There
is beautiful glimmer of hope sparkling at us over the horizon. A delicious drop
of wonderful news in a world where bad news is all too abundant. Humankind has
once again proven that the wonders we can achieve and the good we can do is far
beyond anything we can imagine. And this time it’s the Danish people’s turn to
stand up and take a bow.
There
is a remarkable city on the distant shores of Denmark. It’s not huge. It has a
population of a bit more than 16,000 people. It’s very old. People first started
settling there as early as 1170. Now that was awhile ago! They say it’s got
some lovely Danish architecture, some attractive scenery and a lot of very
interesting Danish history in its streets.
But
it’s got something much more important than that. It may not be a roaring New
York or a glistening Paris, but it’s got a very big, very, VERY important
lesson to teach the whole rest of the world.
Kalundborg,
Denmark, is home to one of the most sustainable and waste resistant industrial
parks in the world. They manage to operate some of the largest enterprises in
Denmark, and yet they produce a minimum of waste. They call it an Industrial
Symbiosis Network, and it’s remarkable. The environmental impact is amazing.
According to their own web site, they reduce yearly CO2 (carbon
dioxide) submissions by 240.000 tons and they save 3 million m3 of
water, for an opener. Can you imagine what this could lead to if New York,
Paris, Beijing, L.A. and all the other cities, big and small, worked out a way
to follow suit? How much water could we save in a year if we all worked at it?
How much fossil fuel? How many trees? The thought is amazing.
To be
fair, others are listening. Places in the US, the Netherlands, China, India,
the Philippines, Thailand and Sri Lanka have been studying the idea, and even
experimenting with it. But, so far, Kalundborg is the only place to achieve it
on this level of success.
So how
does it work? How do they accomplish such a seemingly impossible thing? On the
outside, at least, it’s very simple. It stems from a concept we all learned
long ago on those children’s T.V. shows, at school and from our parents. It’s
called sharing.
All
that happens is that when a company has a resource left over, it turns it over
to another company that can use it. So, when my company is finished with what
we’re doing and find we have gallons of waste water left over, we turn it over
to your company to boil for your needs. When you’re finished and find you’re
producing too much heat, you pump some of it into the next guy’s factory to
meet his needs. He, in turn, gives his left over waste to another company that
can use it, and so on. Nothing goes to waste. Nearly everything gets used. Isn’t
that something? And the impact to the Earth could be amazing.
So why
aren’t all the cities and industries firmly on board? Well, the concept is
remarkably simple. However, apparently, actually pulling it off is a little
more complicated and involved. However, many people are studying it and trying
to find ways to make it work. It’s very good to know we’re at least headed in
that direction. And Kalundborg has proven to us that we can get there. No, it
won’t be easy or cheap. But then again, the big mess we've made of this planet wasn't easy either.
And as
Mother Nature would be the first to point out, it’s been very costly.
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