Green Infrastructure:
The difference between civilization and chaos
The lack of green infrastructure will make some cities and towns crumble. Green infrastructure is the approach of substituting existing infrastructure with new technology that exceeds current standards and practices. Those who have successfully implemented green infrastructure will flourish as a town, but for those who still need to, it might be a good idea to start before it’s too late.
The implementation of green infrastructure will help interweave natural aids like soil systems/plants and permeable pavements to help relieve the amount of unfiltered water entering our environment. Green infrastructure permits both the environment and engineered systems to work concurrently to help manage stormwater while mimicking the water cycle. Green infrastructure can be applied on both small and large scales.
Water pollution is predominantly caused by stormwater runoff that is permitted to flow without mitigation or management. After a large storm has occurred, the water must go somewhere. As it flows to our nearest body of water, either by a water channel or stormwater pipes, it picks up harmful pollutants such as oil, trash, bacteria, and heavy metals. Most of the time, this water goes untreated and affects the marine life where the stormwater is being resettled. However, the implementation of stormwater management allows researchers and engineers to help protect all aspects of nature without disrupting it furthermore which is why permeable pavements should be implemented throughout America.
Permeable surfaces allow water to seep through nonporous blocks like grass or concrete so water can flow between the gaps. It is beneficial because nature will act as a buffer before the water penetrates the ground. It will be naturally filtered and will help eliminate pollution entering our waterways. The Federal Highway Administration states that permeable surface systems remove 35% phosphorus and 30% nitrogen. However, these systems have issues filtering out dissolved chemicals, metals, and salts. Many towns have started implementing this relatively new technology. It is effortless to install and maintain. Although it may be more expensive in the short term than concrete, it offers many benefits throughout its life cycle. Towns have even built small reservoirs to hold water for later use that would otherwise have drained away into local waterways.
Green Infrastructure will work alongside existing stormwater management that is currently collecting runoff from roads and parking lots and dispersing it elsewhere . Green infrastructure would help offset stress on current systems and process stormwater where there is less risk of flooding or causing damage. Gray infrastructure is a fancy term often used for stormwater management such as tunnels, gutters, and pipes that bring our stormwater to the nearest body of water. The United States Environmental Protection Agency, also known as the EPA, declares that our gray infrastructure is aging quickly and can no longer manage large volumes of stormwater. As our population continues to expand rapidly, new measures must be executed. Municipalities hoping to keep pace by replacing old gray infrastructure with new gray infrastructure will not achieve their green aspirations.
Towns still suffering with century-old gray infrastructure think new technology is either unavailable or too expensive; both are incorrect. Some municipalities still have combined systems where wastewater and stormwater are mixed into one pipe instead of having separate pipes. Philadelphia’s water department states, “Waterways where a combined sewer outfall is overflowing or has overflowed in the last 24 hours, are unsafe for any type of recreation.” This is an example of what happens when towns still use combined sewer systems. New green infrastructure/technology both processes water without the threat of backing up into treatment plants and alleviates municipal budget pressures.
Towns that implement green infrastructure decrease the workloads on their current treatment systems, which cuts the cost of electricity, which saves hard cash. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, nationwide, municipal wastewater treatment plants are estimated to consume 30 terawatts of electricity. This equates to about $2 billion in annual costs. Electricity alone for operating a stormwater treatment plant consumes 25-40% of a municipalities budget. As mentioned earlier, the population continues to skyrocket, causing a need for strategic stormwater management plans to be set in place. Companies nationwide are rolling out new state-of-the-art data management systems that help energy plants track progress toward their new goals and help determine if more research must be concluded. Money savings and upgradability would be enough reason to start fresh, but green infrastructure also promotes a healthier community lifestyle.
