The Adverse Environmental Impacts - Assignment Example

REFLECTIVE FOLIOS by Student’s Name Code + Name of Course Date Module 1- Sustainable Development Sustainable development is defined as economic, political, social, and environmental growth, which caters for the needs of the current generation without risking the ability of next generations from meeting their own needs1. Meeting the concept entails looking for ways that would enable the achievement of social- economic development in manners that would ensure the resources present on the planet would be sustained. The current needs in the globe are immediate and real. They are also continually growing at a rapid level. Sustainable development requires the current generation to consider the entire world as a system, which links space and connects time. The view of the world system over space is the reason many proponents championing for sustainable development agitate for minimization of the extents of pollution not to affect the neighborhoods. For example, it enables individuals to comprehend the idea that pollution of air from North America has profound effects on the quality of air in Asia. Thus, thinking of system over time in the world makes people realize that their grandparent’s decisions on poor farming practices in agriculture affect the practices today2. My belief is that this idea forms the reason why economic policies are being endorsed today to care for the future of our children when they become adults. There is a growing understanding that for a good quality life, then the world systems have to be improved to make the environment conducive for healthy growth and ensuring the poor gain access to education. When the poor access education, they will be empowered financially and become active in fostering sustainable development. The original concept of sustainable development was founded on environmental, economic and social sustainability3. The addition of governance to the concept makes it more holistic in reflecting diversity, inclusion, and integration. I believe this addition will emphasize the interconnections between environmental degradation, economic development, and population growth instead of just the three core objectives. To reduce trade-offs and improve synergies, there will be need for developing more integrated approaches in making policies regarding sustainable development. Numerous mechanisms would be significant in improving the coordination of activities geared towards sustainable development4. My suggestion is that corporate bodies together with different structures of governments should bring on board NGOs, businesses, and citizens in their countries to engage actively in working towards sustainable development. My has launched national strategy trends for sustainable development5. Nevertheless, unsustainable patterns persist and range from ageing of societies to climate change especially in developed countries. From experience, I have learnt that drawing attention to the existing problems, without acting to solve the problems will worsen the situation. Through education, most people would be enlightened on the importance of sustainable development, which would benefit the future generations6. Module 2: The Natural Environment The natural environment consists of all the living and non- living things present all over the earth. The natural environment is differentiated by various components. These include the ecological units which are natural systems including soil, the atmosphere, vegetation, microorganisms, rocks, and natural phenomena. Examples are mountains, hills, valleys, fauna, sunshine, wind, lakes, oceans, forests, deserts, and snowfields among others. Some examples of the built environment include housing, shops, factories, refuse suites, airports, cinemas, and offices among others7. Some examples of built environment infrastructure include roads, harbors, dams, culverts, footpaths, and pipelines among others. The natural systems where I live possess various attributes like high efficiency in mass-energy. They have complex and diverse attributes, which occupy narrow niches. In essence, there are no things as waste8. All waste is food. The natural systems have over time evolved through history from simple ones to complex ones. Personally, I have learnt from engineering in natural systems and adoption of its principles. These have been of diverse and great benefit to humans. This follows that the natural systems have to be protected because of their irreplaceable nature. The environment’s design considers all the potential effects of things like energy and materials, transportation, manufacture and packaging, recycling of products and their subsequent disposal9. My experience on the adverse environmental impacts towards the environment is that humans are the main castigators of such activities. Some of these include pollution of the environment through discharging of untreated chemicals to rivers, air pollution from factories and automobiles, improper disposal of solid waste and poor land use. Some social impacts, which have been experienced in my region, include insecurity, increased noise level, thermal discomfort, poor air quality and poor health10. Buildings consume close to fifty per cent of all resources produced. Energy consumption lead to destruction of the natural environment, and this has been evident in my location. Buildings emit toxic substances like carbon dioxide and nitrogen oxide, which increase global warming and acid rain incidences. Sustainable building is defined as developing and proper management of a well-built environment basing on efficient use of resources and ecological principles. I feel that construction of infrastructure and buildings should incorporate sustainable and resource-intensive means11. The aims of this sustainable construction would be to offer futurity that relates to the durability and long-term sustainability for the future generations. Environmental protection should comprise the use of non-renewable resources in optimal ways. Sustainable construction would ensure that proper connection of the quality of life between the communities and their socio-cultural well-being. Thus, sustainable building assists in reducing the rates of consumption of water, and energy resources. The buildings should also minimize the amounts of waste generated and meet the population’s demands12. I have witnessed numerous areas in where environmental impacts were greatly minimized in construction of the buildings. These include proper and optimal uses of energy, water, reduction of wastes, controlling of pollution, improvement of air quality by minimizing pollution, proper management in maintenance by cleaning the building and wise choice of consumables used13. Module 3: Sustainability Drivers in Construction The sustainable development resource and environmental elements are significant in the construction industry. This is because the industry uses natural resource materials directly and the process is highly energy intensive14. Many organisations lack the initiative of promoting sustainability in property development or the construction industry. There are many impacts, which buildings bring about in terms of the social, economic and