Tuesday, July 21

In the morning we went to the Rathouseplatz (City Hall) and listened to a presentation on how Freiburg decided to become a “green city.” We heard how the city decided that they needed to take some radical changes if they were to meet a proposed 75% reduction in the emission of carbon dioxide. As a result they decided to embark upon a three-pronged plan. First they would address energy savings by encouraging people to build houses that were more energy efficient as well as houses that did not require any heating system which are known as passiv houses. The idea is that the houses are built using triple-glazed windows and more insulation. Then, using architectural designs that encourage heat recovery from the sun, these houses are able to sustain heat almost all year without using a major heating system. Furthermore, homeowners were able to install solar cells as roofs which would produce the needed electricity for that home. Extra energy that is not used by the homeowner, is injected into the main power grid and homeowners are paid money for that extra power.


Secondly, the city worked on renewable energy. Since Germany leads the way in solar cell technology, the city decided to set up large solar energy plants on large buildings such as stadiums, parking garages, apartment buildings, etc. Wind farms and hydro electricity plants were also set up to produce energy and cut down on the dependency on nuclear energy.



The third goal was to focus on efficient technologies such as co-generation. This idea uses some form of fuel to power a generator. The heat of the engine is then used to provide energy for remote locations.



Following this presentation, we went to Vauban which is considered a show-case area for a green area. Formerly this was the area where French troops were stationed during the Cold War. Houses were built with solar cells as roofs; cars were not allowed among the apartment buildings, bikes and walking are the method of transportation. A concept of car sharing is also used where people take out monthly memberships with Car Share and can then use a car for a set amount of time. Access to these cars is through a member card that opens the doors, and a small key pad in the car allows you to enter a code that will then permit you to start the car and drive.

After lunch we went to Ökostation (Centre for heightening environmental awareness) in Freiburg. Here a green classroom consists of a building for instruction and then several gardens, meadows, and ponds are put in place to help teach students about the usefulness of herbs, how to grow a garden, how to make tea out of herbs. It was a fascinating concept.


We had to board a train to get from Freiburg to --- . Then we had 2 minutes to transfer to another train and make it to Stuttgart. We did arrive without losing any one or any luggage. We checked into the InterCity Hotel and went for supper. After supper Astrid took us on a walk around the centre of the city. It was a very enjoyable walk.