FREIBURG - EUROPE’S SOLAR CITY
Imagine living in a city where cars are hardly used and people cycle instead, where waste produces electricity and garbage bins are covered in solar panels?
The German city of Freiburg (also known as Freiburg im Breisgau), is known as the greenest city in Europe and has won many awards because of its innovative ways of planning and building to be more environmentally friendly.
Situated near the ‘Black Forest’, the most interesting thing about Freiburg is that it started working towards helping the environment from the 1970’s, when the first solar power plant was built in the city.
Now, most buildings have solar panels that generate heat and electricity. The heliotrope is a building in Freiburg that rotates to follow the sun and generate power; the city hall is completely covered in Solar panels, generating electricity for itself as well as other buildings. And the soccer stadium has a roof completely covered in solar panels. As you walk through the city, you can see garbage can lids with solar panels on top as well!
Hardly any of the 250,000 people living there own a car and choose to walk, cycle or take public transport, which consists only of electric trams and buses.
The waste disposal system in the city is recycled through a waste incineration plant. The burning waste gives out heat that is used to produce electricity for more than 20,000 households.
Freiburg hopes to use renewable energy 100 percent by 2035 and to become carbon neutral by 2050.
Don’t you think that Frieburg is a good example of how, if we work hard we can try and change the world slowly but surely?
The city has been working to help the environment for more than 50 years.
And with so much of our technology and our way of living hurting the earth we live on at present, we could try little things to help make it a better place.
You could encourage your parents to recycle more and burn less paper and plastic. You could try growing something in your backyard or in a flower pot to make your home a little greener.
You could also learn about programmes your town or village might have to manage a compost bin at home.
These little things can bring about big change, one step at a time, just like in the city of Frieburg.