Originally Posted by
Robert Foster
[Roody posted not long ago that for the first time our urban population now out numbers our non urban population. Checking that out I discovered he is correct and that just over 50 percent claim to be urban dwellers. However using the statistics from the EPA and other government agencies our urban areas use between 73 and 75 percent of ouravailable energy. Every urban house holdget 100 percent of their energy from the grid and urban dwellers can do very little about it individually.
I said that 50 per cent of the
entire world's population is now urban. The US is very much over 50 % urban--more like 85 % IIRC. So you might have to recalculate your estimate of the portion of energy that is used by urbanites. Scientists who study land use are now saying that urban living is more efficient (and therefore "greener") on a
per capita basis.
Originally Posted by
Robert Foster
[ Green communities can produce enough energy to sustain them and if you read some of the things on one of the sites their construction is already taking place all over the world. But even if they could only produce 75 percent of their energy needs that is 100 percent more than moving to downtown anywhere.
They produce all of their own energy only if they never imoport anything. If they buy food at a store, or order machine parts and building supplies, they are clearly NOT energy independant. Did the community you're talking about grow/produce
everything they use.
Originally Posted by
Robert Foster
These communities also collect their own water and process their own waste. So far that kind of conservation simply isn’t available in any major urban area. ....
Actually, all communities in America already do that. My city treats its sewage, removing (most) human waste, and discharges the almost clean water back into the Grand River. then the people of Grand Rapids get to reuse our water a couple days after we're done with it.