How Construction and the Built Environment can Both Benefit and Harm the Natural Environment

As we have developed as a species so has our impact on the natural world. This is evident in the rise of natural disasters since the industrial revolution. By the end of the industrial revolution the number of natural disasters had almost doubled. This could be down to the fact that there was an extensive increase in the amount of carbon dioxide and monoxide emitted into the atmosphere (as seen in figure 2.), damaging the balance of the Earth’s temperature. The Industrial Revolution is still known as one of the main catalysts for change in history. There were many engineering advancements that took place and many people benefited however as they say, “There are always two ways to look at a situation”. Huge increases in combustion since the 1800s has doubled the amount of Carbon dioxide that’s been emitted into the atmosphere. The burning of more and more fossil fuels and machine driven products increased rapidly due to the high demand of fast working products.(This can be seen in

The increase of atmospheric carbon dioxide is caused by anthropogenic impacts such as land usage and the burning of fossil fuels. The utilization of fossil fuels has exponentially risen after the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, the emissions of carbon dioxide have followed that trend as well since it is an emission from coal, oil, and gas. Using land for construction sites and industrialized farming leads to the deforestation of trees. Trees are primary carbon sinks for

     Carbon Dioxide plays a key role in the atmosphere. This gas has properties that allow it to sustain and hold in heat, which in turn warms the planet (EIA, 2004). Carbon, the primary component of carbon dioxide; is also the essential molecule for life and is the most basic building block found in all organic compounds. Human activities been blamed for the disruption of the earth’s natural carbon cycles and according to some studies, carbon is being added to the atmosphere faster than the natural processes that sequestrate it. The massive carbon sinks that naturally regulated and fixated excess carbon dioxide have been destroyed as humans have deforested ancient forests for the

The Earth consists of various environmental resources which are often used in a way to benefit society (Wang, Du, Su, Chen, 2012). For instance, a particular environmental resource, fossil fuels, can be used to create energy to provide homes with heat and electricity, power industries, and run vehicles (Judkins, Fulkerson & Sanghvj). Unfortunately, even though fossil fuels provide society with advantages, they cause significant damage to the environment (Gifford, Kormos & McIntyre, 2011). In particular, fossil fuels create a large abundance of atmospheric carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, which is extremely problematic to Earth. When significant amounts of greenhouse gases become

As climate change continues to loom as the greatest threat to the future of humanity, economists and scientists across the globe must come together in order to provide solutions. Atmospheric carbon dioxide is on the rise, at higher rates than ever before. Historically, 337 billion metric tonnes of carbon has been released into the atmosphere since 1751 (Boden et al., 2010). Of these global emissions, approximately 76% is produced through the burning of fossil fuels, 19% due to combustion of gas fuels (most commonly natural gas), 4% through cement production,

A property developer is converting an old railway station into retail and office accommodation. The client is keen to make the working environment for the staff as comfortable as possible. As a consultant, explain how this can be done by addressing the relevant grading criteria.

Industrialization and air pollution are a key cause that go hand in hand when emitting the harmful gases and wastes released into the environment. Due to the overwhelming increase in population over the past few decades, machines and factories had to compensate for the amount of needs for the people (Foley). “Air pollution can be defined as the presence of pollutants,such as sulphur dioxide (SO2), particle substances (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOX) and ozone (O3) in the air that we inhale at levels which can create some negative effects on the environment and human health” (Kavraz). Carbon dioxide has “increased by nearly forty percent over the last two hundred years”, causing the Earth to become hotter and not support as many life forms (Kobasa).Although

Since the 1700 Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide emissions have increased up to 34% in the atmosphere (Josef 1). With numbers still rising, the emissions could have a much more harmful effect on the Earth, causing serious problems in the long run. In fact, just between 2008 and 2012, the CO2 emissions have increased by 8.4% (“11 Facts about Global Warming 2). From just that increase in four years, the next four will be a wake up to reality for people to start conserving the Earth. Every year, human’s activities release about 37 billion metric tons (“35 Facts about Global Warming” 3). New machinery and buildings are going to keep popping up, rising the CO2 levels even more. Humans need to start minimizing their resources. “In the last three decades, the United States has had an average of 80% consumption of fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil; all of which contribute to the emission of greenhouse gases” (1). All of these emissions are human-based problems that can be decreased. The CO2 emissions each year will keep rising and no matter how helpful the resource are, it will damage the world eventually.

