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As the world changes, we are starting to give some thought to the impact we as a society are making on the world. One development from this is the concept of green building. Beginning with the industrial revolution, we started to consume massive amounts of natural resources. A byproduct of such consumption, of course, is waste. The more we use, the more we produce. Ironically, we already know about the impact of the waste we create on our lives. From the smog impacted city of Los Angeles to the toxic rivers in the east, we have seen and at least partially dealt with the problems arising from the waste produced by our society. Looking around us today, smog seems a rather small problem. Our world is getting hotter. With this will come changes. Weather will become more severe, and water is forecast to become scarce. In the climate change debate, a key fact is often lost. There is no debate the planet is getting hotter. What is disputed is the cause of this heating up. Is this a natural phenomenon of some sort, perhaps a cyclical event or is it our waste that is the cause? The consensus seems to be yes. So, what do we do? Well, there are no easy fixes. Many businesses, however, are beginning to consider approaches that are more environmentally friendly. Green building is one of them. Mention the term green and one tends to get images of people hugging trees and such. In truth, this is not the case. It simply refers to a more efficient way to build and use structures from simple residences to skyscrapers like the Hearst Towers in New York City. From an efficiency standpoint, green building is about harmonizing a structure with its environment. Construction materials tend to be recycled and/or environment neutral. They can be the materials from a building demolished or recycled newspaper for insulation, for example. The design will also take advantage of the environment. The positioning of the structure may be used to incorporate passive solar heating from the sun. To cool the structure, windows that may be opened will be used in lieu of air conditioning. There is little argument that green building is a new concept and thus still struggling to become a standard. That being said, the fact that individual and large businesses are looking to it is a good sign. Perhaps we are turning a corner.
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