3 posts tagged “greenhouse gases”
Link: Promote Green Buildings for Biggest, Easiest Cuts in North American CO2 Emissions
A report announced in Vancouver by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation states that "Promoting the green design, construction, renovation and operation of buildings could cut North American greenhouse gas emissions that are fuelling climate change more deeply, quickly and cheaply than any other available measure."
Currently, North American buildings directly or indirectly result in the release of 2.2B tons of CO2. Rapid implementation of green building technologies could result in savings of 1.7B tons by 2030, roughly equal to the US transportation sector in 2000. A review by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development quotes John Westeinde, a partner in the Windmill Development Group in Ottawa and chairman of an advisory group that guided the report.
"The investments made for climate change benefit in buildings have direct payback, generally from the point of view of reduced energy costs and water costs as well the indoor health environment and increased productivity of the inhabitants of those buildings."
Barriers to rapid adoption include:
- limited application of lifecycle costing, often because capital and operating budgets are separately managed
- green building technologies often do not benefit the developer who pays for them
- higher perceived or actual costs
- higher perceived risk
- lack of expertise
- inconsistent government policies
- lack of investment in research
Note: this is a public post
The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) is running a campaign to influence the debate in Congress on global warming legislation. They are looking for scientists, economists and the public to make their voices heard before March 28th.
"This is a call to action to our nation's leaders and will be delivered to all members of congress, state policy makers, presidential candidates, and the media. This call to action provides sound scientific and economic guidance to our elected officials as they wrestle with the urgent need to reduce global warming pollution. And it demonstrates that strong action today can save consumers and industry money and create jobs all while improving air quality, energy security, and public health.
You can help our efforts today by adding your name to this urgent call to action. If you are a Ph.D. or doctoral candidate professional with expertise relevant to our understanding of the scientific and economic dimensions of climate change, its impacts, and solutions—please sign the Scientists and Economists' Call for Action.
If you’re not a scientist or economist—we also need your help! Click here to add your name to our global warming call to action."
UCS is a valuable source of well-balanced and thoughtful information on a broad range of topics, and also provides an opportunity to get our voices heard over the lobbyists.
I had the pleasure of hearing Peter Busby speak at the
September 27th Sustainable
Speaker Series lecture put on by the
and Region Conservation Authority. Peter
topic was Extending Sustainable Design
from Buildings to Communities: Recent Busby Perkins+Will Projects. I arrived just in time to see a chart
showing the continuing per capita growth of greenhouse gas emissions in Canada,
during a time period where Europe has been showing gradual reductions. Although both
and Europe will have challenges meeting their
commitments, Canada’s
task is growing increasingly difficult each year. Contributing factors include weak national energy
codes and a focus on primary producers (such as cement manufacturers) rather
than building design. On the other hand,
municipalities and businesses are increasingly taking a leadership role.
Based on Peter’s experiences in sustainable architecture, the lowest cost initiatives tend to generate the highest return. Examples included form and orientation; recycled content; upgrading existing buildings; harvesting hot or cool air; natural ventilation and light; solar shading and reflection; and using deep pools for ground-source heat pumps. Over the years, Peter’s buildings have show increasing energy efficiency, where recent designs use 60% less energy than ASHRAE energy standards. An example is the 2001 City of White Rock Operations Building project, which reduced energy by 55% over ASHARE 90.1 and dramatically cut site water use.
The business case for sustainable architecture depends on many factors. The cost impact is less on projects involving high energy usage (extreme climates, laboratories), large projects, and situations where the client has the flexibility to work with the architect on energy saving options. Typically, additional costs range from 0 to 5%, with 10% as a worst case. On the plus side, sustainability has marketing potential, reduces health costs, and can prootect against rising energy and water costs. Recently, Wal-Mart approved 32 of the 37 possible sustainability initiatives proposed by Peter’s firm for a new retail store in Vancouver.
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environment Design) program is gaining momentum in both Canada and the USA. LEED certification ratings have been developed for new and renovated commercial buildings, commercial interiors, ‘core and shell’ development, and home construction. A new project is LEED for Neighborhood Development (LEED-ND) which will incorporate smart growth and neighborhood design along with green building practices.
Peter emphasized the importance of the people who will be working and living in sustainable buildings on how well buildings perform over time. He has introduced Post Occupancy Evaluations to measure how well the various building systems perform against planning estimates. Based on preliminary results, ongoing education is often required to maximize the benefits of the design.
Peter sees great opportunities in developing ‘green communities’, taking into account the broader systems implications of sustainability as well as indigenous knowledge of what works in a specific locale. The Centre for Interactive Research on Sustainability (CIRS) building was designed to be smart (built-in efficiency monitoring), green, healthy, regenerative and almost greenhouse gas neutral. Incorporating natural systems into architectural designs expands on the idea of regeneration, where good design relies on and also restores ecosystems. The Dockside Green project in started with a broad set of economic, social and environmental criteria that were integrated into a “triple bottom line”. The goal is a mixed-use, self-sufficient, closed-loop, sustainable community that will achieve Platinum LEED certification. Features include:
- Greenhouse gas neutral, through biomass energy cogeneration and other renewable energy sources
- Reduced water consumption of 70 million gallons per year, through on-site water treatment and efficiencies
- Irrigation through natural sources and reclaimed water, combined with native species adapted for hardiness
- Alternative transportation systems
- Habitat creation, enhancement and protection through landscaping, green roofs, and integrated pest management systems
Peter emphasized the incremental learning required to successfully design and develop sustainable architecture. Each idea or concept builds upon and integrates
with other concepts – there are no ‘silver bullets’. However, in combination, significant energy savings can be achieved while improving the health and well-being of building occupants.
