Jeff Egnaczyk alerts us to DestiNY USA (yes, that's the way they're spelling it), a new "Mall of America"-style development underway in upstate New York. The notable -- and potentially worldchanging -- element is the emphasis the developers are putting on their planned use of renewable energy to operate the facility. They claim that DestiNY USA will be 100% renewable energy-powered, and have a lengthy flash animation about the biodiesel-fueled power/heat/cooling/laundry/greenhouse system they're going to put in.
As Jeff notes, the details are slim and are currently more vague promises than actual delivery, but the potential is interesting. DestiNY USA is definitely worth keeping an eye on -- let's hope they live up to their promises. If successful, it could be a terrific way of demonstrating the power of green design.
(Thanks, Jeff!)
Comments (6)
Wow . . .
This sounds like the set-up for a pop-SF novel that ends with a handful of bedraggled survivors crawling out of a maintenance tunnel after robots / smart buildings / genetically engineered servant-lemurs go dingo and decide to eliminate the inefficient carbon bipeds.
It could also be an enormous financial fiasco.
I'll be watching this carefully. It should be interesting, no matter what happens.
Posted by Stefan Jones | December 6, 2004 2:32 PM
Posted on December 6, 2004 14:32
Man. Somebody ate their "Think of a massively interconnective system" wheaties in the morning. If they can pull this off (Which I unfortunately agree would be a colossal feat, but I'm holding out hope) it could be an amazing catalyst for some other concepts for sustainability. Having said that...
I know we have to take victories where we can, but if there really are going to be thousands of guests to upstate New York, I can't see them walking. I wonder if mega-developements like this will create more carbon emissions by encouraging long car trips than they save with their closed-cycle system. At the same time, I understand that it would be tough to get such a complexly connected system to work in thousands of people's hometowns simultaneously so they wouldn't have to travel long distances in cars.
It's quite a pickle, but I guess it's good that they're at least broaching the issue. I just hope this doesn't make biodiesel look like some crackpot thing from Bioshpere 2...
Posted by Dominic Muren | December 6, 2004 6:15 PM
Posted on December 6, 2004 18:15
I haven't been able to confirm it, but a piece that the Travel Channel did on the Mall of America claims that the mall is heated exclusively with sunlight and body heat.
Posted by Joseph Willemssen | December 6, 2004 8:00 PM
Posted on December 6, 2004 20:00
not to mention the sort of unhindered consumption that a mall encourages. i would not dare to call it a sustainable endeavour, that would be a dangerous misnomer that we need to be careful to avoid. while it is great that all their energy will be renewable, we must ask ourselves do we really need another mall? are they using this merely as a media ploy to greenwash a mall's socially, environmentally, and mentally destrutive role in our society?
Posted by alex | December 6, 2004 8:59 PM
Posted on December 6, 2004 20:59
err i figured on the allusion to the mall of america made this a mall too. then i went to the website and discovered that it in fact wasn't. But still my arguments against consumtimption hold. How much water does it take to to feed 100-acres of glass enclosed park? why does new york need to create artificial outdoor experiences indoor? this is worldchanging?
Posted by alex | December 6, 2004 9:29 PM
Posted on December 6, 2004 21:29
Oh, man, that video was just so creepy. If it weren't for the grey-haired people in some of the scenes, I'd have thought I was watching Logan's Run, with some of Silent Running spliced in.
Posted by Patrick Di Justo | December 7, 2004 8:32 AM
Posted on December 7, 2004 08:32