Global climate change is increasing the frequency and severity of extreme weather. “A recent study says we can expect the oceans to rise between 2.5 and 6.5 feet (0.8 and 2 mt) by 2100, enough to swamp many of the cities along the U.S. East Coast. More dire estimates, including a complete meltdown of the Greenland ice sheet, push sea level rise to 23 feet (7 mt), enough to submerge London.” Flooding Rebranded will attempt to mitigate the impact of flooding on coastal regions within the United States. The objective being to foster a sustainable model for prevention & recovery. Our solution: REVERB, the integration of ‘eco-barriers’ into human settlements via a supporting framework. REVERB centers on two primary stakeholders: victims (or affected peoples) and natural ecosystems. Municipalities & federal government entities are considered as tertiary stakeholders in the implementation process. REVERB creates a framework for the implementation of natural/living systems to enhance (& protect) human settlement…
After studying the sustainable Urban Metabolism model and methodology, we decided to create a product that provides one example of how business can make shifts towards being self-reliant within urban cities and avoid traditional practices of using viable resources such as fresh water. We developed a rainwater collection and filtration process that harvests enough useable water for the hydroponic hops we grow, harvest and produce into beer within our facility along with allocating enough collected rainwater for the beer production process itself with the goal of zero fresh water use.
The team has completed a case study of Palo Alto’s Roadmap to Zero Net Energy, with a focus on the opportunities to transition small to medium-sized retail-use commercial buildings to the City of Palo Alto’s energy efficiency standards as defined by their overall sustainability goals. The main contributor to the research effort was the department of Development Services at the City of Palo Alto; this paper has been compiled with their challenges in implementing their green building ordinance in mind. The specific challenge researched was on how to effectively transition Palo Alto’s small to medium-sized retail-use buildings in accordance with the Commercial Zero Net Energy Ordinance for Smaller Buildings, the City’s 2023 Green Building Vision milestone based on California state goals for 2030. Our research and analysis uncovered opportunities to reduce roadblocks to Palo Alto’s 2023 sustainability goals by reinvigorating energy audits for retail-use spaces, implementing and enforcing guidelines for landlord-…
The Free Riders REALM Annual Electric Bike-a-thon is a fundraiser in which 6th, 7th, and 8th grade students ride electricity-generating bikes and are sponsored for the total number of miles they ride over the course of one school quarter, with one grade riding per quarter. This program solves three sustainability problems facing this Berkeley public charter middle school: -High energy costs, averaging $10k per month -Lack of space for physical activity on campus -Low availability of financial resources We believe that this program has the potential to reduce REALM’s energy costs by as much as 80%, to conveniently provide a much needed means of physical activity for the students and faculty, and to create an additional revenue stream for the school that can be used to increase the overall quality of their academic experience.