Environmental And Economic Impacts Of Green Architecture

Environmental And Economic Impacts Of Green Architecture Green buildings, also known as sustainable buildings, are structures that have revolutionized the way we live. These assemblies are designed, built, renovated, operated, or re-used in an ecological and resource efficient manner. Its sustainable development is helping maintain a balance between the human need to improve its lifestyle and feeling of well-being, while preserving natural resources and ecosystems. Green Architecture has the objective of using energy, water and other resources more efficiently and reducing the overall impact to the environment. It protects an occupants health, improves an employees productivity, and offers an optimal environmental and economic performance. Among its many economic benefits, it reduces operating costs, has marketing advantages, increases building valuations, and optimizes life-cycle performance costs. Its health and safety benefits include the enhancement of an occupants comfort and health. Its community benefits help minimize the strain on local infrastructures and improve the quality of life. (Ken 1) Green Architecture can be defined as the restructuring and creation of buildings that are beneficial and have a minimal impact on the environment. They are several approaches to green construction that involve the responsibility of recycling existing resources, along with the efficient use of environmentally friendly systems that will provide power and water services to sustainable buildings. Throughout the past century, more people have become concerned and aware of the proper use of the planets resources. This is why the fundamental concepts and objectives of green architecture have gained both societys interest and acceptance. (Tatum 1) A green architects mission is to design buildings that will provide the necessary functions, without posing a threat to the surrounding environment. This implies the use of building materials that are composed of organic compounds instead of synthetics. Some of these materials include the use of wood, stones, bricks, or other elements that are harvested from older buildings scheduled for demolition. These materials are generally joined with newer technologies creating structures that fit into the surrounding landscape. Some of these newer technologies refer to the instalment of solar panels and modern rainwater collection systems. This will make best use of the available resources for heating, cooling, cooking, and supplying water to the building. (Tatum 1) The quality of air is a crucial factor in any living or working environment, which is why it is easy to exclude pollution as only an outdoor problem. Nevertheless, it can still be quite problematic indoors due to poor ventilation systems that can be potentially hazardous to human health. Conventional building materials and furnishings emit formaldehyde and other toxic chemicals. Paints, solvents and household cleaning products emit volatile organic compounds and other fumes. Stoves and fireplaces emit carbon monoxide and smoke particulates. Most buildings contain natural biological pollutants such as dust mites and moulds. Product manufacturers in the construction and building industry have been able to introduce products that reduce these emissions of formaldehyde, volatile organic compounds and other potentially harmful chemicals. (Grey 1) Fresh air is a critical factor for optimal health. Homes in the colder climates have a closer structure that heats up the air and constantly recirculates the only air that leaks through the envelope providing fresh air. Heat recovery ventilation is a good insurance policy against build-up of indoor air problems without paying an energy penalty for direct fresh air ventilation. It uses stale indoor air while providing fresh air with only a small energy cost. Green buildings reduce IAQ problems by providing good ventilation allowing the natural flow of fresh air through the house. They have exhaust systems for radon gas; avoid wood products that contain formaldehyde, use less or no volatile organic compounds (VOC) interior paints, solvent-free-finishes, and solvent-free construction adhesives. (GreenBuilding 1) Green buildings seek to reduce our dependency on energy sources that come from non-renewable sources. Instead, they pursue to turn that reliance to sourcing energy from renewable sources and change our lifestyle of dependence. Certain programmes such as the Low Carbon Buildings Programme, like to emphasize the importance of householders in meeting several criteria in the property. It states that the entire loft space of the property must be insulated, have cavity wall insulation if the property has cavity walls. There should be basic controls on the home heating system that include a timer and a thermostat; and the installment of low energy light bulbs in all the appropriate light fittings. (Murray- White 1). In countries such as Canada, it is reported that municipal water systems leak up to a quarter of demand during distribution. Even though the infrastructure weakens, the use has increased by 26.7% since the 1980s as reported by the Eco-research team at the University of Victoria. However, there is enough renewable fresh rainwater to satisfy the needs of families with low resources. Rainwater lessens the dependency on municipal services and saves money, making it more than just sustainable. Organizations such as Health Canada have shown concerns regarding the safety and purity of the water source. This is why they have met with the challenge of building a sustainable water use system. Rainwater harvesting consists on collecting, storing and treating rainwater for watering exterior plants, toilet and laundry use, with potential portable use. The degree of treatment varies depending on its final use. (Hugh 1) Gathering water can come from hard surfaces, such as metal roofs, which is simpler than the capturing of water on vegetable roofs. For example, Lawn water can be collected from the surface or below grade using drainage piping which utilizes the earth for filtering. Regarding the maintenance or cleaning of water, other than removing the solids likes leaves; no special cleaning is required when the water is used for landscaping, swimming pools, laundry and toilets. However, ultraviolet is a safety measure used for killing bacteria which relies on the use of electricity. When water is intended for direct contact with humans, such as showers and sinks, additional treatments will always be necessary. (Hugh 1) Green architecture produces less waste by using renewable plant materials such as bamboo due to its rapid growth, lumber from forests certified to be sustainably managed, recycled stones and metals. It also uses other products that are non-toxic, reusable, renewable, and/or recyclable; for example: sheep wool, adobe, baked earth, rammed earth, clay, cork, coconuts, wood fibre plates, flax linen, and others. The Canada Green Building Council suggests the use of recycled industrial goods, such as coal combustion products, foundry sand, and demolition debris in construction projects. For example, the use of polyurethane blocks reduces carbon emissions, provides more speed, cost less and is environmentally friendly. Building materials should be extracted and manufactured locally to the building site in order to minimize energy use through transportation. Building elements should be manufactured off-site and delivered to the building site, to maximise benefits of off-site manufacture incl uding minimizing waste, maximising recycling, high quality elements, better OHS (occupational health and safety) management, less noise and dust. (Environment 1) The most criticized issue about constructing green buildings is the price, claiming it to be too expensive to be considered economically possible. However, studies have shown that the costs of green buildings are not anymore higher than regular development projects. Higher construction costs can generally be avoided by the incorporation of green designs from the outset of the project. Green Value is the net additional value obtainable by a green building in the market. This study shows that green buildings can achieve greater value than their conventional equivalents. However, it was discovered that the green building industry and others may be failing to get the message across that the main beneficiaries are the occupants. For example, a lot of attention has been focused on energy savings making it easy to measure. However, these are usually less than 1% of business operating costs. By comparison, total annual real estate expenses are usually around 10% of such costs while staff cos ts can be high as 85%. This means that the biggest return on investments should arise when green buildings improve business productivity. (Green Value 2) Due to the high increase in fuel costs over recent years, more people are choosing to purchase green homes and business premises. Green homes have more effective insulation, take advantage of the suns solar power, minimise the effects of summer heat, and favour energy efficient appliances and water conservation features. Even though the costs of these items may take time to recoup, there are many available loans, grants and subsides that assist people in helping them go green. Certain known green building practices benefit its customers as well as the environment. They incorporate longer-lasting materials, careful construction assemblies and design features that can reduce maintenance and costs. Strict indoor air quality guidelines ensure a comfortable and healthy living and working environment. The overall result of green building and its economic impact is the enhanced value and better resale across the lifespan of a home and business. (Durham 1) Canada has been recognized as a global leader in the green building industry, with more than 770Â  certified green buildings in use across the entire country. Canadian companies have earned a worldwide reputation for their innovation and excellence in the construction, design and operation of green buildings. Helping the planet recover requires a firm commitment, and Green building will lessen the damage being caused to the environment making the world a healthier place for future generations. The essence and definition of green architecture is to build in a way that minimizes environmental impact and promote a healthier indoor environment for occupants. As energy prices continue to rise and more people become conscious of their personal impact on the environment, green building has become the mainstream of the construction industry. It has become a movement that will affect and influence builders, property owners, and insurers for many years to come. (Canada Mortgage HC. 1)

