How nature is to swallow the abandoned quarry of Alvito

Urban developments have not been favourable to Alvito, Lisbon, an ancient quarry and, later, industrial zone which is today used as a loading zone of rubble and garbage. The Algarve photographer John Gago, of 27 years, wandered by this space in ruins to find "a temporal experiment in which we can observe the passage of time" â€" and how this modifies the space.

"For more harm than the man do to nature, she can always win," explained the photographer to Green Savers. "Here we can see how the flora of this space is starting to swallow the human wreckage in a kind of biological recycling".

A degree in photography and Visual culture from the Instituto de Artes Visuais, Design e Marketing (IADE) in Lisbon, John the Stutterer has collaborated with newspapers and Public Destak and discovered the passion for photography among the Media Sciences studies.

As lovers of abandoned infrastructure, as has repeatedly announced, we cannot fail to commend the photographic session of John the Stutterer. Is the rediscovery of urban horrors that are halfway to the recovery of assets and better urban planning â€" and the area of Alvito deserves a new strategy.

Photos: John The Stutterer

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Investment in green titles already exceeds the €15,4 billion

There are two reasons why the Zurich Insurance Group, one of the world's largest financial companies, is investing about € 1,5 billion in green bonds, or green titles. The first are the environmental benefits of investing in projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and stop global warming. The second â€" and quite important for investors â€" is the profitability of green bonds.

"If there are opportunities that provide market returns as well as tangible and measurable environmental impacts, I consider them as a great investment opportunities," says the Director of Zurich's investment, Cecilia Reyes.

It is now clearer than ever for investors that the green bonds, which provide capital to finance renewable energy projects and cleaned with the promise of return on investment, are a good deal. The purchase of such assets is increasing at breakneck pace and more than €15,4 billion have already been issued in 2014 in the form of green bonds. The Climate Bond Initiative, a non-profit investor group, expects this market reaches the €30,9 billion at the end of the year. This means that the whole of that money will go straight to renewable energies.

The Zurich has risen to double investment in green bonds during the summer. In the spring, Unilever and Toyota issued the first titles of the genre. Even Warren Buffett is investing in green bonds, writes the Guardian.

And why decided now big investors start betting on clean economy? The answer is simple: the green bonds are a financial product that provides nice returns, between 4% to 5%, with a minimum risk. And clean energy projects, aided by cheaper renewable, are environmentally and financially more attractive.

And why are they so important the green bonds in the fight against climate change? Halting climate change will require trillions of euros of additional investment in renewable energy and other clean energy projects and the titles are a fundamental life force to finance these projects.

In fact, the total investment in clean energies should continue to increase, reaching €385,6 billion in 2020 and €771 billion in 2030. Just reaching these values is that there is the likelihood that we can prevent global temperatures increase by more than two degrees Celsius. But the current investment levels, emissions and global temperatures are on the way that should do increase temperatures between four to five degrees Celsius â€" a scenario that will be catastrophic for the economy and the environment.

Foto: Oooah! / Creative Commons

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Orivárzea invests €597 thousand in two photovoltaic plants

In 2013, the managers of Orivárzea, Portuguese producer of rice, decided to increase the sustainability of their products, indirectly, through the installation of a photovoltaic coverage of 174.9 kWp, a project that was effected last May and which covers an area of about 2850 square meters.

This solution takes into account the sustainability, of course, but also weighs on wallet-or rather, make it heavier, figuratively, in the medium and long term. With an investment of € 247,000, the Orivárzea achieves an annual turnover of 17%, recovering all the capital in just five years.

"The Orivárzea is an agri-food company that, in a sustainable manner, develops its activity dede seed production to placement of the rice in the linear. Throughout the process, our concern is to preserve the ecosystem associated with rice production, since there is a flora and fauna associated with this culture, which is vital to the maintenance of wetlands where one inserts the production, "explained Green Savers Joaquim Bravo, director of quality of Orivárzea.

The responsible admits that the photovoltaic energy production unit will "optimize" the company's energy autonomy by promoting an environmental and economic improvement. To produce annually 266.89 MWh, the equivalent to feed 70 dwellings, the photovoltaic installation will avoid annual emissions of 54.2 tonnes of CO2 â€" it would be like planting a forest with the size of 11 football stadiums.

According to Joaquim Bravo, the photovoltaic installation has an estimated period of life of 20 years, and there is no maintenance costs. After this period, the infrastructure will have to be replaced.

In the short term, the Orivárzea will invest € 350,000 in another photovoltaic installation, now on Marecos. "I can't quantify how much we invest in sustainability, but we produce all our rice in an integrated manner. We carry out the management of agricultural waste and we have forwarded the packaging for the Valorfito. Also we have forwarded and separated all the garbage through the Socorsul, "concluded the responsible.

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The results of the photo contest of Survival International

In 1969, the Sunday Times Magazine published an article by Norman Lewis who gave account of the genocide of indigenous peoples in Brazil. The strength of the photographs, the reputed Don McCullin, had enough influence in the creation of Survival International, the global movement that fights for the rights of indigenous people.

To honor the 45 years of Survival International, the Organization organized a photo contest, open to amateur and professional photographers, to try to increase the visibility of these people honestly still â€" and their suffering.

