When I talk with green grads I tell them to go to Sweden, learn, then come back to import and employ Swedish engineering and hardware.

High-speed electric train --> 2 grams of CO2???

Does that seem like a reasonable number? Or perhaps they meant 2 kilograms?

They used concentric plastic pipe with hard foam insulation between the walls.  They have trench machines that lay the pipe.  Cities are interconnected with large pipes, as are nearly all of the buildings.

It's wonderful that they're working so hard, and started so early.  Maybe this shining example will help people believe it's possible.

I hope that wooden highrise has good fire protection though.

I have long admired Sweden's bicycle roads, mass transit systems, and municipal hot-water heat that also melts snow and ice on key roads and sidewalks in several towns and cities, not just Vaxjo.  Add to that wonderful nationwide health care, child care, and education systems. . . not to mention dedication to military neutrality and peace keeping. They are a model for other nations to imitate.

I am far more concerned about cooling my home than with heating it, however.  Hot, muggy, midwestern summers are down right uncomfortable without central air.  I've managed to make it through most of June without turning on my central air (supposedly "energy efficient")but I don't know that I'll manage to make it through July and August with just a few fans.

Any suggestions on staying cool other than camping out in a swimming pool?

"We must be the change we wish to see in the world." -- Mahatma Ghandi

Good idea, I think otherwise it becomes inefficient: my grandfather, a construction engineer with forty or fifty years experience in Russia is convinced that individual boilers are more efficient than a centralized heating facility a la Moscow's heating. Granted that this system is aging and wasn't terribly efficient to start with, but the same could be said for plentiful octupi(uses?) that occupy basements in Syracuse and other central NY locations. I will go with his experience.

I think the only way that centralization would be a boon is if the buildings are very close to the facility, and in a large city, heat losses would be too great to call it efficient.

The motive power for the train comes off their nearly carbon-free electric grid. Hence yes, it's possible that a ride on the train generates almost no carbon dioxide.

Co-generation (using waste heat from electric generation) and district heating/cooling (which can be done with a ground source heat pump) are technologies that are as yet underappreciated within green building circles -- mostly because they require that we think on a larger scale than the individual building, and do require rather high densities. However, many downtown areas and college campuses have realized the cost and fuel savings of such systems.

Using the energy to clear sidewalks also keeps poisonous salt out of surface waters.

"Switzerland, Finland and Sweden are the world's most competitive economies according to The Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007, released by the World Economic Forum on 26 September 2006. "

I think this is what the author of the original article was referring to.

Relative competitiveness rank, not absolute size of the economy.