As advocates and administrators of sustainable design, I’m sure you’re aware of the many economical benefits of incorporating sustainable design into your building projects. However, with the numerous economical savings that are available, it sometimes becomes easy to primarily focus on this beneficial outcome of sustainable design, and forget about the positive environmental impacts and the core values of sustainability.
Climate change is becoming more apparent each year. The World Meteorological Organization-sponsored panel issued reports in 2008 concluding that average surface temperatures will rise roughly 3° to 7°F this century. This is already yielding migrating species, earlier season changes, sea-level rises, and will continue with increased droughts, floods, and species extinctions. Another report also concluded that with effective technology and standards, the goal of keeping the century’s surface temperature rise below 3.6°F. This goal can keep problems, such as the spread of tropical diseases toward the poles, from occurring. This is important information for anyone trying to make a difference in climate change, so they understand the severity of the promlem and the immediate necessity for a solution.
Making changes in how we deal with the emission of greenhouse gasses is vital to the success of stopping climate change. There are lots of ideas regarding how to attack the problem including carbon sequestration from power plants, imposing fees on CO2 emissions, and increasing nuclear power; all of which carry issues of debate. No single technology will address the problem by itself, so you must make an effort in the area that is most effective for you. Since the production of cement contributes 6 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere annually, the building design and construction industry can play a key role in the minimizing of climate change. Using environmentally friendly products that minimize waste in your building projects will help cut down on that number, but just focusing on the building industry is not enough. We must be more active in advocating.
Remember the environmental reasons for incorporating sustainable design into your work. Be passionate about doing good things for the environment and our planet. In order to make a difference in global climate change, action must be taken now by as many people as possible. The people in industries of architecture, interior design, and landscaping have the ability to become pioneers in pushing the answer of sustainability to the masses. Do your part and help spread the ideas of sustainability as much as you can.
Resources
Vergano, D. (2007, May 2). Fixing climate carries big costs. Retrieved April 8, 2008 from USA Today, web site: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2007-05-02-climate-fix-cost_n.htm
To listen to or download the podcast related to this blog titled, “Social Responsibility in Sustainability” please visit the EDRA podcast site at https://podcast.uww.edu/podcast.php?id=910c3cdcdc88590f23a832db8a699b7e
For more information about sustainable design and our relationship with our environment, visit http://www.edra.org/.
This blog is maintained by EDRA officials. Inappropriate and off-topic responses will be removed.
