Environmental Issues

Sustainability is the sustain ability to innovate and progress.
Energy is the fuel of all human activities.
Energy is pre-condition and a catalyst of development.
Cities and energy are related in the rise and fall of the civilization.
Urban and energy systems are capital intensive and have long lives.

Key practical recommendations

For the sustainability of the environment, all of us must learn how to save energy, manage the use of air, water, and soil, to sustain mobility, especially prevent and reduce pollution and reduce the charge to global environment.
 
For socio-economic sustainability, the leaders today and leaders in the future must support and improve the growth and employment in the cities, create more business for the citizens to have source of income, provide more housing for the citizens, and especially promote social justice and equity.

To achieve cultural and political sustainability, there must be democracy in the cities, the citizens must participate in the situations in the cities, and the leaders must provide education to all the citizens.

Citizens and people must be aware in the situations that are happening in the environment, economic, and culture, learn to reuse, recycle and repair to reduce the large amount of garbage.
 
Leader nowadays and leaders in the future must improve the infrastructures in the cities, help and allow the citizens to participating in sustaining the environment, economic, and culture

Sustainable Development, Energy and the City A Civilisation of Concepts and Action
Sustainable Development, Energy and the City A Civilisation of Concepts and Action is one of the many books that were written by Voula Mega, an Engineer and with a PhD degree in Planning and it was published in New York in 2005.

Voula Mega aims to gives insight to the readers, the unspecialized decision-makers, interest citizens, and future leaders about the function of energy, cities, economics, societies and culture. The author wants the readers to understand that the cost of inaction and reliance on technologies and the unsustainable cultural patterns will be intolerable and the ways to sustain the energy and the other factors that are needed to prevent the changes that are happening in the environment. The book focuses on the concepts and action that is related to the cities and energy at the beginning of the sustainability of the civilization.

The concept sustainable development evolved from the ecological concepts to achieve a strong economy, equality in the society and better environment in the future, and encourage the citizens to participate in the sustainable development.

Mega (2005) states that sustainability provides some ways to protect the environment, the soil, water, and air, the sustainability of waste management, energy, the sources of renewable energy, and how to prevent the worsening effects of climate change and global warming is what it value most about the environment. Sustainability is an inventive and a process that seek balance. Sustainability can widens the scope of socio-economics, the cultural criteria and the demands in new ethics, models and patterns. It gives light on the quantitative and qualitative aspects of the development. Sustainability symbolizes the intervention for new opportunities to achieve a better world. It asks for innovation, investment in capital, labor, skills and most of all change. It also offers the cities the opportunities to be democratic spaces involving the macro-regulations of the world and the communities micro-regulation.

Renewable sources of energy include hydropower, solar, wind, biomass and biofuels, geothermal and tidal energy which acts as fundamental vectors to achieve the sustainable energy in the future.

The environment, the cities, the citizens, society, and the health, safety, and harmony in the city are the things that the author wants the people to protect. Cities are the places where people and resources come together, it is the place where future laboratories are built and where cultural patterns are shaped. It is the place where energy technology that improves the resources is developed and adopted. Cities create an environment where economic prosperity, social cohesion and citizenship blossoms. The citizens are the one who will introduce the civilization to sustainability. Harmony will bring back the quality of life in the cities. Health is not only the absence of disease but it also refers to the completeness of physical, social, and mental well-being of a person. Public safety is a challenge for the government safety is not reachable if there are many crimes that are happening in the cities. Crime is one of the factors that affect the living of people it is the cause of unemployment in some cities. The government must give attention to the safety of the citizens to stop the increasing rate of crimes.

Voula Mega uses survey, interviews, case studies, and scientific evidences in her book for the readers to be convinced in what she was telling. Mega (2005, p.105) cited the survey that was conducted near the French nuclear sites it gets the perception of the public in insisting the security of nuclear sites. The survey shows that 65-70 people living near the nuclear sites that the authorities must implement a defensive position. Mega (2005, p.106) cited the interview was conducted at Sweden by Demoskop in December 2000, 83 of the respondents considered that it is important to take into consideration the zero contribution to global warming in deciding about the nuclear power in the future.  Mega (2005, p. 116) cited the case study that was conducted by Trustnet, and it is done to examine the future energy options and the guideline for coping with the liberalization of market, phasing-out nuclear energy. Thirteen out of thirty-three stakeholders agreed in the extension of nuclear power, and six suggested that nuclear power must be abandoned. There is also scientific evidence which reported that EU have reached twice of its targeted emission reduction of 336 million tones, they have reached 578-696 million tones of carbon dioxide.

