Better world: Global green heroes

New Scientist 28 Sep 09;

It is no secret that the environment is facing some major challenges. Yet despite all the gloom there are some corners of the world where things are changing for the better. Here are a few examples to prove that when communities, city officials and governments put their minds to it they can move environmental mountains. Now all we need is more of the same, and fast...

Ecotown after the storm
Greensburg, Kansas, US

The small town of Greensburg was flattened by a 3-kilometre-wide tornado in May 2007, leaving 90 per cent of the 1500-strong population homeless. Days after the storm passed, the community voted to rebuild Greensburg as energy-efficiently as possible. More than half of the rebuilt homes contain state-of-the-art insulation and built-in means of generating renewable energy. There are plans to install ten 1.25-megawatt wind turbines to supply the rest.
Fisheries success

North Atlantic

In 2000, north Atlantic albacore tuna stocks were only half of what could be considered sustainable. Then the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas took the advice of its scientific advisers and radically cut quotas in the region. Stocks have since recovered to within 20 per cent of sustainable levels.
Changing places

Totnes, Devon, UK

Totnes is a leading example of the transition movement, a global organisation which now boasts some 600 communities keen to equip themselves with the tools and know-how to survive when oil supplies run dry and climate change bites. Among other things, Totnes has its own currency, its inhabitants are growing and promoting local produce, and they have set up their own sustainable-building company.
Going carbon-neutral

Costa Rica

Costa Rica already generates around two-thirds of its energy from renewable sources, and over a third of its land has been designated as national park. In 2008 the nation took things a step further, making a pledge to go carbon-neutral by 2021. Around 12 million trees have been planted in the past two years, funded in part by a tax on gasoline. The next step is to offset the carbon dioxide produced by the farming and packaging of its main exports, bananas and pineapples.
The good life

Todmorden, West Yorkshire, UK

The community in this small town has embarked on a mission to transform every spare bit of green space into a communal larder. Its schools and public parks are bursting with vegetable plots, there's a 200-tree orchard in the town centre and crops are even sprouting in the town's cemetery. Residents can harvest this public produce for free. Todmorden hopes to be fully self-sufficient in fruit, vegetables and eggs by 2018.
No cars, thanks

Vauban, near Freiburg, Germany

Residents of Vauban, a new suburb of Freiburg in Germany built on the site of an old army barracks, have done what many suburbanites regard as impossible: given up their cars in favour of travel by bicycle and tram. The 30 per cent of residents that chose to keep their cars have to park them on the outskirts of the suburb. The rest use public transport or hire cars when they need them from a car club.
Energy sharing

Samsø, Denmark

The small Danish island of Samsø has become the model for community energy generation. Almost every household owns shares in the local wind farm, and the 4300 residents produce their own heat by burning locally grown straw in community heating plants. They also run their vehicles on rapeseed oil. The island's 21 wind turbines generate more electricity than the residents need, allowing them to sell the excess to the mainland.
Recycling improvers

Czech Republic

The Czech Republic could soon be the world recycling champion, overtaking established leaders such as Germany and Belgium, according to the latest figures from the European Union. The country has more than doubled how much packaging it recycles, from 29 per cent in 2002 to 63 per cent in 2006. It is now setting its sights on improving recycling rates for electronic and organic waste.
Rainwater harvesting

Rural India

Water tables across India are falling fast, threatening crops. Some rural areas have bucked the trend by re-embracing the art of rainwater harvesting. Residents of the village of Limbadia in western Gujarat have built small dams on local rivers, allowing monsoon run-off to seep into underground reservoirs. The village's wells now leak at the surface and long-dried streams have reappeared.
No wood required

China / sub-Saharan Africa

China is fast becoming a leader in designing affordable, environmentally friendly technologies for the rural poor of the developing world. Solar ovens, for instance, concentrate the sun's rays to create heat and cook food, reducing wood and charcoal use. Chinese companies have begun exporting solar technology to sub-Saharan Africa, while NGOs based in the US and South Africa are providing cookers in Kenya, Zimbabwe and Zambia.
Sun, not coal

Rizhao, northern China

In Rizhao, 99 per cent of all households use solar power to heat their waterMovie Camera - the result of a decade of government subsidies for solar research and development, financial incentives, education programmes and building regulations. The Worldwatch Institute, a research organisation based in Washington DC, calculates that it saves families 3 to 6 per cent of their income compared with electrical heating. Air quality in the region has also improved.
Bottled-water ban

Bundanoon, New South Wales, Australia

In July, the residents of Bundanoon voted to ban the sale of bottled water. The vote came after a company announced plans to tap the local aquifer, bottle the water in Sydney and sell it back to the town. Locals can now pay to refill their bottles with chilled, filtered tap water in stores, or fill up for free at public water fountains - saving 200 millilitres of oil for every litre of bottled water not produced.