Now Is The Winter Of Our Discontent — A Liberal’s Calm Before The Storm

Made glorious summer by this sun of Windy City;
And all the clouds that lour’d upon our house
In the deep bosom of the ocean buried…

…for how long?

For some of us the inauguration of Barack Obama ushered in the potential for an era of liberal progress, of recovery from the dark clouds of George W. Bush… illegal wars, reactionary social policy, and economic destruction.

The republican party nomination process stimulated my presaging fear of tumult as I witnessed enthusiastic applause for the proposed destruction / elimination of women’s’ rights, civil and marriage rights, health care access, criminalized physical expressions of hate, and responsible stewardship of earth’s resources.

While I know that I am not alone in my liberal desires for a more progressive and better nation, it sure feels a lot lonelier.

As I contemplated my sense of alienation and just how far I am away from the American political norm, a battery of political spectrum tests proved that, indeed, I am a Liberal Elite in a right wing, conservative nation…and it is not a good feeling.

For the Liberal Elite contemplating the national mood, it may soon be another kind of Winter…the end (winter) of our contentment…

City of Sustainability and Renewable Energy

Amazing Malmö, Sweden Puts Us All To Shame

Malmö is a municipality of 280,000 inhabitants located in Southern Sweden. Third largest city in Sweden, Malmö developed from a garrison town in the late Middle Ages into a shipping and transportation town, then into an industrial city, and today is an expansive big city with higher education facilities. Even today, blocks of the city have a Middle Ages appearance, especially with its abundance of parks and other recreational areas around the canals, beaches and harbor.

But it’s not the Middle Age aesthetic that lands it on this list. Rather, it’s Malmö’s innovative use of renewable resources and its goal to become a leading eco-city.

Sweden is a leader in green electricity solutions — most of the country’s electricity comes from nuclear and hydropower. Cities such as Malmö are contributing to the greening of Sweden with plans to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 25 percent between 2008 and 2012, far exceeding the 5 percent goal set by the Kyoto Protocol.

Moreover, Malmö aims to have the entire municipality running on 100 percent renewable energy by 2030.

To help meet this aggressive target, systemic and lifestyle changes have occurred as neighborhoods across Malmö are transforming into sustainable, eco-friendly enclaves; of particular note are the areas of Western Harbor, Sege Park and Augustenborg.

What systemic and lifestyle changes?

• Low-energy schools and houses that are so well insulated that body heat keeps them warm.
• 96% recycling rate; what cannot be reused is burned in a waste-to-energy facility for district heating.
• Buses run on biogas.
• Vacuum garbage removal system.
• Green Roofs.
• Open storm water management.
• Organic gardening in the middle of the city.
• Sensors on traffic lights detect bicycles and adjust for them.
• It is a “fair trade” city
• The schools serve organic food.

What neighborhoods across Malmö are transforming?

Western Harbor, a former shipyard now densely urban, runs on 100-percent renewable energy from sun, wind and hydropower, as well as biofuels generated from organic waste. Its buildings are constructed with sustainable materials and designed to be energy efficient, and its streets are pedestrian and cycle friendly — 40 percent of commuters and 30 percent of all travelers go by bike. The aim was for the district to be an internationally leading example of environmental adaptation of a densely built urban environment.

Additionally, the restoration of the area of Sege Park, another eco-friendly transformation, will power the neighborhood with green energy sources including photovoltaics (solar electricity), wind power and biofuels.

Augustenborg, a district that’s been going green over the past decade, is known for its green roofing — botanical roof gardens that reduce runoff and add insulation and vegetation to an urban neighborhood. Augustenborg is also home to the world’s first emissions-free electric street trains, as well as more than a dozen recycling houses processing about 70 percent of collected waste.

 

The driving force in Malmö’s development is towards environmental sustainability. The metropolitan area is exclusively provided with energy from locally produced renewable sources.

• Sun, wind and water form the basis for energy production together with biogas produced from organic waste from the district in biogas digesters.
• Buildings are designed to have a low energy demand and the area is planned to minimize future transport needs and car dependency.
• Cycle traffic is the most important element in the area’s transport system.
• The district is built with the aim of containing a diverse range of natural life using plant beds, foliage on walls, green roofs, water surfaces in ponds and large trees and bushes.

Photovoltaic Systems (PV) (Solar)

• Malmö is the city with the largest area of PV installations in Sweden.
• Since 2001 the municipality has been encouraging PV, the work has included installation of several large PV plants on public buildings.
• A total of 15 PV-plants have been installed on official buildings like schools, museums and hospitals.
• The PV plants are installed on existing buildings and have a total area of 3400 m2 and a peak power of 500 kW.

The city of Malmö is making investments in solar energy to strengthen and market the environmental profile of the city. It is also considered likely that rising energy prices will make PV profitable in the future. An investment in solar energy is one step on the way to reduce CO2 — emissions and future energy costs and to become more self-sufficient in energy.

What makes Sweden so different, that they can reinvent their industrial cities, build properly, deal with their waste and use renewable energy?

Why does Malmö have the political will, money and smarts to do this kind of thing when we can’t?

The Significance of ANOTHER BIG TUNNEL

THE WORLD’S LONGEST ROAD/RAIL TUNNEL: Fehmarnbelt Underwater Link between Denmark and Germany

Reference past article http://spfaust.wordpress.com/2010/10/15/the-significance-of-a-big-tunnel/

Denmark yesterday approved constructing a high-technology sea tunnel under the Fehmarn Belt — the 18-kilometer strait between Germany and Denmark — at a cost of over 5 Billion Euros (or $6.5 Billion).

Travel times from Hamburg to Copenhagen will be dramatically reduced after completion over the next decade, with Denmark taking a big step forward towards realizing one of the biggest public infrastructure projects ever undertaken in Europe.

