How Building Impact the Environment

When buildings are being constructed things such as materials, building methods, and how the building is going to run after being complete are all things that can potentially harm the environment if done incorrectly.

To start, the materials used to construct these building are being produced in manufacturing plants which release carbon dioxide into the air.  This leads to massive amounts pollution being released into our air. On top of that, the materials that some of these manufacturers are using are being produced overseas. These materials have to be shipped back to the US causing even more pollution. Smog build up is something that people might just relate to cars, but other forms of transportation are linked to that as well.

Cargo ships are one of the world worst polluters. It has been estimated that some of the worlds largest cargo ships can produce the same amount of pollution as 50 million cars. To put that into perspective. That is almost one fifth of the total cars in the United States. That is an insane amount of pollution.

The building methods can also play a huge impact into pollution. Building methods can affect the environment in a negative way when non-efficient materials and systems are used.  There are always going to be companies that use the cheapest materials to make buildings. Often times, these cheap materials are terrible for the planet. We do not need cheap buildings that are also killing the world we live it.

Once these buildings are ready to be used, the question of how it is going to be powered comes up.  When it comes to energy being used in buildings, over 40% of the world’s energy is used to run buildings.  This contributes to the light, heating, and cooling systems.

However, there are ways to save energy and reduce the amount of carbon dioxide put in the air when constructing a building and that is to go green.  By going green when constructing buildings, this will allow for 25% less energy to be used.  This starts with simple things like using lightbulbs that are more efficient. Another tactic is better insulation and windows. These allow heat to stay in the building so less power is being used to constantly run the heating system.

When it comes to carbon dioxide being released that percentage will decrease by 34%.  Going green does not just help the environment, but it will also lesson the cost of buildings being constructed. Over time companies will save so much money from just building green from the beginning. They just have to look at the big picture and not the initial costs.

These are just some ways that buildings can impact the environment. The main point is that there are better ways to build and operate a building. The problems are the companies in charge of them. If they keep the environment in mind in the beginning, the whole system is way better than before. We need to keep this in mind for all future projects.

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