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Japanese firm creates fake soil for a greener city
Tokyo (AFP) Feb 25, 2008 Japanese brewer Suntory Ltd. said Monday it had created an alternative to soil to help keep cities green, eyeing a growing market amid the battle against climate change. The company will enter the gardening market next week with the product, which can cover roofs and walls in a bid to ease the so-called "heat-island" problem of temperatures rising in packed urban areas. The phenomenon is especially serious in Tokyo, the world's largest metropolis, which is known for its lack of trees and extensive use of concrete and air-conditioning. With an eye on the growing need to expand green space, Suntory created Pafcal, which it says is suitable for urban areas because it is lighter and more solid than soil. Some 450 grams of the sponge-like material, which is made of the synthetic substance urethane, can be put to the same use as one kilo of soil, the company said. Leafy plants growing in the synthetic soil can reduce the roof temperature by 10 degrees Celsius (18 degrees Fahrenheit). "This will make it possible to plant greenery on roofs and walls of buildings that have less load capacity," said Suntory's executive general manager Norio Kanayama. Japan, home of the Kyoto Protocol to cut greenhouse emissions, has tried to cast itself as a leader in the fight against climate change but it is not on meeting its own obligations under the treaty as its economy recovers from recession in the 1990s. Buildings in Japan, which experiences about 20 percent of world's major earthquakes, have tight architectural restrictions on their load capacity. Tokyo's government has ordered all new medium-sized buildings have gardens on the rooftops to compensate for the lack of trees. Related Links
China Facing Great Hurdles Achieving Energy Conservation
Washington (UPI) Feb 22, 2008 The success of China's amended Energy Conservation Law, which goes into effect this April with stronger regulations for transportation and construction, and improved administrative oversight, remains dubious and depends on the nature of its implementation and enforcement. |
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