stop using the car because there's a big cover over the clouds." I may have made them worry a little too much, but it was good that the students could understand by themselves. I thought that if I could only make them have hope for the future. We can't give our children knowledge, but we can raise them to love nature. By putting up a solar panel on the outside wall and using the power to run a model electric train, we can teach how electricity is made. Teachers write and perform plays and the children put on their own plays. |
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For example, a child's play might be "A witch was driving an evil car in the forest, killing animals and making a lot of exhaust. The trolls (the fairies of the northern forests) and children told the witch to use a bicycle instead, and she did." We could make a book using the stories the children come up with from their imaginations. |
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An ecosystem in a bottle. This ecosystem is used to teach children in kindergarten about natural cycles. |
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Ms. Ann-Britt Aasa, a kindergarten teacher |
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# Understanding at the Root Level Allows the Creation of Higher Systems and Structures |
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Nils Tiberg, a professor at Lulea Engineering College involved in creating farms in the City of Lulea, created an illustration that shows Sweden's philosophy for building a society. |
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 If the roots don't get water and nutrients, the trunk doesn't get big and the leaves don't grow.
In other words, understanding with the heart gives laws and systems meaning and gives birth to effective solutions.
To do this, it is important to get the nutrients to the roots... to tell people and make them understand.
Rolf Kummu, in charge of Agenda 21 for the City of Overtornea, made this comment:
Enlightenment is important. We must do new things to attract people. In Sweden, we have a drink called 'MER' that advertises "Because it tastes good, we don't have to add CO2." The city has changed this a little to "Because it is good for the environment, it doesn't emit CO2." |
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Pamphlet made by the City of Sundsvall
Using a bright, sensible design, the local government projects a positive image |
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I can say without fear of being misunderstood that Sweden's environmental technology and environmental policies are not far in advance of Japan or other nations. Cities recognized for their environmental efforts exist in Germany and Denmark as well. Japan has its own excellent technologies and ideas. Mr. Lahti agrees, "Not everything Sweden does is the best." In the first place, it is impossible to simply compare countries with completely different regional characteristics.
However, I think that Sweden is carefully fostering the roots (emotions) as shown in the illustration by Prof. Tiberg and is looking at the question "Why are we doing this?" By gathering specialists from various fields, creating one project, making a public facility for the citizens, and putting effort into educating the children and publicity, Sweden has adopted a plan that obviously gives importance to an environmentally-considerate lifestyle so that everyone can live in safety. Someone pointed out "Sweden doesn't have oil companies; they're called 'energy companies.'" Because the day when we will no longer depend on fossil fuel energy is coming in the near future, the oil companies will inevitably become "energy companies."
We will not change everything tomorrow. It will take 10 or 20 years. To make this change, we have to start from the position of considering the best way to reach our goals. The things we can do now such as recycling, turning off the engine of our cars when idling, and turning off unused lights, are all important. But, these efforts are not really very positive. I feel that it is also important every now and then to take a long-term look at things and think "I want to live in this kind of society in the future, so I am going to do this now." |
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This wooden church is protected as an historical building |
A ceremonial washing for tour guests to be accepted into the community |
Traditional Northern European Wooden Sauna |
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A river flowing in the Arctic Circle. Not as cold as I thought.
Finland on the opposite bank of the river |
Not a complete arctic night, but at midnight it's still this bright |
| Report/Photographs: Mariko Harada, Think the Earth Project |
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