Green infrastructure promotes increased physical activity and boosts mental health. Claudiu CICEA, author of “Green Spaces And Public Health In Urban Areas,” articulates that urban green spaces promote a healthier lifestyle by encouraging walking, running, and other activities. People enjoy being outside when it is a pleasant area. Very few people want to work out or hang out outside if the area is coated with permeable surfaces or unsafe to perform such activities. Being outdoors allows people to get things done while allowing them to relax and reduce their stress. Studies have also shown that $1 spent on physical activity (time and equipment) leads to about $3.20 in medical cost savings. Urban spaces also increase social inclusion by promoting social contact between people and cultural events like festivals and theatre events.
While green infrastructure allows a huge boost of moral for the community, it also increases the economic value of the given area. Many different experts and researchers have concluded that due to green spaces being included within a city/ town, the property value is much higher than without green spaces. Studies show properties adjacent to green spaces are 8%-20% higher than surrounding houses in the neighborhood. Many homeowners are willing to pay more if they are near a local park, school district, or police station. Implementing green infrastructure would significantly increase a municipality’s property values
For generations, towns have permitted the gray to encroach on the green. The results have been environmental degradation, lifestyle diminishment, shorter lifespans, disease. The time to reverse that trend is now. Let’s let the green encroach on the gray to everyone’s benefit.
Reference List
CICEA, C., & PÎRLOGEA, C. (2011). GREEN SPACES AND PUBLIC HEALTH IN URBAN AREAS. Theoretical and Empirical Researches in Urban Management, 6(1), 83–92. http://www.jstor.org/stable/24873277
Energy Data Management Manual for the Wastewater Treatment Sector. (n.d.). November 2, 2022, from https://www.energy.gov/sites/prod/files/2018/01/f46/WastewaterTreatmentDataGuide_Final_0118.pdf
Environmental Protection Agency. (n.d.). EPA. RetrievedNovember 2, 2022, from https://www.epa.gov/green-infrastructure/what-green-infrastructure
Pavements. U.S. Department of Transportation/Federal Highway Administration. (n.d.). Retrieved November 3, 2022, from https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/pavement/
Stormwater. Philadelphia Water Department. (n.d.). Retrieved November 20, 2022, from https://water.phila.gov/stormwater/
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Counterintuitive Fall 2022 
Hi Professor, most of this content you have seen in my definition argument. I took your advice on the definition argument feedback and moved everything accordingly. I worked on new linkage between paragraphs and have also added new ideas of course. I would love to get feedback on my flow and clarity. I would also like to know if I did better on actually writing a causal argument.
Be sure your first sentences offer insight into the advantages of your proposal. A reader wanting a sense of your overall program should be able to scan just your first sentences as an Outline.
Let’s check:
1. Some think green infrastructure is unnecessary, while others ask what green infrastructure is.
—How about: Towns that understand green infrastructure—and especially those that have adopted it—know how beneficial it is.
2. Green infrastructure is the ability to interweave natural aids like soil systems, permeable pavements, and plants to help relieve the amount of unfiltered water entering our environment.
3. Water pollution is predominantly caused by stormwater runoff.
—How about: Water pollution is predominantly caused by stormwater runoff that is permitted to flow without mitigation directly into major waterways without management.
4. Stormwater management is the practice of collecting runoff from roads and parking lots and dispersing it elsewhere where there is less risk of flooding or causing damage.
5. Many towns are stuck in the past and still utilize gray infrastructure installed hundreds of years ago.
—How about: Towns still suffering with century-old gray infrastructure think new technology is either unavailable or too expensive; both are incorrect.
6. According to the U.S. Department of Energy, nationwide, municipal wastewater treatment plants are estimated to consume 30 terawatts of electricity.
7. Claudiu CICEA, author of “Green Spaces And Public Health In Urban Areas,” articulates that urban green spaces promote a healthier lifestyle by encouraging walking, running, and other activities.
8. Green spaces not only promote social activity and social inclusion, but they help increase the economic value of the given area.
9. While green spaces promote a more active lifestyle for its citizens, they could significantly help manage our stormwater.
10. The Federal Highway Administration states that permeable surface systems remove 35% phosphorus and 30% nitrogen.
11. Not only would introducing green technology will provide towns with many solutions for their stormwater management.
See if you can use those example of “How About” to revise your other opening sentences.
