Urban Sustainability and Green Building for 21st Century
Recently I attended UK- India Conference on Urban Sustainability and Green Building, conference was chaired by Mr. Brain Waldy Secretary General of CASLE and fellow of RICS. Conference was attended by urban development experts, green building service providers, research scholars and government officials of UK and India. Agenda of the conferences was to discuss climate change, challenges for Urban Sustainability, developing climate designs and carbon mapping existing building on an urban scale. Experts also discussed environment rating system for existing buildings, strategies for green building and green building in the market- investment and values. I would like to give touch base on the key elements of Green Building that concern you and me and will leave rating system professionals to tackle with.
Climate Change and Story so far…
Increasing global temperature will cause sea levels to rise and will change the amount and pattern of precipitation, probably including expansion of subtropical deserts. The continuing retreat of glaciers, permafrost and sea ice is expected, with the Arctic region being particularly affected. Other likely effects include shrinkage of the rainforest, increases in the intensity of extreme weather events, species extinctions and changes in agricultural yields.
Why Climate Change….
Naturally occurring greenhouse gases have a mean warming effect of about 33 °C (59 °F). The major greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 36–70 percent of the greenhouse effect (not including clouds); carbon dioxide (CO2), which causes 9–26 percent; methane (CH4), which causes 4–9 percent; and ozone, which causes 3–7 percent.
Human activity since the industrial revolution has increased the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, leading to increased radioactive forcing from CO2, methane, troposphere ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide. Theconcentrations of CO2 and methane have increased by 36% and 148% respectively since the mid-1700s. These levels are considerably higher than at any time during the last 650,000 years, the period for which reliable data has been extracted from ice cores. Less direct geological evidence indicates that CO2values this high were last seen approximately 20 million years ago. Fossil fuel burning has produced about three-quarters of the increase in CO2from human activity over the past 20 years. Most of the rest is due to land-use change, in particular deforestation.
Who Fuels Global Warming….
In our quest to dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions and lessen our dependence on fossil fuels, we have contented ourselves by pointing a finger at gas-guzzling vehicles. And in doing so we have overlooked the biggest source of emissions and energy consumption around the globe: buildings.
If you took all vehicles off the road tomorrow and replaced them with hybrids, the effect on energy use and global warming would be minimal. The entire fleet of SUVs, minivans and light-duty trucks in US accounts for only 6.5% of the total U.S. energy consumed each year, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. And although that doesn’t mean we should abandon efforts to produce more efficient, environmentally friendly vehicles, it does illustrate a huge blind spot in energy consciousness.
Buildings account for 70% of electricity consumption and 40% of greenhouse emissions. Therefore, reducing the carbon footprint of buildings is critical to combating climate change. Buildings and their construction account for nearly half of all the greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumed in US each year. Globally, the percentage is even greater. And architects hold the key to turning down the global thermostat.
What is Sustainable Building Design?
Sustainable building design is measured on five criteria namely site design, indoor environmental quality, and efficient use of energy, materials, and water. It is the practice of designing the built environment in a way so that the consumption of natural resources is reduced for its construction as also its operational lifetime. Simultaneously, greater emphasis is laid on making the most of natural lighting, heating, cooling, etc to reduce load on electricity consumption. The goal is to create environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work.
Buck Stops Here
Consumers: Realizing that sustainability and environmental benefits won’t resonate with everyone. Other perspective of Green Building that consumers should consider are benefits in terms of indoor air quality, comfort, and economy.
Professionals: Sustainable building designs should become integral part of designer’s professional practices. Architectural Firms should encourage employ LEED AP certified architects and upgrade the capability of executing green projects.
Governments: Everything ends with responsibility of Government; the State and Central Governments will have a major role to play in the propagation of the concept of Green buildings. The Government can create awareness campaigns and adopt Green Building technologies in their own buildings, which can go a long way in promoting Green buildings in India. The Government should also design policy frameworks and legislations for promotion of Green buildings.
