First off, a major issue with standard building construction is its demand for mined material; 40% of raw stone, gravel and sand is contributed to buildings, in addition to a similar share of other processed materials such as steel. All of this mining contributes to the destruction of landscape, leading to erosion, toxic run-off and water pollution.

Also, ¼ of the world’s virgin wood is used for construction. This, in addition to mining, contributes to deforestation and eventually flooding and siltation. These processes destroy ecosystems that are home to many plants and animals.

Energy consumption of buildings accounts for 40% of total energy use! This contributes to acid rain, damming of rivers, nuclear waste, and the risk of global warming. The utilities of buildings also account for 16% of total water withdrawals. While the world’s source of water is abundant, buildings consume as much water as agriculture and ecosystems. Inevitably, water pollution becomes a bi-product of standard building practices. In addition, the waste produced during the construction process causes not only water pollution, but other landfill issues such as leaching of heavy metals.

All in all, the world’s standard building practices consume energy, and produce waste, while devastating the earth’s natural ecosystems and resources.

While making minimal sacrifices, the earth can be saved by supporting the green building movement. The green building movement offers alternative sources of material, in addition to, building systems and products in order to lower these human consumption statistics!

Some solutions green building proposes alleviate the stress on the environment are buying lumber from plantation grown woods to minimize the effect on natural ecosystems. Also the use of green products such as green spray-foam insulation, LED lighting, and non VOC paints, among many other green products help to lower human consumption. The overall goal when developing a green product is to use natural material that is renewable and can be recycled, while sustainably providing a building with efficient energy consumption for many years.

John Noriega is an architectural engineer that lives a green lifestyle and encourages others to reduce their carbon footprint. He is also the author of Green Home Products, a review of the best eco-friendly products for your home or office. Visit the blog to learn about more exciting and new products and companies.

Please Note... All links within articles are placed by their author-owners and not by this blog.Products with in those links may or may not be the best in the world.If it sounds too good to be true it could be a scam.Articles are posted for their info,ideas and or entertainment value only.

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Global warming and acid rain are but two of the destructive side effects we are presently seeing as the result of pollution. If only we were able to live without harming mankind’s home, the beautiful green planet, Earth. For city-dwellers it might appear to be a tantalising mirage to think of breathing cool, clean air into their lungs, with no harmful poisons or toxins. We’re already paying the price, though, for the pollution we keep producing; the environment and our physical well-being is being made vulnerable by the air’s toxicity.

We humans are unable to avoid the fallout from the terrible effect that pollution, such as oil and chemical spills, is having on our oceans and all its inhabitants. Generations of fishermen used to provide many people with a livelihood, but pollution is swiftly putting paid to those livelihoods. Fishing has provided for the dinner table and the well-being of so many communities for so long, that it almost seems unthinkable that today we are witnessing its demise. Still fresh in our memories is the Deepwater Horizon disaster, which gave abundant testimony to the disastrous impact of oil spills, causing the loss of many jobs and costing billions of dollars. The whole ecosystem was damaged from the large numbers of wildlife that perished, avian as well as marine, causing consequences along the whole of the food chain. A sad example of human beings prioritising its short-term need for oil, a dead substance, over the well-being of the earth and its other inhabitants.

Rather than investing in existing green energy methodologies and further research into new possibilities, we persist in spending billions of dollars on oil exploration. Green energy has absolutely no adverse effect on the environment and can still provide a lot of energy for people. Given that the sun shines, solar panels, for instance, can heat water and supply electricity as well. An additional green energy source is wind turbines, that change energy contained in wind to electricity. So long as the wind blows – and a number of turbines work efficiently at low wind speeds – a wind turbine will work, which is a neat advantage. Everybody should be aware that the time to carry out an aggressive green energy program is now, given the environmental damage caused by oil, and the limited supply thereof. If we did that, global warming as well as the other ruinous effects of pollution could actually be stopped, and just possibly reversed.

The first beneficiaries will undoubtedly be ourselves, and naturally our descendants in the longer term. We don’t want our youngsters to grow up in a world that has erratic weather and dreadful conditions; we want them to grow up in a beautiful world where they can be proud of the planet and all it has to offer. Beginning to live green, along with taking good care of the environment, could be the only way we can ensure this.

It will require time, money and much endeavour to try and limit the damage of our actions on the environment, but it will be worth it.

For some reason you are unable to green living website like you thought? There is something about green living articles that has people thinking.
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Please Note... All links within articles are placed by their author-owners and not by this blog.Products with in those links may or may not be the best in the world.If it sounds too good to be true it could be a scam.Articles are posted for their info,ideas and or entertainment value only.

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