Over the past 50 years, there has been an ample amount of evidence that shows how human activity has affected our atmosphere. The level of carbon dioxide concentration has increased tremendously due to the burning of coal, oil, gas and the clearing of forests. These actions are completely preventable and, until human beings realize this, we cannot begin to help our planet recover. The increased levels of carbon dioxide cause the Earth’s temperature to rise which is heating our planet’s oceans as well as melting the ice on our planet. Emissions from the burning of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution has caused an increased concentration of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases remain in the air for hundreds of years before being removed by natural processes, which could drag out into the next century.

For centuries, production and absorption of carbon dioxide was in balance with the ecosystem however, in the last century, human activity has caused detrimental effects to the earth’s atmosphere due to the consequential changes in earth’s natural feedback mechanism. This problem ultimately originated from the industrial revolution in the 18th century where as a result caused the constant production and burning of fossil fuels which has presently caused the warming of earth’s surface. This is ultimately a result of by the greenhouse effect “…which is caused by the interaction between earth’s atmosphere and incoming radiation from the sun.” Greenhouse gases primarily consist of carbon dioxide however others such as “…water vapour, methane, and nitrous oxide…” are also associated to the greenhouse effect. Scientifically, “solar radiation passes through the atmosphere to the surface of earth, where it is absorbed and then radiated upward as heat” is the result of the high emission of greenhouse gases. The most substantial and common way of emission is through the burning of fossil fuels in cars, factories and electricity production. Therefore, human activities over the past century has ultimately caused the more recent problem of the effects global warming is posing to our ecosystem and planet.

The way that humans upkeep the earth effects climate change. Throughout the text, Adams describes that “Burning of coal, wood and animal dung for heat and cooking, incineration of trash and the use of diesel generators contribute to air pollution in developing countries” (Adams 976). Having carbon dioxide particles released into the air harms the environment. Inhaling the air pollution becomes a health risk for humans. Pollutants kill thousands of people each year. Although some may not notice that they have been affected by it, it still harms them with a long-term effect. Air pollutants from gas, oil, and coal changes the atmosphere and causes the weather to change. Changes in the way gas, oil, and coal are used could save the earth and help prevent drastic climate change.

Increased carbon dioxide emissions have played a massive role in the increased rate of climate changes. Though the Industrial Revolution or “Great Transformation” during the late 1700s appears to be the start of the trend. With the Technological advances of their century, these creators did not foresee the severe environmental outcomes that would come of it all, resulting in future centuries of unrest. “Since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30 percent, methane concentrations have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by

In recent decades we have witnessed a gradual change in our environment. Our planet is heating up very quickly which leads to the so called global warming. Humanity has come to understand that its actions are the cause of this warming. The industries of our industrialized countries emit an enormous amount of green-house gases such as carbon dioxide

For centuries, the amount of concentration and production of carbon dioxide along with additional greenhouse gases in Earth was in balance. Trees and other plants are a major part of this when they reverse the process with photosynthesis, which would be turning carbon dioxide back into oxygen for people and animals. But in the last century, the amount of human activity has been on the rise that it has slowed down the

The increased release of carbon dioxide (CO2) through human activity is a major contributing factor to global warming. The human race contributes to the issue of climate change through the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. These activities release vast amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere, which have caused the earth’s temperature to rise (Society, 2016). This process is known as the ‘Greenhouse gas effect’, in which heat from the earth is trapped in the atmosphere by gases, such as CO2, causing the surface of the earth to warm. (Environment.gov.au, 2016). One of the main ways humans emit fossil fuels into the atmosphere is through industrial operations.