I hope that was helpful, BreakingBad.
Provisionally Graded based on your current draft.
This post is always eligible for additional Feedback, Revisions, and a Regrade.
Yes this is useful information Professor. I think it will allow my essay to be clearer and have more flow that incorporates my plan for Green Infrastructure.
I just took the time to rewrite all my beginning sentences and some of my ending sentences. I would like more feedback if you think I need it and a regrade, please.
P1
“that meets the needs of current and future needs”?
—Huh?
P2
The implementation of green infrastructure will help interweave natural aids like soil systems, permeable pavements, and plants to help relieve the amount of unfiltered water entering our environment.
—I think you have two categories here. Natural aids like soil systems and plants, plus man-made hybrids like permeable pavements. Right?
P3
Water pollution is predominantly caused by stormwater runoff that is permitted to flow without mitigation directly into major waterways without management.
—Maybe combine your two mitigations into “without mitigation or management”?
However, the introduction of stormwater management allows researchers and engineers to help protect all aspects of nature without disrupting it furthermore.
—Not until you use it. How about “implementation of stormwater management”?
P4
Gray infrastructure is a fancy term often used for stormwater management. Gray infrastructure often includes tunnels, gutters, and pipes that bring our stormwater to the nearest body of water.
—Combine: Gray infrastructure is a fancy term often used for stormwater management such as tunnels, gutters, and pipes that bring our stormwater to the nearest body of water.
Many municipalities across America are starting to execute new plans, but we are not 100% sure they can support the needs.
—Don’t give away your point: Municipalities hoping to keep pace by replacing old gray infrastructure with new gray infrastructure will not achieve their green aspirations.
P5
Towns still suffering with century-old gray infrastructure think new technology is either unavailable or too expensive; both are incorrect.
—Nice!
New green infrastructure/technology both processes water without the threat of backing up into treatment plants and alleviates municipal budget pressures.
P6
The implementation of green infrastructure would also help cut costs of electricity as it would decrease the workloads of current systems set in place.
—As a follow-up to the last sentence of P5: The money savings is substantial. Towns that implement green infrastructure decrease the workloads on their current treatment systems, which cuts the cost of electricity, which saves hard cash.
—Last transition sentence: Money savings and upgradability would be enough reason to start fresh, but green infrastructure also promotes a healthier community lifestyle.
P7
Green infrastructure promotes increased physical activity and boosts mental health.
P8
Implementing green infrastructure would significantly increase a municipalities property values.
—”a municipality’s property values.”
P9
Green infrastructure not only promotes a more active lifestyle for its citizens, but the newly developed technology will significantly help manage our stormwater.
—You should have completed your stormwater management section before you transitioned to social fitness gains.
Towns have even built small reservoirs that hold water instead of flowing down their local waterways. Towns could also reuse this water and offer it to their community members.
—Towns have even built small reservoirs to hold water for later use that would otherwise have drained away into local waterways.
P10
Green infrastructure will be one of the only solutions that introduces green technology that will provide towns with many upgrades from their current stormwater management practices.
—Huh?
—Does this add any value to what has preceded it?
Not only does green infrastructure propose new practices to upgrade existing gray infrastructure that is significantly outdated, but it also allows nature to start surrounding cities again.
—This might be useful.
—For generations, towns have permitted the gray to encroach on the green. The results have been environmental degradation, lifestyle diminishment, shorter lifespans, disease. The time to reverse that trend is now. Let’s let the green encroach on the gray to everyone’s benefit.
I know I overdid my advice, but you’ve been working so hard, BB, and I do love being part of the process. It’s been such a pleasure collaborating on this project with you. I hope you appreciate the value of revising now that you’ve had a taste of it.
Regraded. Still eligible for a Regrade following substantial Revision, but time is running short.
Loved the feedback, professor. My essay now has improved flow and cut a lot of unecessary words and sentences. I would like a regrade, please.