Sustainable Design
There are many social design issues that need attention. The one that I feel most strongly about is the idea of sustainable design. The construction industry creates a large portion of the worlds pollution and is responsible for depeletion of our natural resources. Everything from the manufacturing of steel to the harvesting of wood for building products creates pollution. Almost everything that is invloved in the construction and maintaining of a structure, regardless of its use, creates large amounts of pollution and wastes more energy than an her field. Designers and builders are now turning to other means of obtaining materials and sustaining small individual environments. The use of photovoltaics is becoming increasingly prominant in todays world. Photocoltaics utilizes solar energy and created enrgy to power our homes and businesses and heat our water. The use of windmills to create electricity is also starting to catch on on the induvidual home scale. Architects and designers can specify recycled materials and the adapted reuse of existing buildings to reduce the need for newly manufactured materials. For new buildings, things like site orientation in relation to solar angles and wind direction create immediate assets from the natural elements. There are many methods and tricksto designing a "green building." It is impossible to talk about them all. Does anyone have any further info they would like to share on this topic? Anyways, I believe that building and designing sustainable buildings will help in repairing our environment.
" I believe in a created universe where all things have place and purpose and where we humans are challenged everyday to make this a better place. I believe it is our obligation to act respectfully to all living things and to manifest an approach to live in which the dignity of all species is sustained and common interests flourish. It is my belief that we must learn all that we can about our world inorder to live upon it wisely."
-Roger Kennedy, Director NPS-
