Green Building Movement

Green Building Movement

Introduction

The term "green building" refers to buildings in which the concept of planning and redevelopment based to disassembly on environmentally friendly strategies. Low energy buildings, solar homes, passive and zero energy houses fall under the concept of green building (Melaver, 2009). The benefits of the "green building" are obvious, it Increased profitability through throttled energy consumption and an advanced environmental performance through the use of natural materials and concepts (Coleman, 1994). This study will be highlighting all the components of Green building as well as the benefits from those components and also elaborate the historical background of green building movement along with analyzing recent green building developments in the United States.

Discussion

History of Green Building movement

Green” building system components can be traced back to 1851. During these years, words like ecology or environment are present in all areas and are in the eighties when there is the use of the concept of "sustainable development" appeared within the framework of the United Nations and currently binding in all regards economic development policies (Rider, 2011). This term arose within the Brundtland Report "Our Common Future" in 1987, "meet our current needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". That is, we propose the feasibility of a development permit with conditions that future generations have the resources for future development (Melaver, 2009).

Since then and throughout the nineties and the beginning of the present century considerable efforts have been made in all fields with experimentation in the use of alternative energy, new materials, efforts in R & D investment and increase energy efficiency at all levels, all through the generation of specific documents and regulations have identified the key issues and how to address them (Melaver, 2009). Of particular note is the so-called Charter of Aalborg, the result of the European Conference on Sustainable Cities and Towns in Denmark in 1994, or, by all accounts, the Kyoto Protocol, a result of the Convention on Climate Change of 1997. Modern “green” building movement gained North American popularity during the 1930s and again in the early 1970s (Melaver, 2009).

Scope of Green Building

The "Sustainable Development" seeks to reconcile economic growth with the idea of ??sustainability, linking the abstract to the physical to pursue common goal.Accepted environmental limits to our way of life but also is confident in the possibilities of growth or development (Rider, 2011). This will provide sustainable guidelines to consider globally:

Reduced consumption

Increased system efficiency

Control of world population

These general guidelines are relatively ambiguous tried give concrete using parameters and a list of recommendations to be applied in the different economic sectors linked to the physical environment (Coleman, 1994). Undoubtedly the construction sector is one of them, considering that their growth is intrinsically linked to economic development and sustainability as a goal and formally accepted by all.

Green Building Development in United States

The U.S Green Building Council (USGBC) is the primary leader as well as educator in the world of green building nowadays. This council is the authorized body of LEED, however, the programming through which the points ...