Locally-Produced Energy - Essay Example

Locally-produced energy: Green Buildings Introduction and Background Since origination, humans have been involved in various activities, utilizing the physical as well as the mental part. The activities only transformed our globe from a primitive one to developed one. But, one can see that these activities not only resulted in development, but have also have caused destructions to our earth. That is, in his/her quest to achieve advancement, humans have invented or inventing many tools and are also developing rapidly in particular fields. But, unfortunately, the same tools and the developing fields are damaging human lives and the earth’s environment, which sustain the lives. One of the ‘developing fields’, which contributes to damages is the construction field or industry. In the construction and property development industries, the contemporary climate is against using eco-damaging products. Due to that climate, the industry has adjusted to the demand of the people and the government agencies, by using of eco-friendly products in the construction of buildings and various other structures. So, particular parts of the property development and construction industries have changed and are catering to the demands, by introducing eco-friendly products and services. The fact is, “the construction industry are generating close to one third of all the waste in Britain while 20% of new building materials on the average building site are simply thrown away at the end of the job” (Seager). Also the important parts of construction industry, lighting and heating of buildings have lead to the generation of 50% of Britains carbon dioxide emissions. So, to change this negative image, the construction industry has transformed a lot and also altered their strategies by going for eco-friendly products and thereby Green Buildings. Problems The use of eco-damaging products and faulty coordination by the construction industry has bringing in host of problems to the people mainly in the form of global warming. “The Stern Report, by Sir Nicholas Stern, the World Bank’s former chief economist, says the lack of co-ordination between elements of the industry creates poor quality, energy-inefficient buildings… With no action, each tonne of carbon dioxide we emit will cause at least £45 of damage” (Miller). That is, carbon dioxide released by construction industry and also various other industries in the form of smokes causes global warming, air pollution and importantly damages many things. Carbon dioxide exiting from the construction industry will affect the human’s various organs causing cancers, lung diseases etc. The eco-damaging products and the resultant global warming is also increasing the hotness of the earth, making summer months hotter and even extending its durations. This is causing heat related deaths in large numbers. With the increase in temperature and the related discomforts, the people’s stress increases to peak levels causing heart attacks, particularly among old persons. Also, the extreme weather conditions caused by the global warming have enhanced the hydrological cycle of our earth leading to evaporations on a larger scale, resulting in droughts. The droughts could be seen occurring in many countries with agriculture being the worst affected field. The extreme weather conditions have also lead to the initiation and transmission of various diseases. Due to global warming and raise in temperatures, glaciers in various parts of the world have disappeared due to the excessive melting, depleting the flow of fresh water. Orientation towards Green Buildings With these problems, the construction industry has set into motion various initiatives, altering their existing practices and focusing more on green buildings. “The construction sector, which accounts for close to 10% of the British economy, has become the latest industry to embark on a dash for an environmentally sustainable future” (Seager). So, a group of 36 leading construction and property development companies, including British Land, Hanson, Arup, MacAlpine and Barratt Homes have established the UK Green Building Council. The role of this council is the introduction of measures to reduce the damaging emissions to minimum levels. And among the 36 companies, the construction major British Land has taken a lot of initiatives to reduce the Carbon dioxide emissions to bare minimum. “As part of our commitment to responsible business leadership, we will become carbon neutral by 2008/2009” (British Land.com). During the production of cement a lot of Carbon dioxide emissions happen. Alok Jha, green technology correspondent for the British newspaper, Guardian validates this fact, by stating, “Making traditional cement results in greenhouse gas emissions from two sources: it requires intense heat, and so a lot of energy to heat up the ovens that cook the raw material, such as limestone. That then releases further CO2 as it burns.” (ecoworldly.com, 2009). But, this negative effect of cement can be averted, if the industries by following adopting Green Building concepts, go for ‘green cement’, the term given to cement, which instead of emitting carbon dioxide absorbs it. This green cement is made from magnesium silicates and other special mineral additives instead of calcium carbonate, or limestone, since magnesium silicates does not release CO2 while manufacturing and on the beneficial side absorbs many of the greenhouse gases including CO2 as it ages. As this new generation green cement locks CO2, all the industries should use it, instead of the traditional cement. By adopting this