environmental economic aspects of sustainability within their lifecycle. There is increasingly more pressure being exerted on the construction industry to make it more sustainable15. I have always been a firm believer of sustainable construction and my proposal for adopting the trend is that an environment in which construction should be done has to use resources efficiently using the best ecological principles. This should start from the planning, designing, in the construction and eventually to demolitions in all the construction sectors. The lessons I have gathered about sustainable construction is that implementation of the principles for sustainable development concerning construction has to be holistic in the entire life cycle of construction16. These can be strengthened by the involvement of the government, which can introduce programs and initiatives that would ensure sustainable development in the planning, operation and development of buildings. Therefore, this means that individuals should embrace change in construction of buildings. Personally, I have never conducted a construction but my belief is that sustainable construction should have provisions for fire proofing, improved access, structural stability, low energy services, recycle materials and most importantly, environmental enhancement. Consideration of these aspects can result in sustainable construction. If sustainable construction is embraced, there will be minimized energy reduction and climate change. Wastes and chemical emissions from constructions and buildings will also be reduced. This would ensure that the local ecology is protected and enhanced17. One strategy to employ in the construction industry to ensure sustainability is soil preservation and biodiversity preservation. This potentially entails conducting a feasibility study at the beginning of a project to ensure protection of biodiversity. In the consideration of the materials to be used, a number of questions should be asked. These questions revolve around the remaining reserves and how to prevent their depletion, the impacts of pollution in the construction process and how to recycle the existing materials. Some of the changes needed to ensure there is sustainable building entail changing the methods of construction as well as the resource used. I have witnessed this trend in the past in a construction process. In the construction, there were changes effected in the procedural and the technical aspects to alter the organization, structure, and channels of communication of the industry. This was coupled by paying bringing together of different professionals, users and suppliers hence diversifying the components that enable the developments to be more complex and stronger18. My understanding of the conceptual complexities, which come with sustainable buildings, is that social and economic aspects influence the sustainability of such buildings. Affirming that sustainable building depends on adoption of new strategies is likely to reduce the impacts by the construction industry towards the environment. Module 4: (a) Building Performance Building performance refers to four major areas that regard to constructed structures. These include the operational, functional, commercial and sustainability. Building performance involves the combination of these three elements19.Thus, building performance entails the rental performance, operating costs, materials consumption, energy, water and land, as well as pollution among others. If we add social sustainability, commercial, operating and environmental performances, many issues will have to be considered. For example, the effects on the community, which surround such a development, e.g., access issues, local amenities and transport20. Some performance metrics for building performance include energy consumption, waste production, water consumption, maintenance costs, and operational costs. The building condition and structure of a building usually determine the refurbishment costs, which are incurred. The deterioration degree of various elements determines the need for refurbishment21. Functional Performance This includes the activities and components that enable the achievement of specific objectives by the facility. Within the building’s life, some changes occur. I have personally witnessed this at my residence. The changes were witnessed in the functions, flow of people and the loads capacity carried out as witnessed by other people22. Operational Performance Overtime, building’s operational performance declines. I have stayed in my house for a long period and witnessed a decline in the operating performance of the building. This is a concern because it does not currently deliver the expected outcomes in terms of energy consumptions and efficiencies23. Commercial Performance I have experienced a trend in the commercial performance of the buildings rented out by my landlord. The buildings’ rates depend on their commercial viability. Some of them are overly charged even though the demand for housing has gone up. (b) Building Processes There are two types of building processes: the traditional process including planning, briefing, design, construction, and occupancy and the cyclical process comprising planning, briefing, design, construction, occupancy, and evaluation24. The cyclical building process has been used to give feedback about building users regarding how a building performs. I witnessed a landlord using it to improve his buildings in my neighbourhood25. The process is important in enabling the realization that a certain facility can influence effectiveness in an organization and the welfare of employees. It also enables the improvement of current situations that aid in the designing of future buildings. Measuring Performance The metrics for building performance provide quantitative ways of measuring the operations of a building. The economic metrics of a building offer performance information regarding the building assets alignment with business directions in line with their type, level of investment, location, type, and utilization26. Functional metrics give performance information associated with the management decisions outcomes in relation to the development of assets. The physical metrics provide information on the performance information of the efficient and effective operational aspects management27. The function of measurement is the occupancy and ownership costs to ensure that costs for buildings are affordable. Bibliography Hartkopf, Volker, Vivian Loftness, and Peter Mill. "The concept of total building performance and building diagnostics." Building Performance (1986): 5-22. Murray, Michael, David Langford, and Paul Tansey. "Key drivers of sustainable construction." CIB W92 on Procurement Systems “Project Procurement for Infrastructure Construction (2004): 315-326. US Environmental Protection Agency. "Our Built and Natural Environments: A Technical Review of the Interactions Between Land Use, Transportation, and Environmental Quality (2nd Edition) | Smart Growth | US EPA." Last modified 2013. http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/built.htm. European Commission. "Sustainable Development." Last modified 2013. ec.europa.eu/environment/eussd/. Read More