As a student aspiring to join the civil engineering field, climate change is crucial in how to design and build infrastructure. Presently buildings are the greatest CO2 emitters throughout the world, especially glass towers. The main function of a building is to provide a habitable space for people to live or work in. This means each building needs to maintain a hospitable humidity level, temperature level and lighting. As such, the amount of energy required to power a building drastically increases as a building gets taller. In addition, the trend of having a glass façade is unsustainable for the environment. Glass has a low R-value, the material’s ability to resist heat flow (Mehta et al 99), meaning the heavy reliance of HVAC systems to cool or heat the building further increases the energy usage. In conclusion, the first step for humans to make a major difference in the battle against climate change is by making buildings more sustainable and less reliant on heavy energy usage.
Work Cited Page
Mehta, Madan, et al. Building Construction: Principles, Materials, and System. 2nd Edition, Pearson, 2013.
NASA. “What Is Climate Change?” NASA, 14 May 2014, www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-climate-change-k4.html