This page was created by:  Rey Medina & Leah Richter

Types

Appropriate Technology

 

Sustainable Energy

 

Solar Power

Hydro Power

Wind Power

Bio-diesel

Geo-thermal

Fuel Cell

 

Sustainable Community Development

          

Sustainable Buildings

Many architects, contractors, and developers are beginning to take a more environmentally friendly, sustainable approach. Buildings are being designed that embrace the natural environment rather than taking it over. Also research is being done to find new building materials that are location specific. For example, builders in Africa are using the same materials as every other continent to build their buildings because those are the accepted types of materials. But over 90% of those materials have to be imported. Researchers are therefore looking into ways to create new materials that are local to the Africans.

Transportation

One important aspect of community development is the transportation system. As communities develop and grow, the need for mobility becomes increasingly greater. Through careful planning, developers are trying to break the current cycle of more roads leading to more cars which lead to the need for more roads and so on and so forth. This is trying to be changed by more environmentally friendly public transportation and designing communities to decrease the amount of needed travel.

Sustainable Business’s

Some say that of all users of resources, businesses are the most wasteful. Therefore one big challenge of sustainable community development is to change the traditional business policies to embrace more of a sustainable approach.

 

Sustainable Agriculture

 

There are numerous ways being implemented to help people all over the world produce more quantity and quality of food. Everything from low tech harvesting tools to ways to better irrigate.

One example of sustainable agriculture that I personally find fascinating is the practice of no-till farming. Using specially designed equipment, farming is done without traditional tilling. No-till farming takes less time and helps with erosion by not turning up the topsoil. The soil also retains more nutrients.

 

 

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