Voula Mega support human, their safety and health and all of nature but it doesnt mention any support for the animals. Human are the one who uses the infrastructure and the services offered in the cities. Human contribute in the creation of momentum for development. And also, European employers, they are alarmed in the investment and in the increasing attractiveness of the economy in the cities they are also directly open to trade and markets.

Scientific principles and humanistic principles were used in the book. Mega (2005, p. 40) cited The Precautionary Principle this principle is focused on the risks and the regulations that are based on scientific evaluation. It aims to build a general basis in assessing, managing and communicating, risks which are not yet determined by science. Mega (2005, p.226) cited Sustainability Principles, to develop is not only a capital city but it also promotes the harmonious development in the city and its surroundings. Mega (2005, p. 172) cited the Over-arching Principles, it is the belief that social, economic, and environmental policy are balanced. Mega (2005, p. 47) cited that the Driving Principle, states that nothing is impossible and everybody must participate. This is the only humanistic principle that was used in the book.

Technological development is important for thermonuclear fusion, it is necessary in the renewable sources of energy like fuel, cells photovoltaic, large-scale wind farms and biofuels. Technological development is important in increasing the emergence of technology for the new energy. Technology can help in the reduction of the use of energy, services like heating, lighting and mobility. It also reduces the amount of energy that is use in generating the use of systems and a unit of energy. It also decreases the pollutants that are harmful in the environment.

Sustainability of the economy is made-up of the income of the cities, the expense that is use in the development of the environment, and pollution damage like air, water and land pollution. Growth in the economy will be the cause of reducing unemployment in the cities. Economic instrument is a substitute of markets that are expensive and disorganize. Its advantage of economic instrument is that it can be applied in fiscal infrastructure of a city. The success of this depends on meta-policy and institutional context.

Social justice is primary prerequisite in the creation of wealth sustainability. It is the main philosophy of social architecture of the city. It is essential for cities that are reaching sustainability the prevention and stopping the social exclusion. The city with harmony, citizenship that cannot be alleged without equity can be called a social city. New structures that are created will be a helpful solution on the joined-up problems and it will improve action and it will promote social justice.

The main arguments in the book are about the environmental, socio-economic, and cultural and political sustainability. In environmental sustainability it tells us to save energy, learn to manage the quality of our resources, sustain mobility, prevent and reduce pollution. In socio-economic sustainability it tells us to increase the number of employment, build more houses for the citizens, have social justice and equality, and use the space and time efficiently. And in cultural sustainability it tells us to have democracy, participate more in sustaining the culture and traditions, and be creative.

The book wants us to innovate ourselves in sustaining our environment, economy and culture. We must be aware what is happening in our environment, what are the harmful effects of climate change and global warming in the people and in the environment. We must have a solution on how to prevent the destruction of our environment, we must also learn how to recycle, reuse for us to help to reduce the increasing volume of our garbage.

Sustainability cannot be achieve if the citizens are the only who are making their move, the government must also make their move to achieving sustainability. The government must improve the landscape, urban structure, and land infrastructure. There must be increase in jobs, good housing, and continuous improving in the cities. We must do all of this of achieve the sustainability that we our dreaming of.

To illustrate the appropriate approaches the author uses proven studies, exemplary cases, the data that came from UN, the pictures of the representation of some cities in the world, cases that was done by the UNESCO, projects that was conducted by the Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Voula Mega analyzed the information that she used in the book by the means of her own understanding about the situations that are happening in our environment and also with the help of facts, illustrations, figure and the principles, actual surveys, case study, and the information she gather from the selected organization that are related in her book. By the use of these she comes up with the ideas that she presented in her book.

The information that is available in the book can be applied in other situations that are happening in our environment. The tips and her simple solution for the changes that are happening in the environment can be use by the readers, interest citizens, and future leaders to contribute in the prevention of the changes in the environment.

Voula Mega wants the readers of the book to learn how to contribute on the sustainability in environment, economics, culture and politics, in just simple ways. People must learn to save energy, manage the use of air, soil, and water to prevent pollutions and to be aware. For the future leaders, they must improve the employment, business, housing and social justice on the city. There must also be democracy in every city, participation of the citizens in sustaining the environment, economics, culture, and politics. Aside from all of these, every people must help in the continuous improvement, be open on the every situation, be flexible, proactive, inventive, intelligent, and competitive.