Reducing Global Warming through Interior Design Research Paper Example

Reducing Global Warming through Interior Design Research Paper Example Reducing Global Warming through Interior Design Paper Reducing Global Warming through Interior Design Paper Essay Topic: Global Warming The purpose of this study was to examine how interior design can decrease global warming by using alternative methods, and why designers should be concerned about conserve or maintain the environment. Once people in the world confront the same problem about climate, many of them are concerned and attempt to solve it. Global warming seems to affect the vast majority of people in the world. Interior design could help people in the world to reduce this problem by designing with sustainability way. One of the many possible solutions is reducing energy and material use in architectural industry. In this essay at first will explain the definition of global warming, global warming effects on human being and how to decrease or eliminate pollutions in the role of interior designer. Followed by the meaning of sustainable design and green design in term of architecture and interior architecture and the use of efficient materials in design process to less damaging environment, then how designer can use alternative or replacement energy to diminish pollutions. What is global warming? For many years people in the world have noticed problems that are caused by human activities which affect the world. Global warming is raising the earth’s average temperature and climate change. It is fundamentally caused by emission greenhouse gases (GHGs) or burning fossil fuel and deforestation in many countries which produced surplus carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane. In consequence, the vast majority of these gases in the air have reached to the higher rates (Moxon, 2012). Almost 45% of human activities emits greenhouse gas by burning of fossil in maintain buildings use, and the rest is used for transportation and goods for people and buildings (Edwards, 2010). Moreover, natural disasters are caused by increasing of temperature and unstable climate, for instance approximately 80 hurricanes and typhoons happen around the ocean every year (Houghton, 2004). Houghton (2004) shows that destruction of Hurricane Gilbert damaged the island of Jamaica and the coast of Mexico in 1988, Hurricane Andrew made the great damaged in Florida and other cities of the United States in 1992. In addition, in 1998 Honduras and other countries of central America were hit and faced a great devastate by Hurricane Mitch are the unforgettable case (ibid. . Hurricanes or typhoons are not the only disasters which caused by climate change. Floods are also one of the worst disaster that occur after deforestation activity, and it can be more damage to people’s life and land (Houghton, 2004). Houghton (2004) states that there was few example of these disasters happen usually in many countries in the world, in 1988 80% of Bangladesh was covered by flood; floods in Venezuela in 1999 was reached to the highest level and killed 30,000 people. Why is global warming important to human beings? Global warming can affect directly to human beings and people should be concerned about what would happen if this issue disregarded. Rising temperature does not only make the climate uncertainly, also effect of social and ecology system. For instance water resources, the available of fresh water will be substantially changed in a world affected by global warming (Houghton, 2004). Increasing of population in the present is needed water to maintain human beings, people need to use it for producing food, for daily life and for infrastructure (ibid. . Climate change influences agriculture and food supply, crops and animals are suitable to seasonal climate. However, higher temperature is the main affect to growth of crops during the year. It impacts on human beings such as human health, environment is one of the most important factors for human beings, people’s health depends on how good environment do they live with (Houghton, 2004). Although people are able to accommodate and cope with the change of climates, the major effect on them is still the heat in high temperature (ibid. . In metropolis heat waves frequently happen mortality can be raised 2 times or even 3 times in a day (ibid. ). On the other hand, there is some positive side, death rates during the winter time will be decreased (ibid. ). Houghton (2004) states that another impact of climate change on people’s heath is rising of diseases in the world. Some diseases grow in tropical part of the world, but with higher temperature it could be expand to other part of the world. For example, Malaria is a disease that carried by mosquitoes which growing faster in temperature around 15-32 C with 50-60% moisture (ibid. ). Houghton (2004) indicates that Malaria presently a huge health problem in the world, people were inflected around 300 million and killed more that 1 million in a year. Two centuries ago in the atmosphere there were 590 billion tons of CO2 but at present CO2 has risen to 760 billion tons (Edwards, 2010). According to Edwards (2010) it is apparent to design buildings for difference climate at present time. How can design reduce global warming in the role of interior designer? Moxon (2012) claims that building manufactures have massive influence on the nature, designers are able to obviously produce smart contradiction to natural problems during their design options, in fact they have the great duty to do it. Thus, interior designers are particularly familiar with the renovation, refurbishment or even re-built, they should be concerned about sustainability or using efficient materials in design methods. However designers who cannot catch up with this problems, it may obstacle their opportunities to work in the future because at the present, a large number of people in many countries are confronted and trying to solve this problems. According to this point of view designer should study how to decrease energy use but support comfort (Thomas, 2006). For instance, Moxon (2012) shows that the refurbishment of Empire State building in New York diminished energy use by 38%, in addition renovation homes might decrease their energy usage by 80%. Therefore, Edwards (2010) and Turrent (2007) claims that designers should reduce using fossil fuel, damage limitation or harm less environment and design for non-carbon buildings. Green design and Sustainable design Jones (2008) claims that sustainable design implies a massive point of view in environmental obligation, ensuring the prosperity of ecosystem in the world for present and