At a speed of 110 km per hour, this project will offer motorists a journey time of approximately 10 minutes through the tunnel. For freight and passenger train, the journey will take seven minutes from coast to coast.

The rail journey from Hamburg to Copenhagen, which currently takes around four and a half hours, would be shortened by one hour. The same applies to the driving time between the two cities, which also takes about four hours at the moment.

Tunnel construction is set to begin in 2014 for a planned opening in 2020. The transit passage consists of three tunnels: two containing a four-lane highway and a third one with two train tracks.

Currently, the stretch between Rødby in Denmark and Puttgarden in Germany, north of Hamburg, has only been served by ferry.

Longest Tunnel of Its Kind

Fehmarn Belt, a strait in the Baltic Sea between the German island of Fehmarn and the Danish island of Lolland, where the tunnel will be built.

What Denmark plans to build across this 18-kilometer (11-mile) stretch of water is the world’s longest underwater tunnel that utilizes the “immersed tube method,” three times the length of the Trans-Bay Tube Bart Tunnel in San Francisco, which is currently the world’s longest immersed tunnel.

The individual elements will be built on land and then sunk onto the sea bed. These concrete pipes will be 200 meters long and weigh around 70,000 tons each pipe — each having the size proportions and weight of a supertanker ship.

Computer graphic impression of the German-side tunnel portal

The country’s largest island, where the capital Copenhagen — Denmark’s economic center — is located, will be connected with the Danish mainland in the west, with Sweden in the east, and by completion of the Fehmarn Belt, with Germany in the south — one-fifth of all of Denmark’s trade is conducted with Germany.

Oresund: Denmark to Sweden-Bridge & Tunnel

The Fehmarn crossing is the final missing link of the most expensive and important infrastructure building project in Denmark’s history.

The massive bridge project over the Great Belt strait, which effectively divides Denmark in two, has been in operation since 1998.

In 2000, the Oresund Bridge/Tunnel was opened to connect Denmark with Sweden.

And now, the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel – this final great sea connection — is scheduled to be ready for trains and trucks in just a decade.

Infrastructure Improvement Overdue

While Denmark is to foot the entire cost of constructing the tunnel, Germany will not, however, be able to avoid some kind of financial involvement. It has already committed to electrifying the 90-kilometer stretch of rail between Lübeck and Puttgarden — as well as laying a second track at a later date. The road connection from Fehmarn will also be improved.

These infrastructure changes will cost €800 million (or more than $1 Billion), according to the German government.

Local resistance to the project formed a long time ago.The seaside resorts fear a dramatic increase in traffic. More cars, high-speed ICE trains and dozens of freight trains could influence their quality of life. Opponents want neither a bridge nor a tunnel — they want everything kept as it is.

Following Tuesday’s decision, another part of Europe marches progressively into the future.

The United States?

Not so much…

Witness the retrograde American attitude about this project expressed on a development portal discussion group (and note the Danish response):

Click Image To Enlarge For better Readability

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When I was a child, I wondered aloud about how I was so fortunate to be born into the world’s most advanced nation.

Now… I just wonder why I allow myself to be stuck here!

We soon will have no spaceships to reach the International Space Station, haven’t replaced two buildings some international thugs knocked down a decade ago, have no high-speed rail system, and pridefully squawk about taking away health care insurance from 15 million U.S. citizens who only had it for a few months.

I just need to remember that we grew stale, conservative, and republican… and be prepared to bolt for the new progressive nations of the world.

RALLY TO RESTORE SANITY AND/OR FEAR Application

Get The Free Rally App on Your iPhone, iTouch and iPad Before you head to D.C. for the Rally of a lifetime — or at least a weekend — download the official Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert-approved Rally to Restore Sanity and/or Fear application today for free in the iPhone App Store. View maps, upload photos, share comments, and check in on Foursquare to earn one-of-a-kind badges! WooHoo!

Android phone lovers, your app is on its way, as well!

ATLANTA STREETCAR FUNDED! Thanks Stimulus!

Sometimes change can come when you least expect it… like when you’ve just moaned about the lack of it… as I did in my post earlier today, “The Significance Of A Big Tunnel.”

I had written, “Georgia’s Libertarians and republicans, for example, have fought Atlanta’s progressive efforts to build a simple streetcar system on city streets and …”

Then within an hour, I received a message from my Congressman, John Lewis (whom I also posted about in, “Snatching defeat From The Jaws Of Victory) announcing:

 

Rep. John Lewis D-GA

 

Atlanta Streetcar… We did it!! US Representative John Lewis announced today, that the US Department of Transportation has agreed to grant $47 million in funding for the proposed Downtown streetcar project.

 

Atlanta City Council members walk historic district of Auburn Avenue where a streetcar line will now be built

 

The streetcar line will run from Centennial Olympic Park and the Auburn historic district along Edgewood and Auburn avenues to the (Martin Luther) King Center. Improving transit access along that route dramatically helps downtown tourism and offers an important connection to the planned light-rail “Beltline.”

Atlanta Mayor Reed also announced the Atlanta City Council has set aside $10 million to help fund the project cost. Central Atlanta Progress, a private civic-business foundation, will provide another $10 million. If necessary, Mayor Reed said, the rest of the funding could be secured by drawing $6 million to $8 million from the city’s $50 million in reserves. Of course, the State of Georgia… nowhere to be seen.

Atlanta has committed to completing the project within 24 months, a federal requirement to qualify for the STIMULUS GRANT.

The streetcar line will create more than 2,000 permanent jobs — STIMULUS works (!). City officials are still working to determine the number of construction jobs that will result from the project.

A lot of people have worked diligently for more than eight years to make this concept turn into reality. Congratulations!