The results were published today and can be seen in this gallery â€" see the photographer's name and where the photo was taken immediately below.

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1. Giordano Cipriani â€" Tocantins Asurini, indigenous, Brazil

2.David Ducoin - igreja de Tarahumara, Mexico

3.Arman Barbuco - Cordillera Central, Philippines

4. Andrew Newey-Arunachal Pradesh, India

5. Nicolas Marino Arch-Kham, Tibet

6. Diego Barrero-Omo Valley, Ethiopia

7. Oartha â€" Shilabati River Pratim, India

8. Fabien Astre-Mentwai Islands, Indonesia

9. Johann Rouseelot â€" Odisha, India

10. Giordano Cipriani â€" Tocantins Asurini, indigenous, Brazil

11. Brave Salvatorre â€" Elm Valley, Ethiopia

12.Sarah Sandring â€" Newfoundland and Labrador, Canadá

13. Christian Declerq-Cusco, Peru

14.Survival International

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305 metre Tower will be installed in the Amazon to monitor climate change

The Brazil and Germany, in a joint effort, will install a tower and 304.8 metres tall in the Amazon to monitor climate change. Amazon Tall Tower, as will call, will determine the amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) absorbed by the largest tropical forest in the world.

The Amazon rainforest absorbs huge quantities of CO2 annually, playing an important role in the climate of the planet. The new Tower, taller than the Eiffel Tower, will help scientists quantify the amount of CO2 absorbed or released annually. To this end, the Tower will be equipped with various monitoring instruments that will collect data on aerosols and greenhouse gases. Given its height will be also possible to investigate the changes and movements of air masses through the forest at large distances, writes the Inhabitat.

"Monitoring is done largely without direct human influence and, as such, ideal to investigate the significance of forest regions to the chemistry and physics of the atmosphere," says project coordinator Jurgen Kesselmeier, researcher at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry.

The Tower will be located about 161km from the city of Manaus and be made of steel, which will be produced in southern Brazil.

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Germany: village produces 500% of energy needs from renewable sources

Wildpoldsried, a small town in the Bavarian region with about 2,600 inhabitants, is leading the German renewable energy movement. In recent years, this village has invested in a holistic range of renewable energy projects, which include 4,983 kWp photovoltaic energy, biogas installations 5, 11 wind turbines and a hydroelectric system.

As a result, the village passed a long energy independence and currently produces 500% more energy than it needs, benefiting from sales to national energy network.

The renewable energy projects in Germany have grown enough in recent years, driven by Government subsidies that allow you to lower costs, reduce energy independence from fossil fuels and nuclear power production. Such a transformation is known in the country as "Energiewende" or "energy transition." As a result of this investment, the Germans should soon meet 30% of energy needs from renewable sources.

At the local level, Wildpoldsried far exceeded the national success. The commitment to renewables officially started in 1999. The initial aim of the village was to produce 100% of the energy they need from renewable energy in 2020, referred to Inhabitat. But the local community has expressed enthusiasm and projects have advanced much faster than expectations. In 2011, was producing Wildpoldsried 321% more than the energy needed and receive €4,4 million from the sale of energy.

Foto: kuberok / Creative Commons

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Where did the inspiration for the hobbit houses modern?

The first green roof construction dating from the years 60, but for centuries the Norse living in houses made with natural materials and that inspired J.R.R Tolkien in his literary works â€" in the homes of hobbit.

The architecture of these houses has a very specific context: in a iced environment and with few trees, the grass was a natural choice for buildings, especially in countries like Iceland and Norway.

The grass provides an insulating layer to ceilings and walls, being not only efficient but also a sustainable approach to construction. Being an abundant resource in nature, it is easy to install and requires little maintenance.

According to Inhabitat explains, these houses were built in the brief time of the year when moderate soil grew grass chunks, herbs and wildflowers.

Today, these houses use synthetic rubber liners to prevent moisture from damaging the roof structure â€" its long useful life can reach 40 years. At that time, the roofs were using only bark of trees, a proofing that, interestingly, had the same 40 years of useful time of life. These shells were collected in the spring, when the upward flow of SAP made of bark was easy to peel off the trees â€" usually birch trees, which are among the most common trees of the regions. This process does not damage the trees.

The basic structure of the House was built with stones and trunks â€" of birch or other species-, with raw wood planks that served as roof boards to support the grass. From the eaves of the roof, the Nordic constructors put overlapping sheets of birch bark, which functioned as large tiles and took the water to drain from the roof to the ground.

A layer of grass about seven inches thick was placed on birch bark, to keep him in place. This process helped the water flowing under the roof and prevented the House of decompose quickly.

A second layer is placed on top of the first, getting a total of 15 inches of coverage. Finally, a trunk was attached horizontally to the base of the roof, along each one of the gutters to prevent the lawn from sliding down.

The rough trunks that were typically used as a wall structure, in conjunction with grass roofs, were compressed by shaking by these, closing every possible draughts and giving some comfort to homeowners.

Unlike hobbits, the Norse were â€" and are. -extremely high people. But its doors were too small, as you can see in the following images, a reflection of the scarcity of existing wood in these places and not the physical structure of the population.

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