This interesting event took place last night in BJ (the last in the current series; series might continue later this year) with 2 speakers: 1 from Tsinghua on the design of the Olympic Park and 1 from Greenlink Kusters on Sustainable landscape design. A few notes follow:

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The issue of water quality in China is not a new one, and with the well publicized algae blooms in China highlighting the problems on a more frequent basis, many in China are beginning to understand the link between development and water.

As a quick refresher, in taihu last year there was a large algae bloom that chocked off the oxygen from the water.  It killed fish, it was undrinkable, and it was largely a result of industrial chemicals mixing with agricultural runoff in highly concentrated levels.  It was a condition that we saw again in Qingdao 2 weeks ago.

For many, the level of awareness has yet to fully transition.  Sure, farmers can trace their dying crops to highly plluted rivers, and fisherman can tangibly feel reduced fish stocks, but the question remains what connections the average consumer is making to these conditions and their health.

The recent Ecologist article Nitrates and Cancer provides another example of why we should be paying attention:

Chinese scientists are reaching a very different view: that nitrite in drinking water is closely linked with cancer incidence and mortality. Indeed, nitrite pollution may be responsible for up to half of all cancer deaths in developed countries – even when nitrite and nitrate levels are within legal limits.

New research from the McKinsey Global Institute (MGI) projects that China’s urban population is likely to grow from 600 million today to more than one billion by 2030.

City dwellers typically contribute more to GDP, but the projected increase will also test the ability of China’s municipal governments to provide energy, water, health care, and education for their burgeoning population.

This research (a summary is here, though the full report is not due for a couple more months) shows very clearly the risks and opportunities China’s insane urbanisation will bring to both the government and business. For government, urbanisation offers a way of providing social services more effectively and cost efficiently and a more efficient way of managing resources.

If urban productivity measures were deployed throughout the country, overall public-spending requirements would fall by $214 billion (1.5 trillion renminbi) a year by 2025. Water pollution would be halved and air pollution emissions cut by about a third. Savings to the private sector, mainly through reduced resource consumption, would come to about $143 billion (1 trillion renminbi).

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Probe International recently published an alarming document on the state of Beijing’s water supply.

Suffering from chronic droughts, and increased demands, this research looks at the resulting drop in Beijing’s already scarce water shortages and how not a matter of if.. it is a matter of when..  Beijing will need to take aggressive measures to address the problem.

According to the Executive Summary of the report:

Today, more than two-thirds of the municipality’s total water supply comes from groundwater. The rest is surface water coming from Beijing’s dwindling reservoirs and rivers. The municipality’s two largest reservoirs, Miyun and Guanting, now hold less than ten percent of their original storage capacity and Guanting is so polluted it hasn’t been used as a drinking water source since 1997.

This report traces Beijing’s 60-year transformation from relative water abundance to water crisis, and the main policy responses to keep water flowing to China’s capital.

Read It Here

GIGA: Green Ideas: Green Action

greening the world we make…

Mission statement: We live in a designed world. Everything we make, use and discard has been designed by someone, somewhere. Most of it is unsustainable and designers are the source.

Our mission is to make design green: empowering designers with the right tools to accelerate change.

ACTION TOOLS:

BASE: An online database of green materials, empowering designers with well researched, impartial and actionable information.
PEDIA: A green encyclopedia of definitions and basic design concepts.

IDEAS TOOLS:

EVENTS: Lectures and events that presents the work of a designer that leads by example: the challenges and the solutions. The lectures serve as a platform for sharing ‘best of practice’ knowledge and ideas about local solutions to sustainability.
CASE: A series of case studies showcasing projects to learn from.
OUTREACH: Lectures and education in universities, workshops and more on the boards.

Structure: GIGA is a non-profit group created and managed by professionals and supported by volunteers and sponsors.

Short term needs

After the incredible feedback generated by the first website, GIGA is expanding as an organization and currently working on the website’s second iteration. Its aims to be more interactive, user-driven and easy to use. With the second website up in September, a course at Tongji University and key upcoming lectures, GIGA will be in a strong position to receive sponsorship. However, we need the help of volunteers to get us there.

- Marketing Volunteer: Putting together a package to approach potential sponsors and donors.
- Programmers: Assisting on the construction of the website.
- Content Research: Researching, assessing and rating products. Researching and reviewing case studies.
- Category manager (for material database)
- Lecture / Event Organizer
- Translation of website content into Chinese

If you are interested in being a volunteer, please contact us at: action (at)giga-china.com