CO, Peter Sam RAGUDO, Gabriel Phillip

CONCEPCION, Fatima Grace SANTIAGO, Mary Rose

4-BIO1

Sustainable Development Plan

PLAN: Use of Green Infrastructure and Solar-Powered Factories

Green Infrastructure
Green infrastructure (GI) is a network of healthy ecosystems often provides cost-effective
alternatives to traditional 'grey' infrastructure and offers many other benefits for both citizens
and biodiversity. This promotes the use of nature-based green infrastructure solutions.
(European Commission, 2016).

Solar Power
Solar power is produced by collecting sunlight and converting it into electricity. This is done by
using solar panels, which are large flat panels made up of many individual solar cells.
(Alternative Energy News, 2018)

1. How will your plan meet the Once-ler and his town citizen's economic needs?

Our plan of utilizing the practice and systems of Green infrastructures and solar
powered industrial factories are essential and efficient when it comes to the economy. As seen
in the video, the Once-ler and his town has an economy that heavily relies on natural resources,
particularly the truffula trees. Without the trees, the economy stops as failure to produce the
thneeds resulted in the failure of meeting the citizen’s needs. A domino effect occurs as income
is lost, jobs become unavailable and the citizens eventually leave the town. Given that the
system of using green infrastructures involves that promotion of building a community with
widely spread trees and plants, of which could be the truffula trees themselves, this practice
will drive the economy into a sustainable level in order to meet both the economic needs and
environmental needs. More jobs can be made available to the citizens, including plumbing,
landscaping, engineering, building, design and more. Moreover, using solar powered factories
can help make production of the thneeds more efficient and more environmentally friendly,
allowing a boost in the economy. An increase in the production, in this case in a cleaner
approach, will increase profit for the Once-ler and will meet the citizen’s needs as well.
2. How will your plan use environmentally-friendly technologies? Be specific and cite examples.

Our plan will rely on clean, affordable, and renewable energy which reduces the
emissions of greenhouse gases that harm the environment. We plan to manufacture the
thneeds in our Solar-powered Industrial Factory. We will use and depend solely on solar energy
to power our manufacturing company, much like what the company IKEA is trying to do right
now. You can see IKEA’s commitment to sustainability at the store. They have more than
700,000 solar panels powering its stores, and they also plan to start selling them to customers
in the UK. In 2012, IKEA announced its goal to be powered by 100 per cent renewables by 2020.

3. How will your plan protect and conserve the environment, including both biotic and abiotic
resources?

Green Infrastructure is associated with a variety of environmental, economic, and

human health benefits, many of which go hand-in-hand with one another. There are a lot of
ways this can protect and conserve the environment:

1.) Green infrastructure techniques increase stormwater infiltration rates, thereby reducing
the volume of runoff entering our combined or separate sewer systems, and ultimately
our lakes, rivers, and streams.
2.) The techniques infiltrate runoff close to its source and help prevent pollutants from
being transported to nearby surface waters.
3.) The plants and soils that are part of the green infrastructure approach serve as sources
of carbon sequestration, where carbon dioxide is captured and removed from the
atmosphere via photosynthesis and other natural processes.
4.) Trees and vegetation absorb certain pollutants from the air through leaf uptake and
contact removal. If widely planted throughout a community, trees and plants can even
cool the air and slow the temperature-dependent reaction that forms ground-level
ozone pollution (smog).
5.) Greenways, parks, urban forests, wetlands, and vegetated swales are all forms of green
infrastructure that provide increased access to recreational space and wildlife habitat.
6.) An increasing number of studies suggest that vegetation and green space - two key
components of green infrastructure - can have a positive impact on human health.

With global warming on the rise, and species and habitats decreasing, the chances for
ecosystems adapting naturally are diminishing. Many different parts of ecosystems are being
affected. Global warming could have many impacts on fish and other aquatic species. Some
bodies of water may become too warm for the fish who inhabit that area. The global warming
can also change the chemical composition of water, therefore the amount of oxygen in the
water may decline, leaving pollution and salinity levels to increase. more than 20% of world's
freshwater fish have become extinct, endangered, or threatened in the recent decades. The
increase in salinity would damage freshwater ecosystems that contain sawgrass and slough.
Water is also undoubtedly a natural resource that is essential for the maintenance of ecosystem
viability. Precipitation will change dramatically along with other local climate conditions.
Plants also have little ability to adapt to the changing climate. If global warming continues to
grow- growing seasons, rainfall patterns, storms, and cycles of flood and drought will occur
causing rapid changes in the range and distribution of plants worldwide. All plants and animals
everywhere will be affected in some way.

Renewable energy, such as solar, has two components that are valuable to society—the
electricity itself and the environmental benefits. We plan to manufacture the thneeds in our
Solar-powered Industrial Factory. Not only it can cut electricity bills by 30%, it can also decrease
greenhouse gas emissions that are essential in combating climate change and global warming.
Fossil fuels, such as coals and natural gas, are burned to produce traditional electricity, and the
primary cause of air pollution and global warming. The main goal of using solar power to
produce clean energy is to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels which are harmful to our
environment that can greatly affect our biotic and abiotic resources

4. How will your plan meet the social needs that insure a quality of life for human beings?

Social needs in a community include the physiological needs, being water, air, food,
shelter, clothing, etc. In addition, other needs that present a sound quality of life include the
need for safety and security, both from biotic and abiotic factors. In the sense of the Once-ler
and his town, the main concern is the amount of pollution that hinders a good quality of life for
humans. The use of practices under green infrastructures allows the restoration of the town in
order to make it less uninhabitable for humans. Given that this involves practices to produce
clean water and healthy forests, not only can our plan eliminate water pollution, but it can also
do the same for land and air pollution, and in the process restore natural resources needed for
quality livelihood.

5. How does your plan balance the quality of the environment with the quality of human life?

This all starts with the plan of using and building green infrastructures. This creates job
opportunities therefore helping gradually decrease poverty and boosts the economy. Getting
jobs in offices that use and promote green technology enhance the employee's health, well-
being and productivity and ensures prosperous and fulfilling lives in harmony with nature.
These green buildings can use renewable energy, making them cheaper to operate. Other than
building climate resilient and flexible infrastructures, the use of green technology reduces
emissions which help combat climate change, saves water resources and helps to protect
forests.

Sources:
http://ec.europa.eu/environment/nature/ecosystems/index_en.htm
https://www.americanrivers.org/threats-solutions/clean-water/green-infrastructure/what-is-
green-infrastructure/
http://www.alternative-energy-news.info/technology/solar-power/