management strategy, industries can achieve the tag of green buildings and can keep on functioning optimally without any concern about their negative impacts on the climate change. Buildings can be made even more Greener by constructing buildings incorporating sustainable designs. To sustain an environmentally friendly ecosystem, man has to make better choices in designing structures that put into perspective the renew ability of the planet. Therefore designs that can sustain human health and the earth need to be invented. These sustainable designs are mainly incorporated in waste and water management plans. Also, the energy sources for their constructions are made eco-friendly by going for renewable and safe energies. That is, industries as part of their management strategy should install turbines and solar panels to generate energy for the building’s usage. The aim lies in creation of buildings that are capable of production of more energy than their consumption and generation of less waste. Taylor (2000) asserts that these buildings must thus generate their own energy, treat all of their captured water and exhibit maximum beauty, this being the epitome of their efficient operation .Organic or Green buildings can keep the carbon stored in wood from going back into the environment for as long as the building exists, and at the same time avoiding the use of such energy intensive materials such as steels, concrete and bricks. With these initiatives, construction industry can become Carbon neutral in the near future, so it does not contribute towards climate change and their destructive effects. Even though, Industries will need to input a lot of resources from financial to technological to achieve that distinction, it need to take every step to actualize that vision or distinction for a better future for the organization, stakeholders and importantly the people. In response to the fact that global warming is a matter ought to be addressed by man to avert the impending possibility of climate change, invention of construction and design with less impact on the environment has become obligatory (Hiemstra, 2008). Conclusion In the present scenario, for a construction and property company to sail into the territory of success without raising any environmental and ethical problems, it has to offer eco-friendly products and services. This is because with the increased awareness about environmental issues, organisations in every field or sector are going for environment friendly and greener initiatives to maintain a positive presence in the market. “We all live in an increasingly complex and dynamic world in which organisations feature significantly. We work for organisations, we shop at them, we spend our leisure time in them and use them to improve the quality of our life.” (Capron). Environmental issues have become the key because in a quest to reach an ‘exalted’ (or a dubious status) humans are putting their home of earth under severe damage, strain, pressure etc through the phenomenon of Global warming. This constant damage by global warming caused by the human manufactured or construction industry emitting greenhouse gases will stay for a longer time with repercussions affecting every form of life. So, to eradicate global warming and its bad effects, positive steps should be taken by every section of the society and industries, including construction and property development industry. If global warming and its extensive but preventable damages are eradicated or even minimized, the world of tomorrow will be a better and safer place to live. So, construction industries have to play their part in saving the earth and its people. Every organisation and its worker’s survival and success hinges on the safe products and services, it provides. For that to actualize, the construction and property development sectors should go for and promote green buildings. “Environmental risks are a serious and growing issue for the construction industry… To succeed in todays litigious environment, forward-looking organisations are incorporating sound environmental risk management practices throughout their business operations” (Aon.com). This is important because if the organisations in the construction industry follow an eco-friendly process and develop green buildings, their achieved success will be counted and appreciated even more. Reference aon.com, Environmental Risk Management for Construction Industry, viewed on March 23, 2010 http://www.aon.com/us/busi/industry_specialties/construction/environmental.jsp British Land.com, Environmental initiatives, viewed on March 23, 2010 http://www.britishland.com/environment_initiatives.htm Capron, C. 2004, Understanding Organisational Context, Prentice Hall, Harlow Essex ecoworldly.com, 2009, British Engineers have developed a new environmentally friendly Cement that is Carbon-negative, viewed on March 23, 2010 http://ecoworldly.com/2009/01/02/cement-that-eats-carbon-dioxide-invented-by-british-scientists/ Hiemstra, G., 2008, Sustainable housing for Universities and Colleges, viewed on March 23, 2010 http://www.futurist.com/articles/environment-and-energy/sustainable-housing-for-colleges-universities Miller, V, Construction industry under fire over global warming, viewed on March 23, 2010 http://www.building.co.uk/story.asp?sectioncode=29&storycode=3076590&c=2 Seager, A, Construction sector rises to challenge of building eco-friendly homes of the future, The Guardian, February 28 2007 Taylor, S, 2000, Green technology: Creating Organic buildings together, Journal for European Architects. 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