The concept on giving to the poor takes on a new meaning in the article 'VolunTourism' (p. 366). Instead of just giving money to a local solicitation the theory of VolunTourism is to get involved to the point of visiting the area in question.
This has become more frequent in the 21st century, where groups of people will actually go to an area of need for a period of two weeks to assist in building homes or clinics. In this particular article they speak of gathering people to assist in building a hotel in an area of their country that people would. The intent of doing this was to then rent the rooms out and for the money they would make, they would in turn use this money to help the local people; such as building a medical clinic.
Although you would think that a group of people coming in to assist in building a home or clinic etc would be welcomed by everyone. However, this may not always be the case. It is important that the groups coming to help are invited by the locals, otherwise it could be problematic. In some remote areas they do not want people from the outside coming in for any reason.
The idea of VolunTourism is a great idea; and the more of this that can be arranged the better it is for everyone. Those that give are rewarded by those receiving the deed through their thanks and appreciation; and of course those on the receiving end are rewarded with the new building or whatever assistance was given.
The best example of a “green home” that I have come across would without a doubt be Professor Trumpey’s ranch. By going off the grid he not only frees himself from having to ever pay a utility bill again, but it also forces him to be totally conscious of how much electricity and water he consumes. As the article points out, the techniques and materials required to build a green home are often more expensive than their non-environmentally friendly counterparts, so in some ways to can be a leap of faith to commit to this kind of lifestyle. In this way it’s important to think of a green home as an investment, something that will not only pay off in the long run, not only financially, but ecologically as well.
Pre-fab homes may offer a solution as to how we can get more people to switch over to green homes. By standardizing the production of different modules of the home (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc) we could begin to close the loop of how our materials are produced, used, and ultimately disposed of. This isn’t to say that everyone should live in the same cookie-cutter, box shaped house--by making the different aspects of the home modular and interchangeable, people could easily create a home that suits their personal style.
In the Global North, we do not have problem obtaining clean water to drink and wash ourselves. We see water as necessity that we can get anytime if we just turned on the tap. We do not feel responsibility of watching water flow into the drain and water is just number on the bill. We need to change the notion that we think about the water.
With centralized water system, one place controling a citiy's whole water supply, cities are conncted with abundant water pipes and drainage system. Rather than building more pipes and making more water drainage system, we should think ways to make use of water that are given to us. Integrated water management system is needed to make use of drinking water, rain water, storm water and waste water.
One example the article talks about is rainwater harvesting. Rain that falls on the roofs of homes runs throuh downspouts into cisterns that store it for use in a variety of applications - irrigating the garden and flushing the toilet.
Another example is fog catching. In Chile, Nepal and southern Africa have installed fog-catching arrays, fine nets that are stretched vertically between poles with a gutter at the bottom.
The article emphasizes that water should be thought of as a service rather than a commodity. When we approach water as a service rather than as a commodity, we can use pricing, marketing, land-use regulations, and tools from other disciplines to manage demand for water while securing the services we want.
Energy is like blood of developed civilizations. Not long time ago, our ancestors had only basic forms of energy such as labor power of human and animals, the heat and light of a burning fire, and few somewhat developed machines like waterwheels and windmills.
Nowadays, cheap power lays in our lives. Just a click of a switch and electricity from a far power plant lights up our rooms. However there is consequences for the energy that we use to fulfill our hunger of comfort; climate change, river-killing dams, and nuclear waste. Social influence of our dirty energy system is no good. Our addiction to cheap power links us to dictators and repressive regimes, wars and terrorisms.
The consequences also lie with many questionable choices like building sprawling suburbs that require long daily commutes and undermine other values we hold.
In South, Hundreds of millions people still struggle to make a living with only the most basic forms of energy and sustenance; to work their fields more efficiently, to light their homes, to refrigerate their food. The kind of energy they adopt will not only determine their quality of life, but will have global impacts. A world of solar-powered villages is a world of less poverty and great climatic stability.
The concept on giving to the poor takes on a new meaning in the article 'VolunTourism' (p. 366). Instead of just giving money to a local solicitation the theory of VolunTourism is to get involved to the point of visiting the area in question.
