Global warming is considered as the impacts of human activities on the climate (Houghton, 2005). The temperature increases observed since the middle of last century have resulted from the increases of greenhouse gas emissions (Eckard, 2010). As the issues of health problem and nature disasters draw more and more attention, GHG emissions reduction becomes a key issue in every walk of life, from politics to business. According to the latest data from Environment Canada, the construction industry contributed to around 1.4 Mt CO2e annually between 2005 and 2011 (Environment Canada, 2013). Although, it accounts for only 1.7% of total Canadian GHG emissions in 2011 (Environment Canada, 2013), this is still a considerable amount, which requires …show more content…
The specific objectives of this project are to:
Objective 1: Determine the accounting tool of GHG emissions.
Objective 2: Identify existing practices for GHG emissions reduction in the construction industry.
Objective 3: Finalize best practice guidance for local construction companies.
II. Background and Context
2.1 Scope of this study
2.1.1 Definition of GHG
According to the Kyoto Protocol to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate change, GHG embraces six gases that are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydro fluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6). Since the latter three are not usually found in the construction industry (Yan et al, 2010) and CO2, CH4 and N2O accounts for 98.7% of the entire GHG emissions (Environment Canada, 2013), GHG mentioned in this study only refers to CO2, CH4 and N2O.
2.1.2 Sources of GHG and Division
Based on mass lit reviews, GHG emissions in construction industry are mainly from following sources: manufacturing of building materials, transportation of materials and equipment, transportation for employees, energy consumption of on-site equipment, disposal of waste (Core, 1998; Guggemos, 2005; Upton, Spinney & Heath, 2008). Because the target readers of best practice guidance are construction contractors, this study will not consider the material aspect. Instead, GHG emissions from stationary sources should be looked into because those
Case Background: - In transportation industry, one of the biggest challenge is how to deal with carbon dioxide emissions and how to reduce the energy. According to the Natural Resources Canada, one third of the greenhouse emission is because of transportation industry.
Managing and implementing sustainability requires the commitment of all stakeholders and new ways of working, thinking and learning. [4]” The paper highlights the importance of a coordinated supply chain action in the construction sector and emphasizes the need for construction companies to train and invest in resource- efficient building methods and practices. This will manage the balance between stability and change [4].
The human race all around the world wonders if the climate is changing due to human activity or if it is just a natural occurrence. At certain parts of the Earth's surface, the climate can be observed much differently than other locations. As the years go by the average temperature of the Earth increases by little intervals. There are several different reasons why people believe the climate is changing every year. However, the increase of worldwide population and production of heat to the atmosphere is due to the increase of human activities that take place on a daily basis. Human activity is the main cause of the global climate change. The human impact on climate exceeds any known changes due to natural processes. The impact of this human activity is often misunderstood when looking at climate change.
What we are doing to stop burning fossil fuels and help the environment is everything we
“Up to 16,000 Canadians die each year because of high pollution levels and poor air quality (City Of Windsor 2016).” Air pollution is the world's largest health risk. Pollution and climate change is a major global issue. Canada is “the ninth largest emitter of greenhouse gas” that needs to enact a climate policy [1] (Mildenberger et al. 2016). Greenhouse gasses are emitted by Human activities such as energy industries, transportation, residential and commercial activities, manufacturing, construction, industrial processes, and agriculture (Ayşegül &
A few of these was include, methagenic material eliminating methane emissions and offsetting the reduction in landfill carbon sequestration, materials that require large energy input can be made from recycled inputs which require less energy and virgin materials, as well as the reduction of cardboard and paper products reduces the demand for fresh wood for harvest which increases forest carbon storage (Kelleher, Seidel, & Torrie, 2015). For certain materials, recycling, reducing, and reusing them have a positive effect on reducing the energy use of industries to manufacture them and GHGs. Some of these materials include aluminum and paper. The authors discuss how the overall GHG emissions that are embedded in a final product is still sensitive to the amount of energy used during the manufacturing process as well as the GHG intensity of the energy use and various fuels utilized during the manufacturing processes (Kelleher, Seidel, & Torrie, 2015). The authors also find that GHG associated with aluminum and paper is higher in the United States industry because of the lower GHG intensity of Canadian electricity (Kelleher, Seidel, & Torrie, 2015). This is the result of Canada utilizing more hydroelectricity and the United States depends more on coal for electricity (Kelleher, Seidel, & Torrie, 2015). Table 2 illustrates the impact of recycling due to forest carbon sequestration and energy savings on GHGs. In this table we see that aluminum, non-ferrous, and PET are the most recycled materials that have high energy savings and forest carbon sequestration. These materials are measured in tonnes and represented as CO2eq per tonne of recycled material. Moreover, the selected materials that have the least GHG impact on energy saving and forest carbon sequestration are glass, ferrous metals, steel, and
Greenhouse gas regulation (GHG) is one of the ways that eases climate change while keeping Canadian economy. They must consider mitigating greenhouse emission under the condition of rising energy production and greenhouse gas consistently (Tarnoczi & Driver, 2014). In addition, Canada is a third largest oil reserves, as well as ninth largest emitter in the world and approximately 25% of greenhouse gas is attributed to transportation (Figures, 2015). Therefore, the effort of people is needed for significant reduction. Canadian governments try to achieve it through the stringent regulation for the transportation and electricity sectors (N.A, 2015). However, advantage and disadvantage for both people and industry exist at least. Forum (2013) indicates
Global warming has been a controversial topic for years and some have even denied its existence; however, as more studies are being published every day in regards to our changing climate, it is hard to ignore this growing issue and how humans contribute to it. The term greenhouse gases refers to the group of gases that are primarily responsible for global warming and chief among these gases is carbon dioxide. Rising carbon dioxide levels can be attributed to a combination of burning fossil fuels such as coal, natural gas, and petroleum as well as deforestation in general ( Source A). To slow the effects of global warming, it is important for leaders in our society to consider their greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon dioxide, and make
Most of the blame for climate change over the years especially after the 1850’s has been placed on humans. As long as modern humans have roamed the earth, they have been upsetting the natural balance of the earth. People have did this by clearing areas of land, killing animals, polluting water, etc. Before the “modern human”, people like the Native Americans cared for the earth. They respected the land and the people that cared for it. Unfortunately, people don’t care anymore. Until recently, people did not care for the earth. People did not realize the harm they were causing it. Now we know how detrimental things are that we continue to do and used to do.
