Environmental Problems, Their Causes, and Sustainability 1

Atlanta’s 13-story Georgia Power Company buildinguses 60% less energy than conventional office buildingsof the same size. The largest surface of the buildingfaces south to capture solar energy. Each floorextends out over the one below it, which blocks out thehigher summer sun to reduce air conditioning costsbut allows warming by the lower winter sun. Energyefficientlights focus on desks rather than illuminatingentire rooms. In contrast the conventional Sears Towerbuilding in Chicago consumes more energy in a daythan does a city of 150,000 people.Green architecture is beginning to catch on in Europe,the United States, and Japan. In the Netherlands,the ING Bank built an energy-efficient headquartersthat cost no more than a conventional building butuses 92% less energy. This saves the bank $2.9 million ayear.Since 2001 the U.S. Green Building Council hascertified 89 office or apartment buildings, condos,manufacturing plants, convention centers, schools, libraries,and college buildings (such as the environmentalstudies building at the University of Californiaat Santa Barbara) as meeting strict environmental designstandards. More than 1,000 other buildings haveapplied for the council’s sought-after seal of approval.In 2000 the 4,000-member Green Building Council’sLeadership in Energy and Environmental Designprogram (LEED) established building standards and asilver, gold, and platinum scoring system that is used byan increasing number of architects, developers, andelected officials across the United States. In 2004, thetwo buildings with the most platinum points were theNational Resources Defense Council’s three-story officebuilding in Santa Monica, California, and the AudubonSociety’s office building in Los Angeles, California. Themayors of New York City and Chicago have vowed toR-60 or higher insulationSmall or no north-facingwindows or superwindowsR-30 toR-43 insulationHouse nearly airtightAir-to-airheat exchangerR-30 toR-43 insulationInsulated glass,triple-paned orsuperwindows(passive solar gain)R-30 to R-43insulationFigure 18-12 Solutions: major features of a superinsulatedhouse. Such a house is so heavily insulated and so airtight thatheat from direct sunlight, appliances, and human bodies canwarm it with little or no need for a backup heating system. Anair-to-air heat exchanger prevents buildup of indoor air pollution.make their cities the greenest in the United States. Haveyou considered a career in green architecture?Another energy-efficient design is a superinsulatedhouse (Figure 18-12). Such houses typically cost 5%more to build than conventional houses of the samesize. But this extra cost is paid back by energy savingswithin about 5 years and can save a homeowner$50,000–100,000 over a 40-year period. Superinsulatedhouses in Sweden use 90% less energy for heating andcooling that the typical American home.Since the mid-1980s there has been growing interestin building superinsulated houses called strawbalehouses (Figure 18-13). The walls are made by stackingAlison GannettAlison GannettFigure 18-13 Solutions: energy-efficient, environmentally healthy, and affordable Victorianstylestrawbale house designed and built by Alison Gannett in Crested Butte, Colorado. Theleft photo was taken during construction, and the right photo shows the completed house.Depending on the thickness of the bales, plastered strawbale walls have an insulating valueof R-35 to R-60, compared to R-12 to R-19 in a conventional house.(The R-value is a measureof resistance to heat flow.) Such houses are also great sound insulators.http://biology.brookscole.com/miller14387