World Cities Summit Issue, Jun 2008

The Environment as Capital
Dodo J. Thampapillai

Related to the EKC observation is the growing belief that emissions trading markets will reduce pollution levels to acceptable ones, such as those dictated by the Kyoto Protocol. It is certainly desirable, if not essential, to work towards much lower pollution loads compared to present levels. But to contend that emissions trading will resolve global environmental problems and deliver the sustainability of economies is too ambitious and foolhardy. Both the EKC observation and the Kyoto Protocol overlook an important bio-physical reality, which is that the restoration of environmental sinks will not depend on the reduction of marginal pollution loads but a reduction in the cumulative pollution loads. Global warming and climate change are manifestations of the fact that cumulative pollution loads exceeded threshold levels of environment sink capacities. The implication of this is that governance regimes must seek very different types of policies and practices. It is equally important to appropriately train those who will govern.

CLOSED LOOP SYSTEM
When the importance of cumulative pollution loads is acknowledged, then closed loop production systems will begin to figure prominently in public policies. A closed loop system is one where waste is either recycled as an input into another process or returned to nature as harmless material. The objective is to prevent pollution loads from entering environmental sinks so that the sinks have sufficient time to heal and re-commence the provision of service flows. At least four areas of closed loop production options are evident in many city/urban areas. These are: Sewerage Treatment Systems; Air Conditioning and Heating Systems; Energy Supply Systems; and Innovative Methods of Commodity Development.

Sewerage Treatment Systems
Sanitation and hygiene are not the only issues that surround sewerage treatment. Because this activity eventually relies on a variety of environmental sinks—oceans, lakes, rivers and subterranean ecosystems—efficient methods of sewerage treatment have far reaching implications for sustainability. In this context, Singapore’s Public Utilities Board (PUB) offers a framework which other cities can emulate. In this city-state, every home is connected to a system where the treatment is so advanced that the recovered water is reusable for both industrial and potable purposes.

Besides the issue of water conservation, it is equally important to note that the extent of treatment renders the residues that get deposited into the ocean sink to be inert. Most coastal cities in the world deposit untreated sewage into ocean sinks on the grossly mistaken assumption that the ocean is an infinite sink. For example, Sydney, Australia pumps out at least 12 million litres of untreated raw sewage into the Pacific Ocean each day.¹⁹ Imagine the cumulative load of pathogenic material that would have accumulated if one tallies all other coastal pumping stations in Australia and the number of years of this activity. Some would argue that the ocean is not a static body of water and that wave actions and oceanic movements will render the deposits harmless. This may be true if the loads of deposition are small and not continuous over time. However, scientific evidence now indicates that the quality of the Pacific Ocean on the Eastern seaboard of Australia could be seriously compromised. It is this type of practice (amongst others) that has rendered nearly half the Baltic Sea (below a certain depth) to be lifeless.

It is plausible to argue that the sink capacity of all oceans in all continents is compromised owing to improper methods of sewerage treatment. The oceans are the world’s largest naturally occurring carbon sink. The sink capacity of the oceans, when restored, could in turn restore balance to the carbon cycle.

Air Conditioning and Heating Systems
Compared to 20 years ago, every home and building in almost every city is now equipped with either an air conditioner (in tropical countries) or a heat pump (in temperate countries) or a reverse-cycle unit (mainly in temperate countries). Air conditioners generally pump out hot air—depending on the indoor temperature setting—and hence raise the outdoor ambient temperature. Heat pumps in winter drives out colder air and thereby lower the external ambient temperature.

The sceptics’ response would be that the change in temperature prompted by each unit is miniscule relative to the volume of the earth’s troposphere. However, if one were to add up the number of homes across the globe and across a period of time, then the cumulative effect is significant. Using the closed loop production system (or at least partially), it would mean searching for home/building designs that would reduce the demand for heating and cooling while at the same time enable the capture of the heat/cold emission for reuse within the home/building. For example, in a shopping complex, the building could be designed such that dry-cleaning establishments receive the hot air exhausts (in tropical countries) and cold rooms for refrigeration receive the cold air exhausts (in temperate countries). In both cases, the partial loop closure reduces the energy demand imposed on the grid.

Energy Supply Systems and Commodity Development
Greenhouse gas concerns have already ushered in several alternative energy initiatives which range between energy saving devices and the development of alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels. For example, the Australian firm Oceanlinx has developed a device that converts wave energy into electrical energy; it currently has in place about six urban energy supply projects, each delivering between 5 to 15 megawatts of peak capacity. Entrepreneurs based in the United States (US) are attempting to popularise electric cars that utilise recharging stations on the mobile phone model.

The closed loop manufacturing model has already permeated business and is reported to have generated revenues amounting to US$53 billion in 1996 within the US manufacturing industry. There are numerous other examples of environmental innovations. One of the more prominent ones is the Hypercar which uses cheaper and recyclable material for the car exterior and interior, including a combustion system that significantly reduces reliance on fossil fuels and hence reduces toxic emissions. The building industry has also recently proposed the manufacture of building materials from renewable sources (such as making bricks from pulp and paper) and, at the same time, designing buildings that significantly reduce the demand for heating, insulation and lighting.

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