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Brief Essay On Building Sustainability
Green buildings essay
Impacts of construction on the environment
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Introduction
Progressive deterioration of global warming and protection of environment are important areas of interest for the whole world. Buildings as an underlying cause are responsible for global warming. Edwards (1996) pointed out that building has a key role to play as they are one of the major sources of energy consumption. And he (1996) also stated with some statistics to support this point that buildings account for about half of all global – energy, water, and raw materials as well as in the EU (Edwards, 1996, P. xiv). And another data is that buildings constitute about 45 per cent of carbon-dioxide emissions (John, 1998, P. xi). In addition, buildings should be accountable to most of land loss in agriculture. But it does not mean that we should reduce the amount of construction and if possible, it also hardly to achieve, because both the process and the finish of construction are essential and important to human beings. Not only is Construction the second largest industry in terms of employment, but also buildings have a great influence on the safety and health of people in the home and at work. Professionals and scientists have already recognized the importance of the problem. On the one hand, buildings are essential. On the other hand, the impacts of construction are harmful to our environment. It seems paradox. Therefore, we need to transfer the construction industry to “green”. Briefly, green building can low impact on environment, to the utmost extent save energy and efficiently use resource. Therefore, green building is the best answer, and of course its development is crucial to us. This paper will overview the development of green or sustainable building from different perspectives, by first defining what is gr...
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... and to promote further development, local authorities in China should has a role in encouraging better design through regulation, example and by funding energy advice schemes. Firstly, China already and should push some more compulsory standards in energy conversation of construction through making policies throughout the whole nation. Furthermore, UK government has already aware that they can not expect the private sector to follow green practices if government does not set an example. Thus China government should set more examples of green building, particularly in commercial buildings and be strongly suggested that all of governmental constructions should be “green” first. Lastly, government also should take the effect in funding advice schemes which offer energy guidelines, publicize best practice, and undertake monitoring of the performance of green buildings.
LEED, or Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design, is a certification program for green buildings with stringent requirements for building energy efficient and environmentally responsible structures. Some requirements of this program include specific building materials, smart grid capable, gray water reclamation systems, green space minimums, high levels of insulation and low thermal transfer glass (US Green Building Council). Green buildings are a must if we are to sustain our current level of growth. Despite the higher initial cost of these buildings, the long term energy savings make these buildings a smarter choice for
The urban heat island (UHI) is a metropolitan area with a relatively higher temperature compared to other surrounding rural areas. This relatively flat megacity houses more than ten million people with half of the population residing in the Seoul National Capital Area. The density of the city remains high with 17,288 people per square mile. With the climate on the border line of humid subtropical and humid continental, the metropolitan infrastructure and human activities causes the city to be more susceptible to climate change as well as the UHI effect. The city pertains specific interest as it is my home city, and I believe that this topic is worthy of investigation as South Korea’s rate of urbanization ranks 6th amongst Asian nations and due to such rapid urbanization, environmental problems emerged. As Seoul is an inland city, the intensity of UHI is large, and the biodiversity and population both face detrimental threats and disruptions due to the increase in temperature and formation of heat waves. Research discovered that annual maximum UHI intensity is strongest in Seoul is 3.34’C. In this research, the Urban Heat Island effect in Seoul, South Korea will be assessed at three distinct locations within the city; Chung Gye Chun, an artificial river, already known to have increased quality of air and lowered the temperature of nearby areas, Hannam Village The Hill, a residential location with abundance of roadside trees, bushes, artificial waterfall and grass with 3 to 6 story buildings surround the area, and Myeong Dong, one of the most crowded areas in Seoul, with buildings, high level of human concentration. By using both raw data and published resources of this field, this essay will evaluate the correlation between inf...
After several years of use and abuse of natural resources, humanity begins to awaken from its stunned by the advances of technology, to understand the magnitude of the impact caused by its presence in the environment. At present, trends in various aspects of human activity seek to achieve a harmonious relationship with nature; one of them is the practice of interior design. The main reason because the construction industry, in particular, has incorporated especially such attention, is the result that it has proved to be one of the main sources of pollution in water, air, and noise
In conclusion, the designers and builders of the tower have an undesirable job: creating a building that is functional, modern, sustainable and unique. At the same time it is honoring the memory of the people that died in and around the buildings that stood there before. While the green sustainable features have been criticized for being too expensive, they will do more than save just water, electricity and emissions. They and the grace of the building will inspire a generation of green and safe skyscrapers for the twenty-first century. This building has become one of the safest, environmentally friendly and expensive ever built, but as critics slate the building for various reasons, one cannot take away the determination through political, social and economic status that designers and workers have created such a beautiful building with great meaning.
Globally, green buildings are being recognised and accredited, leading to the introduction of various tools and indices with one common objective that is to evaluate, measure, distinguish and sets apart this uniquely designed buildings from the rest. The Diamond Building carries a Green Building Index (GBI) accreditation, a first in Malaysia. Among the achievement of the ST Diamond Building are:
As a global environmental issue of concern, controversies have been presented for and against global warming. Such controversies have stemmed from its causes as well as effects. This is because since the first international awareness of the problem that took place in 1992 during a United Nations (UN) Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, several opinions have continued to grow concerning the genesis of this problem as well as the potential effects posed on the planet. Such international meeting saw an intellectual exchange among the many delegates concerning the best approaches that can be used in dealing with the causes and effects of global warming. However, this problem is still a controversial one among many environmentalists around the world. Therefore, this essay analyzes the various controversies presented by different articles and authors concerning global warming, its main drivers, and seriousness of the issue as well as claimed consequences.
