Community Sustainability Proposal
According to the American Lung Association’s ‘Sate of the Air’ report 2012, Philadelphia is the 10th most polluted city in US in terms of air quality (Ricci, 2012). There are several green initiatives taken by the local government to make the city more sustainable. However, there is much scope for the government as well as local residents to improvise, and make the city greener.
Summary of Proposed Green initiatives
Philadelphia’s sustainability plan includes reducing GHG emissions by 20% from 1990 levels, reducing 30% of energy consumption by Government, and 10% of energy consumed by buildings in the city, insulating 15% of existing homes, retrieve 20% power consumed by Philadelphia from renewable energy sources, storm water management through increasing green spaces, diverting 70% of wastes from landfills and increasing recycling rates, reducing vehicular pollution, etc. (Greenworks Philadelphia, 2015). But, several sustainability targets are not met and there is still scope for improvement.
Recommendations to local government
As of 2014, Philadelphia could not meet the National Ambient air quality standard of US, and also remained in 11th position among 25 most polluted US cities in terms of year round particulate matter (PM) emission (American Lung Association, 2015). But, Philadelphia’s government set only a minimal target to reduce vehicular miles travelled (VMT) from the baseline value of 5.96 billion in 2005, to only a 5.36 billion target for 2015 (Geeting, 2014). The trend of VMT Vs. population is shown in Fig 1. While emphasis has been laid on developing bike lanes, bike parking spaces and encouraging walking, little has been done to divert people from cars. Car parking permits cost very low in Philadelphia, and very less is being done to prevent urban sprawl (Geeting, 2014). People have to commute longer in cars to reach their job locations located far from city center.
So, Philadelphia’s government has to impose more stringent vehicular emission control mechanisms, encourage use of battery-powered vehicles, and encourage use of public transport as well as increase permit rates for car parking. Installing more PM and ozone monitoring stations in highly polluted areas, as well as restricting vehicular traffic at peek hours can improve air quality. Green house gas (GHG) emissions in Philadelphia are currently 21million tonnes/year CO2 equivalent, and vehicles account for 19% of these emissions while buildings alone account for 60% of the emissions (Drexel University, 2015). Retrofitting buildings with energy efficient lighting, heating ventilation and air conditioning systems, renewable energy systems as well as striving towards superior green building ratings can reduce up to 80% of GHG emissions from buildings by 2050 (Drexel University, 2015).
Recommendations for Individual Home Owners
Sustainability goals cannot be achieved by Government’s policies alone, and individuals have a great share of responsibility. With respect to utilities such as water and electricity individual homeowners can install water efficient fittings, and reuse treated domestic wastewater for gardening as well as car washing (Young, 2014). This would reduce fresh water demand as well as burden on municipal sewage treatment plants, and associated energy requirement. Energy meters can be installed to monitor home energy consumption, and energy efficient lighting as well as electrical appliances can be used (Young, 2014). Fig 2. Depicts how individuals can contribute towards sustainability by changing their home environment. Homes can also install solar or wind powered renewable energy systems, and avail Government rebates, as well as GHG emission reductions. Further, rooftop gardens and rainwater harvesting systems can be used to prevent storm water runoff and wastage.
Conclusion
Thus through planned Government initiatives and local community’s participation Philadelphia can become the greenest city in US, and set an example for other urban areas. With adverse impacts of climate change threatening the whole world, cities must adopt sustainable practices to avoid substantial losses to the environment as well as human lives.
References
American Lung Association. (2015). State of the Air 2015. Retrieved April 30, 2016, from
http://www.stateoftheair.org/2015/assets/ALA_State_of_the_Air_2015.pdf
Drexel University. (2015, November). Options for Achieving Deep Reductions in Carbon
Emissions in Philadelphia by 2050. Retrieved April 30, 2016, from http://www.phila.
gov/green/pdfs/80by50Report.pdf
Geeting, J. (2014, July 01). There’s a Car-Sized Hole in Philly’s “Greenest City in America”
Plan. Retrieved April 30, 2016, from https://nextcity.org/daily/entry/philadelphia-car-use-green-city-report
Greenworks Philadelphia. (2015). Greenworks 2015 Progress Report - Philadelphia.
Retrieved April 30, 2016, from http://www.phila.gov/green/PDFs/Greenworks
progressreport.pdf
Ricci, D. (2012). Philly: 10th Most Polluted City in the U.S. - Be Well Philly. Retrieved
April 30, 2016, from http://www.phillymag.com/be-well-philly/2012/04/25/tenth-polluted-city/
Young, P. (2014). Clean Technologies For Cooling And Heating Your Home. Retrieved
April 30, 2016, from http://greenlivingideas.com/2014/09/15/clean-technologies-cooling-heating-home/
