If there is any place in Malaysia that can be our eco-city, it would be Putrajaya. Putrajaya is a place where people live near their workplaces while good clean public transport makes every area accessible. Designing and putting up buildings for mixed use, combining work and residential areas will minimise commuting. Putrajaya's network of cycle and footpaths will help the city achieve close to zero vehicle emissions. A buffer zone of managed wetland between the city and the natural wetland helps maintain a balanced ecosystem. All these already make it easier to create a community with low energy consumption that is carbon free. Putrajaya Corporation needs to do more:
- While the city's buses are powered by natural gas, clean technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells must be used power public transport.
- Buildings must be designed to help reduce energy use, making efficient use of energy sources and generating energy from renewable sources. It is easy to have buildings with photovoltaic solar panel cells. Wind turbines, too are practical ways of harnessing energy and the technology to do so is already available and used elsewhere.
- There must be processes to capture and purify rain and all buildings should be fully insulated to minimise the waste of energy.
- Organic waste such as recycled city waste, palm oil biomass, rice husks and vegetable peels must be recycled to generate electricity. Organizations like Boustead Plantation and LaFarge Cement have developed and are using technologies that efficiently recycle waste for energy.
No comments:
Post a Comment