“The Darkling Thrush” Essay -- Poetry Analysis

â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† is a sorrowful poem, which uses a variety of writing techniques to present forth the theme of never giving up hope, while still keeping with the bleak atmosphere of the poem. Poet and novelist Thomas Hardy wrote this poem on December 31, 1899, the last day of the 19th century. The speaker in the poem creates a gloomy and negative tone; yet, in the end it becomes slightly more upbeat, when the belief of hope is spread from the thrush. It is dusk and the speaker is alone outside, leaning against a wooden gate. He is an inward character, which is made evident by the dramatized conviction that â€Å"all mankind†¦had sought their household fires.† The land seemed lifeless with nothing growing and no animals near. Amidst the darkness, a frail thrush began to sing a joyful tune. The feeble bird’s ability to throw its soul to the world uplifted the speaker. It was as though the bird knew something hopeful of the future that the speaker did not. The Darkling Thrush has a variety of rhythm, meter and rhyming elements, which help contribute to the overall value of the poem. It is written in iambic tetrameter, with lines 1, 3, 5, and 7 having four stressed syllables, and lines 2, 4, 6, and 8 having only three stressed syllables. It has an ABABCDCD rhyme scheme, which in turn adds to the melancholy tone of the poem, and creates consistency in the poem’s sense of despair. The lines in this poem are roughly equal in length, and the pattern throughout remains coherently uniform. The poet creates structure in the poem by forming two sentences in each of the first two stanzas, and only one sentence in each of the last two stanzas. This formation combined with the strict use of declarative sentences, and an absence of transition w... ...crypt the cloudy canopy’ creates a strict, harsh sound, adding to the bitter despondency of the poem. The specific use of wording throughout this poem works to create the gloomy atmosphere present within the poem. Thomas Hardy presented a negative tone throughout the poem, while still keeping with the more uplifting theme of hope. With the thorough use of metaphors, similes, terminology, structure, and rhyme scheme, â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† works well to produce its desired intention. Although the theme of hope is clearly presented in the end of the poem, Hardy does not lose the sense of misery within the poem. He finds a way to display both hope and dejection in a cleverly interesting way. â€Å"The Darkling Thrush† is an interesting poem of a frail little bird that is great enough to change the thoughts of a man. Works Cited "The Darkling Thrush" by Thomas Hardy