forthcoming era. So sustainable design can also mean design which enlarges the capacity of building in case of using of efficiency energy and materials in blueprint process or construction of the building. Green design defines a minor attitude on human’s condition and wellbeing in the produced environment (Jones, 2008). In addition, this can be defined a buildings and planning to build for reduce using of materials, maintain material supply and improve the capacity of life (Means, 2011). Thus, according to Edwards (2010) sustainable and green buildings are the combination of green and sustainable design into the buildings, this means buildings use efficient materials, alternative energy and reduce level of pollutions. Decreasing the use of energy in buildings can reserve supply and maintenance cost during diminishing the air pollutions (Means, 2011). The use of efficient materials One of the most important task in design development process and enlarging sustainability and efficiency is the selection of materials before construction process (Lawton, 2011). Building construction uses a large number of materials which directly impacts on environment (Edwards, 2010). Many of the processes in design project currently unconsidered the efficiency of materials that means designers waste a large amount of materials they use such as wood, stone and metal. Jones (2008) claims that if they concern more about materials and use materials wisely in their design project then they can help to decrease the level of pollutions. In addition, using inefficiency materials can be worsen resource consumption, changing climate and even people’s health. The greatest simple consequence in using inefficiency materials is natural supply decreasing (Moxon, 2012; Sassi, 2006). Efficiency of materials can also mean reuse, recycle and reduce. Reducing, reusing and recycling materials are included the waste of recovery raze, using salvage materials and certifying which limited materials is efficiency of materials at last part of the design work (Moxon, 2012). The selection of materials are also essential to interior design work, while designers do design process they should be able to choose which materials are suitable for their work. Selecting inefficient materials can effect on environment or waste more energy supply more than it should be. Moreover, the importance of origin materials or where they come from can impact on environment (Thomas, 2006). According to Thomas (2006) shows that England’s forests is being demolished about 10,000 million square meters in nowadays; therefore, the use of materials that should be citified or ensured by appropriate organization. In the UK, embody in construction materials consumed estimate 5-6% of total energy used collated with around 50% of using in buildings (ibid. ). In construction process designers should be concerned about planning to decrease or degrade rubbish (Means, 2011). Rubbish in construction is wasted for 15%-20% and transport to landfills, even though approximate 90% of rubbish is likely to be reusable or recyclable (ibid. ). Alternative energy According to Moxon (2012) the use of energy in buildings is the greatest factor impact on global warming. Nowadays the vast majority of energy producer keep using coal, oil and gas to produce 70% of electricity in the world (ibid. ). It emits greenhouse gas to the atmosphere and causes air pollution contribute to uncertain climate. The reduction of using energy seems to be completed by decreasing energy required, use efficient energy, recycle heat and cold or use energy from external area and the ground (Omer, 2008). Therefore, there are several techniques to reduce the energy needs of the building such as more ventilation to flow indoor air or recycle water in building. Many green buildings installed the solar system and use of solar energy to provide heating or hot water. Even more using solar system can reduce the cost of electricity or gas in the winter. Thus, different type of buildings use difference energy, they needs distinct solar system scheme (Means, 2011). For instance, in the commercial buildings may needs more lighting during the day and daylighting is an essential technique (ibid. ). For hotel, lighting may not be the most important energy but water heating is enormously using because areas are took fundamentally night (ibid. ). Daylight could be another alternative energy. If more glass windows are installed it would be more light and use less of electricity in the daytime. Furthermore glass window can make keep the heat inside for long time. Moxon (2012) claims that the use of the sun’s heat to make interior area warm, decrease or diminish using heating equipment in winter time. The significance of daylight seems to be obviously useful for interior and green building should be equipped sufficient light at all time (Moxon, 2012; Sassi 2006. ). Although surplus light makes overheating in the building and designer attempts to avoid it, thus ventilation and blind design are important to translucent the light (ibid. . Provided ventilation makes air flow into the building for users to generate the energy and eliminate heat or carbon dioxide that users produced (ibid. ). Ventilation is important strategy for massive building for designer to producing cleaner air inside the buildings (Thomas, 2006). Conclusion As has been shown, global warming is likely an important problem at the present. Therefore, there are many possibilities to reduce this problems, one of the many methods is reducing through interior design. Interior design seems to be able to help or decrease by using efficiency materials such as using eco-friendly materials, recycle materials from other part of construction process. Even though the use of alternative energy, for instance the reduction of using energy in the buildings by install more ventilations into the buildings or using of electricity in the day time could be replaced by using of solar system and daylight seems to be important factor for people in the buildings to do some activities productively and also decrease maintenance cost of the buildings. Although this issue has been discussed for many times in the past but it is hard to say that most of interior designers frequently work with an idea to maintain or preserve the environment. In addition, sustainable design and green design are becoming more significant to the buildings, because of in the future most people are concerned about environment and they are trying to consume eco-friendly products or to restore what they have damaged. For another line further research is to study of the importance of the selection of material for interior construction process.