ReplyDeleteThis has become more frequent in the 21st century, where groups of people will actually go to an area of need for a period of two weeks to assist in building homes or clinics. In this particular article they speak of gathering people to assist in building a hotel in an area of their country that people would. The intent of doing this was to then rent the rooms out and for the money they would make, they would in turn use this money to help the local people; such as building a medical clinic.
Although you would think that a group of people coming in to assist in building a home or clinic etc would be welcomed by everyone. However, this may not always be the case. It is important that the groups coming to help are invited by the locals, otherwise it could be problematic. In some remote areas they do not want people from the outside coming in for any reason.
The idea of VolunTourism is a great idea; and the more of this that can be arranged the better it is for everyone. Those that give are rewarded by those receiving the deed through their thanks and appreciation; and of course those on the receiving end are rewarded with the new building or whatever assistance was given.
This is an exceptional way of giving to others.
Building a Green Home pg. 147
ReplyDeleteThe best example of a “green home” that I have come across would without a doubt be Professor Trumpey’s ranch. By going off the grid he not only frees himself from having to ever pay a utility bill again, but it also forces him to be totally conscious of how much electricity and water he consumes. As the article points out, the techniques and materials required to build a green home are often more expensive than their non-environmentally friendly counterparts, so in some ways to can be a leap of faith to commit to this kind of lifestyle. In this way it’s important to think of a green home as an investment, something that will not only pay off in the long run, not only financially, but ecologically as well.
Pre-fab homes may offer a solution as to how we can get more people to switch over to green homes. By standardizing the production of different modules of the home (kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, etc) we could begin to close the loop of how our materials are produced, used, and ultimately disposed of. This isn’t to say that everyone should live in the same cookie-cutter, box shaped house--by making the different aspects of the home modular and interchangeable, people could easily create a home that suits their personal style.
Thinking Differently about Water P 189
ReplyDeleteIn the Global North, we do not have problem obtaining clean water to drink and wash ourselves. We see water as necessity that we can get anytime if we just turned on the tap. We do not feel responsibility of watching water flow into the drain and water is just number on the bill. We need to change the notion that we think about the water.
With centralized water system, one place controling a citiy's whole water supply, cities are conncted with abundant water pipes and drainage system. Rather than building more pipes and making more water drainage system, we should think ways to make use of water that are given to us. Integrated water management system is needed to make use of drinking water, rain water, storm water and waste water.
One example the article talks about is rainwater harvesting. Rain that falls on the roofs of homes runs throuh downspouts into cisterns that store it for use in a variety of applications - irrigating the garden and flushing the toilet.
Another example is fog catching. In Chile, Nepal and southern Africa have installed fog-catching arrays, fine nets that are stretched vertically between poles with a gutter at the bottom.
The article emphasizes that water should be thought of as a service rather than a commodity. When we approach water as a service rather than as a commodity, we can use pricing, marketing, land-use regulations, and tools from other disciplines to manage demand for water while securing the services we want.
Using Energy Efficiently (pg. 164)…
ReplyDeleteEnergy is like blood of developed civilizations. Not long time ago, our ancestors had only basic forms of energy such as labor power of human and animals, the heat and light of a burning fire, and few somewhat developed machines like waterwheels and windmills.
Nowadays, cheap power lays in our lives. Just a click of a switch and electricity from a far power plant lights up our rooms.
However there is consequences for the energy that we use to fulfill our hunger of comfort; climate change, river-killing dams, and nuclear waste. Social influence of our dirty energy system is no good. Our addiction to cheap power links us to dictators and repressive regimes, wars and terrorisms.
The consequences also lie with many questionable choices like building sprawling suburbs that require long daily commutes and undermine other values we hold.
In South, Hundreds of millions people still struggle to make a living with only the most basic forms of energy and sustenance; to work their fields more efficiently, to light their homes, to refrigerate their food. The kind of energy they adopt will not only determine their quality of life, but will have global impacts. A world of solar-powered villages is a world of less poverty and great climatic stability.