Roll of Thunder, Hear My Cry (Injustice)

Analyze the different ways in which injustice is presented in Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry. We learn more about â€Å"injustice† as we read through Mildred D. Taylor’s novel: Roll Of Thunder, Hear My Cry. This story reflects on an African American family facing dark and difficult times in Mississippi. Throughout the story, Mildred D. Taylor symbolizes hope and bravery for oneself when facing inequality. In the novel, the author emphasizes injustice throughout problematic stages in Mississippi.Through characters such as Cassie, Little Man and T. J, the author uses several language techniques: sensory imagery, figurative language and flashbacks, allowing the readers to reveal the theme, â€Å"injustice. † Cassie, the protagonist of the story is described as a tough, intelligent and courageous character, who will always stand up for herself and looks after her siblings and friends through all the ups and downs they face.Cassie first demonstrates her boldness as she protects her youngest brother, Little Man. She stands up for him in front of a teacher, despite knowing that she will face consequences. â€Å"Miz Crocker, don’t please! † This quote conveys how scared Cassie and her love towards her brother. Cassie also displays courageousness as she faces injustice at the Wallace’s store, where she is insulted and humiliated for no proper reason. â€Å"Who’s little nigger is this! Mildred D. Taylor uses short sentences and strong words to get straight to the point and speed up the suspense. Cassie demonstrates her intelligence through a ruse she had planned with her Uncle Hammer. She tries to seek revenge from a white, schoolgirl by pretending to be her friend, but afterwards she would teach her a lesson. â€Å"I yanked unmercifully on her long, loose hair. † The author uses sensory imagery to emphasize her Cassie’s violent act.

Core Issues in Crime and Punishment - 3260 Words

Critically evlaute which criminologc Jimmy Boyles autobiography A Sense of Freedom (1977) gives a very interesting and honest insight into his life of crime and incarceration. The autobiography, written from inside prison, is according to Boyle an attempt to warn young people that there is not anything glamorous about crime and violence. It gives a full narration of his life from a very young age, with a detailed insight into his childhood, experiences of petty crime, approved schools and borstal, right through to his adult experiences of more serious crime, violence and adult prisons, including his interpretation of the Penal System. Reading this autobiography I aimed to remain detached from the author and seek to create an independent†¦show more content†¦In this sense for Boyle the benefit of committing crime outweighed the cost, which explains his ongoing criminal behaviour. However, these benefits received would be an after effect of committing these crimes. What the Rational Choice theory fails to explain is why the need for committing the crime in the first place. Although Rational Choice theory does mention the psychological and sociological aspects that the offender brings with them into certain situations, it bases these aspects on calculating whether to commit the crime or not, rather than what sociological or psychological effects would contribute towards committing the crime in the first place i.e. strain, inequality, poverty, learned behaviour etc. Therefore it still does not seek to explain the individuals social circumstances. In this sense according to Newburn (2007) it fails to take sufficient account of the structural conditions within which individual decision-making takes place (Newburn, 2007,296) Simply Rational Choice theory does not explain the reasons for committing crime in the first place. It explains the process that takes place when there is an opportunity for crime. According to Newburn (2007) it fails to explain or is unconcerned with the motivation of the o ffender. What it does seek to explain is the reasons why offenders such as BoyleShow MoreRelatedJustification Of Punishment Justified By Ted Honderinch s Punishment1038 Words   |  5 PagesWhy punish? Is the use of punishment Justified? Ted Honderinch’s Punishment: The supposed Justifications Revisited aim to answer these questions. Punishment is at the core of our punitive systems, therefore society needs to establish a well thought-out moral explanation as to why we punish and what we aim to achieve with the use of punishment. Honderinch set out to analyze the supposed moral claims that justify the practice of punishment and to determine if they are satisfactory enough for the intentionalRead MoreThe Theory Of The Criminal Justice System931 Words   |  4 Pages The notion that punishment should be equal to the crime is a major philosophy in the US criminal justice system. 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