A New Perspective On Greenhouse Gases

If you ask the average person what is the greatest contributor to greenhouse gases, they will most likely say cars and other vehicles used in transit. This may also be because there is a lot of press pertaining to alternatives for the current oil burning automobiles most people use. Of course, this transition to more green and efficient transportation is a very good and necessary thing but, we can't overlook what may be the largest polluter of them all...Buildings.

A new study by the Bloomberg administration in New York says that buildings are responsible for 79% of New York City's greenhouse gas emissions. In addition even though New York is a massive polluter because of it's size it comes in much lower per ca pita at 7.1 metric tons per person compared to the national average of 24.5 metric tons per person, as mentioned in the New York Times.

This shows that greenhouse gas emissions from buildings is probably a huge problem nationwide. The fact that they get a fraction of the press that automobiles do as polluters is doing us all a huge disservice. It is also much easier to construct buildings to make them more environmentally sound, than it is to change our bad polluting habits with transportation. Everywhere you look new homes and buildings are being constructed at an alarming rate, it is easy to institute new technologies into this construction if it is a priority.

Hopefully after this study which came out today, the focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions by changing heating, construction, and other habits pertaining to buildings will be greatly increased. In an article that came out last October, it mentions..
“The architecture and design profession is the only profession that can slow green house gas emissions down,” he said. “Architects have been complaining that they’re losing status . . . Well, that has changed. Now we have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the world.”

We are hopeful that those involved in building and home construction will take this information seriously and lead the way to greener future.