Sustainable design seeks to reduce negative impacts on the environment, the health and comfort of building occupants, thereby improving building performance. The basic objects of sustainability are to reduce consumption of non-renewable resources, minimal waste, and create healthy, productive environments (“Sustainable Design”). Focusing primarily on the sustainable design principles, there are five, including: low-impact materials, energy efficiency, quality and durability, design for reuse and recycling, and renewability. As sustainability appears to become the necessary trend in architecture, the question concerning the cost versus outcome of “going green” really an investment or a waste of time and money comes to mind. With our research provided below, we believe the expenses may truly be with the investment in the end.
The concept of the model building codes has successfully been applied since the early 1900s in the countries where regulation of building construction is a responsibility of the local authorities. The popularity of model building codes can be attributed to two factors: 1) the developing of building codes is expensive and 2) the ability of the model codes to accommodate local conditions. Since modern building regulations are very complex, their development and effective maintenance are far beyond the technical and financial capabilities of most areas. Rather than drafting its own building codes, a local authority might choose to use the model building codes instead. The model building codes are either adopted (accepted without modifications) or adapted (modified) to a particular jurisdiction and then enforced by the adopting
Unites States Green Building Council. (2014). Leadership in energy and environmental design. Retrieved from http://www.usgbc.org/leed#why
Countries such as China and Japan need to enforce more powerful regulations on the amount of carbon emissions that they produce. China put in regulations just this last year and Japan postponed plans for a national regulations on carbon emissions, bowing to powerful business groups that warned of job losses as they compete against overseas rivals facing fewer emissions regulations. It’s not a good sign that large corporations can control how a nation regulates its environmental safety laws. China is finally planning to regulate their carbon emissions. This is long over due concerting that China ranks as the world’s number one carbon dioxide emitter, thanks in part to the massive amounts of coal the country burns. China currently builds a new coal-fired power plant at a rate of about one every week to ten days. The country’s coal burning levels are nearly on par with the rest of the world combined.
Nowadays, global warming is a term that is widely used by everyone; however most people do not know what it means. Global warming is a phenomenon for which the average temperature of the earth’s atmosphere and the oceans is increasing because of the high concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2). The rise in CO2 in the earth atmosphere has been observed since the industrial revolution began and it is projected to continue rising. According to America's Climate Choices "The average temperature of the Earth’s surface increased by about 1.4 °F (0.8 °C) over the past 100 years, with about 1.0 °F (0.6 °C) of this warming occurring over just the past three decades" (2011). With that data we can figure out that the temperatures are increasing very fast in the last few decades which coincide with industrial growth due to the fact that the greenhouse gasses are generated by the combustion of fossil fuels and deforestation. As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Changes (IPCC) reported in 2007, a great number of scientists from all the most important industrialized countries think that global warming is caused by production of greenhouse gases that come from human activities, especially those activities that involve the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. However, there are scientists, they are called skeptics, who think that global warming is not real, instead they think climate changes undergo in a normal trend through the earth history. While some skeptics could argue that global warming does not exist, the following information based on: human activities have produced an enormous amount of greenhouse gas emissions and the increasing of them in the last 200 years proves otherwise.
Global Warming is a condition caused by greenhouse gases and human activities. The increased concentration of greenhouse gases due to activities such as deforestation and fossil fuel burning is causing the Earth’s atmosphere and oceans to warm up. As a result of this, global warming has some serious effects in the shape of extreme weather, species extinctions, and rising sea levels. These effects can contribute to the changes that are taking place all over the world, most of which are dangerous enough to pose a threat to the survival of life on Earth in the future.
Despite the fact that novel technologies are continuously under development to complement existing practices in coming up with greener buildings, the universal intent is that such structures are designed to diminish the general effect on the built environment on health of the humans in addition to the natural environment via: Diminishing environmental degradation, pollution and waste, improving productivity of the employee and guarding occupant health, efficient usage of water, energy, in addition to other resources.
Sustainable buildings are becoming somewhat of a necessity in the world today. As the demand for green building develops, so does the demand for green building materials. Just as the old techniques and building materials seem to disappear in the assembly of things, they are now making a come back. Green building focuses on the efficiency of major resources like water and energy. As the cost for sustainable materials and products are on the decline, building green seems to be the most cost effective kind of design and construction. Looking specifically at green materials and their impact on the production of structures, it is evident that they are a prime choice for building material. The use of green materials should be promoted because they are better for the environment, more healthful for the consumer, and better for the economy.
The beginnings of today's green revolution can be traced back to the environmental awareness of the 1960s and European design. New construction techniques have lead to the development of innovative materials and design concepts. Green buildings are designed, constructed and commissioned to ensure they are healthy for their occupants. Successfully designed green projects can involve an extensive array of factors, ranging from the resourceful use of materials, to careful consideration of function, climate, and location.