Consequently, the greenhouse gasses that most affect the atmosphere include: carbon dioxide, water vapor, methane, tropospheric ozone, and nitrous oxide (“Greenhouse Gases: Introduction”). The overall effect of the presence of certain gases depends on its abundance, concentration and the amount of time spent in the atmosphere. Water vapor is the most predominant gas in the atmosphere but it spends only about nine days there whereas carbon ioxide, another powerful gas, spends about five years (Schlesinger). The United States Environmental Protection Agency found that “In 2011, CO2 accounted for about 84% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities” (“Carbon Dioxide Emissions”). Carbon dioxide is an organic gas which is naturally found in the earth’s Atmosphere but the level has drastically increased since the start of the industrial revolution. This is because carbon dioxide is released during the combustion fossil fuels (ie. oil, natural gas, and coal) which occurs when generating electricity, transporting people and goods, and producing products. Electricity accounts for thirty eight percent of emissions, transportation thirty one percent, Industry fourteen percent, and the last sixteen percent a combination of residential and commercial and other sources (Carbon Dioxide Emissions). Talks in 1997 brought about the Kyoto Protocol on February 16, 2005. The Kyoto Protocol included thirty six countries making individual goals for
Progressive deterioration of global warming and protection of environment are important areas of interest for the whole world. Buildings as an underlying cause are responsible for global warming. Edwards (1996) pointed out that building has a key role to play as they are one of the major sources of energy consumption. And he (1996) also stated with some statistics to support this point that buildings account for about half of all global – energy, water, and raw materials as well as in the EU (Edwards, 1996, P. xiv). And another data is that buildings constitute about 45 per cent of carbon-dioxide emissions (John, 1998, P. xi). In addition, buildings should be accountable to most of land loss in agriculture. But it does not
To begin with, the environment we choose to place ourselves in has the ability to impact our wellness within an instance. With that being said, there’s a possibility our wellness is likely to be threatened. For those apart of organizations concerned about the wellness of others, it’s their responsibility to inform the community about how to prepare themselves for environmental changes. What has the possibility to occur within an environment varies. Everyone adapts to alterations differently, but is human activity responsible for global warming negatively affecting human health?
Following the carbon movement sustainable performance calculation nowadays takes the production of carbon dioxide as the normative parameter rather than just energy use. Zero carbon means so much as zero fossil energy. All building related energy is then generated from renewable resources; not necessarily generated on-site. In contrast to zero carbon, carbon-neutral buildings become net-zero producers where carbon emission is counter-balanced by some compensating measures; not necessarily on-site or even building related.
Concrete is the most commonly used material on earth apart from water. The main reasons for such a wide use are the performance benefits that include durability, robustness, thermal mass, acoustic performance and flood resilience. The amount of concrete used annually is equal to about 2.8 billion tons in 2008. Thus, the concrete industry is one of the main contributors to the total CO2 emission of the world. Cement, the principal component for production of concrete, manufacturing amounts to approximately 7% of the total CO2 emission in 2007 globally. However, carbonation reaction that occurs in concrete with age reabsorbs CO2 released during calcination. Therefore, the main focus of reduction in emission during cement production is by reducing the energy use or the amount of cement used in the manufacturing. Moreover, the advantage of concrete is that it is locally produced; as well as all its primary components are universally available. Apart from that, concrete can last longer than other construction material and has low maintenance and long service life. Thus, conserves a lot of energy resulting in a very less CO2 emission if measured according to Full Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). The main problem with manufacturing of concrete apart from cement usage is the large quantities of gravel, sand and water are used that has considerable ecological effects. The use of concrete will increase in coming years as large number of developing countries began to
Many efforts were conducted to link calculation of embodied carbon dioxide with optimization and decision-making processes. Park et al. (2012) presented a methodology that is capable of minimizing CO2 emissions and cost associated with material production stage. They applied their model to a 35 story high rise building and they took into account composite sections. They studied different types of steel reinforced columns taking into consideration the cost and carbon dioxide emissions produced from these columns. They considered strength levels of concrete and steel. Nevertheless, Park et al. (2012) did not consider construction phase,