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Page added on October 20, 2016
Transition in Cities
It is widely assumed that the ongoing migration of rural peoples to mega-cities all over the world will help reduce humanity’s per-capita energy footprint, while giving people a higher standard of living and accelerating energy transition. But the world is full of old, inefficient cities in desperate need of an eco-makeover, and of experts who understand the principles of “smart urbanization” and who can help identify how to transform a city from brown and dumb to smart and green. What’s the potential for replacing concrete with living things in cities? How can autonomous and electric vehicles help make cities cleaner and more livable? Why isn’t China promoting its phenomenal success with e-bikes to the rest of the world? Is China’s commodity demand going to continue to weaken as it moves away from a manufacturing economy? And will the emissions it was generating just move elsewhere when it does? All these questions and more are answered in this wide-ranging conversation with an expert on smart urbanization and China.
Geek rating: 3
Guest: CC Huang works to advance sustainable development in the United States and China. She is currently working with Equilibrium Capital to accelerate investment in sustainable technologies and the Energy Foundation China on urban development strategy. She led the creation of the Green and Smart Urban Development Guidelines, which are now being used to train government officials and guide large-scale urban development projects in China, inform urban planning in Mexico City, and to promote sustainability principles in Sweden. She has written for or been featured in Science, Forbes, Fortune China, Next City, and Caijing, among others. She has also worked at Energy Innovation, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Natural Resources Defense Council. She obtained her MPA from Princeton University and completed her BA at George Washington University.
24 Comments on "Transition in Cities"
Davy on Thu, 20th Oct 2016 6:01 pm
I did a little editing:
“It is not widely recognized that the ongoing migration of rural peoples to mega-cities all over the world will endanger humanity’s carrying capacity, while giving all people a lower standard of living and accelerating the transition to a collapsed globalism.”
rockman on Thu, 20th Oct 2016 7:30 pm
Davy – As usual you’re being too pessimistic. For instance: “How can autonomous and electric vehicles help make cities cleaner and more livable?” Easy answer: they’ll use those vehicles to help all those rural folks haul those $trillions to the cities that they’ll use fund the transformation. You just need faith, buddy.
Davy on Thu, 20th Oct 2016 8:07 pm
Rock, it’s fun to edit. I love making things right….lol
Survivalist on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 12:05 am
On the other hand
https://theintercept.com/2016/10/13/pentagon-video-warns-of-unavoidable-dystopian-future-for-worlds-biggest-cities/
makati1 on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 12:17 am
Survivalist, the Pentagon knows little about the real world. It has a very narrow vision of the future. No one knows what next year will bring or even tomorrow. They are only guessing.
Survivalist on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 12:28 am
Don’t talk to me Mak. If I wanted a dialogue with you I’d let you know.
onlooker on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 12:39 am
Whatever the Pentagon knows or does not know is irrelevant as long as they continue to beat the drums of war thus utilizing precious resources fostering a counterproductive paradigm of enmity and conflict
GregT on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 3:04 am
“Don’t talk to me Mak. If I wanted a dialogue with you I’d let you know.”
Mak is an American Survivalist, not a socialist. Not sure where you’re from, but on this side of the pond, we believe in freedom of speech.
makati1 on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 3:33 am
GregT, there is a lot of ignorance on both sides of the ‘Big Pond’. I hope it doesn’t spread to the East. I appreciate debating with those of intelligence, like yourself. We just agree to disagree on some points. lol
Dredd on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 5:49 am
… a video created by the Army and used at the Pentagon’s Joint Special Operations University (Megacities: Urban Future, the Emerging Complexity).
Dredd on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 6:07 am
Military prophets, “gotta love ’em …”
Survivalist on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 12:21 pm
GregT. Please don’t speak to me. If I wanted to engage in dialogue with know-it-all idiots you and Mak will be the first to know.
onlooker on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 12:37 pm
What’s the matter Survive cannot take the heat if not do not go into the kitchen
Apneaman on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 1:18 pm
Survivalist, is there like a special application process one must go through before being granted the privilege of engaging in a dialog with you? Aren’t we all high and mighty.
JuanP on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 5:02 pm
Onlooker, don’t speak to Survivalist. If he wants to engage in dialogue with you you will be the first to know. LOL!
JuanP on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 5:05 pm
I am very happy today because I just brought home from the farm my first batch of organic eggs from the hens. I received 12 egg laying hens as a gift this week. I am getting a dozen meat chickens next week. I gave them a container as a gift to use for storage at the farm and they let me use part of it to build a chicken coop and gave me the hens for free. I got the container for free and built the coop with scrap materials so the whole thing cost me absolutely nothing. Now I have more organic eggs than I know what to do with so I will be sharing them with everyone at the farm.
makati1 on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 5:27 pm
Survivalist is one of those “protected children” who want to live in a world where everyone agrees with him and no one dares to make him look at the real world. About like those college students that want to live in a world where no one would even think of being rude or punching them in the face. Too bad. Get over yourself Survivalist or you will not ‘survive’ for very long. It is a nasty world out there. Full of differences of opinion and really nasty people and you will have to learn to deal with it or die.
Sissyfuss on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 7:20 pm
Juan, you are the man! Congrats on your cluck luck.
GregT on Fri, 21st Oct 2016 10:38 pm
Seconded. Good for you JuanP!
JuanP on Sat, 22nd Oct 2016 7:25 am
Thanks, Sissyfuss and Greg! Last night I had an amazing omelette with Oregano, Tomatoes, and bacon. It was delicious. The eggs have very little smell, have almost orange yolks with perfectly clear whites, are all different from each other, some are a blue green color, and have no aftertaste. They were the best eggs I’ve ever eaten in the USA.
Davy on Sat, 22nd Oct 2016 7:44 am
My chickens went from laying 6 eggs a day to 2 or 3. I am told that happens when the days get shorter and colder. Too bad for my livestock dogs because they get what we don’t eat. I keep a few chickens with the goats because they eat up things around the pen. Lots of bugs in a livestock pen.
peakyeast on Sat, 22nd Oct 2016 8:14 am
It is amazing how many eggs chickens can lay… We only have 5 chickens, but they produce more eggs than we can eat.
Sissyfuss on Sat, 22nd Oct 2016 11:08 am
Davy, you gave me the willies when you called them livestock dogs. Didn’t know you were Korean.
Davy on Sat, 22nd Oct 2016 11:21 am
Sorry, my livestock dogs protect my goats from feral dogs and coyotes. I have two male Anatolian Shepard’s. They are fine dogs. They are huge and fearless. They need lots of food. I feed them any leftovers I can and I include one egg a day per dog. What I like about these dogs also is if shit hits the fan they will be my perimeter guardian dogs backed up by my 308 rifle.
http://www.animalplanet.com/tv-shows/dogs-101/videos/anatolian-shepherd/