Browsing by Author "Ghitter, Geoff"

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    An Exploration of how Energy-Related Ecosystem Services Provided by Extensive Green Roofs in Alberta may be Quantified Using Life Cycle Assessment Tools
    (2015-12-24) Mtshiya, Fikile; Wondimagegnehu, Getachew Assefa; Ghitter, Geoff; Keough, Noel
    This thesis explores ways to assign values to an ecosystem service provided by extensive green roofs: indoor temperature regulation of commercial buildings. The objective is to quantify this service from three perspectives; energy, environmental impacts and cost. A representative green roof, the AEI, is used along with roof evaluation modules. A 0.4 °C indoor temperature increase in winter results in no reduction in heating load. In summer, a 3.3°C indoor temperature decrease results in a cooling load decrease of 5 427.42 kWh (four-storey building) and 12 883 kWh (thirteen-storey building). From an LCC perspective, the AEI's simple payback period exceeds its 20 year lifespan. The NPV and IRR are calculated as highly negative numbers which indicates that the financial cons of the AEI outweigh the pros. In summary, from an indoor energy reduction lens the AEI will not reduce heating loads but will reduce cooling loads.
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    Sustainability Matters: Prospects for a Just Transition in Calgary, Canada’s Petro-City
    (University of Calgary Press, 2021-09) Keough, Noel; Ghitter, Geoff
    Through close examination of one city’s struggle for a just transition to a post-carbon world, Sustainability Matters argues for a global, holistic, and radical understanding of the importance of sustainability. Calgary, Alberta is a culturally diverse urban metropolis. Sprawling and car-dependent, fast-growing and affluent, it is dominated by the fossil fuel industry. For 30 years, Calgary has struggled to turn sustainability rhetoric into reality. Sustainability Matters is the story of Calgary’s setbacks and successes on the path toward sustainability. Chronicling two decades of public conversations, political debate, urban policy and planning, and scholarly discovery, it is both a fascinating case study and an accessible introduction to the theory and practice of urban sustainability. A clear-eyed view of the struggles of turning knowledge into action, this book illuminates the places where theory and reality converge and presents an approach to municipal development, planning, and governance that takes seriously the urgent need to address climate change and injustice. Addressing a wide variety of topics and themes, including energy, diversity, economic development, and ecological health, Sustainability Matters is both a critique of current practice and a vision for the future that uses the city of Calgary as a microcosm to address issues faced by cities around the world. This is essential reading not only for every Calgarian working for a vibrant and sustainable future, but for all those interested in in the future of cities in a post-carbon world.