Showing posts with label United Nations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label United Nations. Show all posts

Thursday, 2 February 2012

UN-Habitat: I'm a City Changer

"I'm a City Changer is a global movement to share and spread individual, corporate, and public initiatives that improve our cities."


Join us as we share our stories and work together to achieve resilient, productive, green cities throughout the globe. 


Share your story today!
"Be the change you wish to see in the world." - Mahatma Gandhi




10 Reasons to be a City Changer:



"21st Century Challenges are in Cities
With over half of the world’s people living in cities, urban areas are the focus point of the impact of rapid urbanization, globalization and climate change.

World Population is growing
Global population in cities will reach 60% by 2030 and 70% by 2050. The number of cities with more than 1 million inhabitants has exploded to over 450, more than 20 of which are ‘megacities’, with a population of more than 10 million.

For No Slums
1 billion people of global population reside in sub-standard housing and informal settlements that lack adequate shelter and basic services. By 2020, an estimated 889 million urbanites across the world will reside in slums and squatter settlements characterized by an absence of any formal urban planning.

For Facing Climate Change
Urban population growth and changing consumption patterns put tremendous pressure on our limited resources. There is mounting evidence of the risks posed by climate change for urban areas and their growing populations which affect water supply, physical infrastructure, transport, ecosystem goods and services, energy provision, industrial production and economies.

For Fewer Emissions
Urban mass concentration entails that cities are consuming most of the worlds’ energy and are responsible for about 70 per cent of total emissions of our planet.

Urban Areas are an Economic Opportunity
Urbanization and urban density brings value. A compact and well-planned city offers businesses a comparative advantage in terms of competitiveness and employment. Poor and disadvantaged persons living in cities are more likely to be lifted out of poverty than their rural counterparts.

Cities are the Future of Younger Generation
Globally, young people aged 15-24 years represent 18 per cent of the world's population. 85 per cent of the world’s young people live in developing countries, where they often comprise a large portion of their communities. An increasing number of young people around the world are growing up in cities – especially in the fast-growing cities of sub-Saharan Africa, Asia and Latin America. In many cities around the continent, more than 50 per cent of inhabitants are under the age of 24.

Cities are Creative and Productive
Cities are the engines of wealth creation and innovation, with the 40 largest urban mega-regions accounting for 66% of global economic activity and 85% of all technological and scientific innovation. Cities capitalize on their economies of agglomeration and scale to deliver opportunities for livelihood generation across all strata of the socio-economic pyramid.

We Love Cities
Cities are the place where our life goes on, our community and where we are related with each other.

It is the Time to Change
If we work together, we can achieve better cities for all. It is the time to start changing; now is the time for City Changers."

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day! 

Friday, 4 November 2011

Restoring the Power

How Poverty Stricken Nations Can Recapture Independence & Wealth Through Sustainable Energy


In early 2011 when the UN classified internet access as a basic human right, it became evident that the one out of every five people on this planet who live without electricity lack this privilege. Among those without electricity, it is 80% likely that they live in a rural area as these areas lay outside the reach of the expansive energy grid systems that fuel our urban centres.

To solve their energy problems, people without electricity often burn up whatever fuel source is around them which causes damage to both the environment and their own health. Most people living without electricity have little means to change their situation, as they primarily originate from the poverty stricken nations in Sub-Saharan Africa & South Asia.



Since most electrically bereft people live in rural areas, they must either be given the needs to manufacture energy where they are or be connected to nearby urban power grids, often at a significant cost. The flexibility of renewable energies as a power source is an aid that must be used to not only liberate but also sustain the people of developing nations.

Sub-Saharan Africa & Southern Asia are some of the most solar drenched areas on the planet which could facilitate localized energy production operations. With a fully developed solar energy market, impoverished rural people could establish their own personal power supply with the option to contribute to any electrical grid should they chose to connect with them. Though high start-up costs have limited big scale investment in third world solar energy systems, non-profits like the Solar Electric Light Fund are investing in exemplary projects across the world that enhances both the health and income of the people in those communities.


Click here to read an article on the Solar Electric Light Fund’s initiatives in Africa


Energy for Opportunities

Canadian based non-profit Energy for Opportunities (EFO) was founded in 2008 and already boasts multiple solar operations that have made an enormous impact in the lives of West Africans.

Operating out of Freetown, Sierra Leone, EFO installs solar stations in community buildings like governments and hospitals using financial aid from multiple donors, like the UN Population Fund & Engineers Without Borders. EFO doesn’t just introduce electricity into the lives of rural Africans, but prosperity and education too. Thorough rigorous training in solar maintenance, citizens of these nations are provided an educational opportunity and the accompanying job-security as a solar maintenance worker.

EFO has illustrated through its African projects that ridding the planet of its carbon emissions, by replacing kerosene and disposable batteries with panels that tap into the abundant radiance of the sun, is both a noble and profitable direction for the world to follow.
Click here to hear testimonials about how Energy For Opportunities has impacted the lives of Africans.






Solar Soda Bottles

Watch how, with no electricity, these small villages are bringing light to where there was none:



Thank you for taking the time to learn more about renewable energy - Knowledge Is Power! For more information go to www.endeavorscorp.com or write to us at info@endeavorscorp.com if you have questions or want to get involved. Have a green day!

http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/jschmidt/renewable_energy_keeps_growing.html - Switchboard’s blog about recent energy trends 
http://www.iea.org/weo/electricity.asp - IEA’s electricity access 
http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/06/internet-a-human-right/ - Wired’s Report of new UN regulations 
http://earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/339 - Earth Trend’s report on electricity access 
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=electricity-gap-developing-countries-energy-wood-charcoal – Scientific American’s Report on developing countries electricity gap