Cities can’t just consume resources, they also have to contribute to producing and restoring the resources. Fortunately, there are some examples showing that cities actually realise the need for a shift and have developed strategies and programs. Irene Garcia has looked at some of these cities. Between 1900 and 2000, global population increased 4 times, but resource demand increased 16 times. Even worse, last year, the collective resource consumption by humanity overshot the earth’s ability to regenerate in August already. This means that we used all the resources the planet produces in 12 months in the first 8 months, and for the rest of the year we were literally in debt to nature. And cities, with a modus operandi fuelling and fuelled by fossil resources like coal, oil and gas, are largely responsible for it, accounting today for 70% of GHG emissions. But often too, cities feel more severely the risks of the climate change they themselves create. Even in a place like New York City, one of the most advanced and wealthiest cities in … Continue reading Cities, don’t just minimise energy use. Challenge it!