RESEARCH PROBLEM

Statement of the Problem

Global warming may be the chief and most complicated environmental problem to
potentially affect our planet. The climate has been warming fast since the Industrial Revolution,
because human activities are altering the composition of our atmosphere.
The mechanics behind global warming may be described in the following way: All of
energy on Earth comes from the sun in form of solar radiation. This energy is then radiated back
into space. However, the atmospheric gases work to trap some outgoing heat, not unlike panels
of a greenhouse, warming the planet and its inhabitants. Without this effect, life on earth
would not be possible. The problem at hand, however, is the continued increase in the
concentration of these greenhouse gases, a group of substances that mainly consist of carbon
dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. As the amount of these chemicals in our atmosphere
increases, they retain more and more heat inside the atmospheric level, making the planet
warmer. Carbon dioxide has always been emitted in large quantities by plant decomposition
and respiration; however terrestrial vegetation and oceans absorbed it, keeping a balance.
Much of todays CO2 is produced by burning fossil fuels, which are used for heating, running
cars, and powering factories. Methane and nitrous oxide also occur in nature, but some very
powerful greenhouse gases like hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs) are
produced only in industrial processes. They are the most heat-absorbent substances in the
atmosphere.
Most environmentalists are concerned that global warming is a potential danger for life
on earth. Some of the possible outcomes are changes in weather patterns and increase in
extreme climate events, such as drought, floods, and storms. This would result in decreased
agricultural output, increase in disease and other health risks. Less developed nations are the
most vulnerable to these changing conditions, because it would be more difficult for them to
adapt.
There are many counterarguments to the environmentalist perspective. Although a
consensus exists on the reality of the phenomenon, opinions differ on several issues. Some
scientists argue that global warming is a natural phenomenon; therefore the suggested
cutbacks in energy use are useless and ineffective. The accuracy of some of the more
pessimistic predictions is questioned, since there are different ways of measuring the amount
of emissions. Lastly, there is the political controversy about who should pay the price for
emission reduction, and its potential detrimental effect on the economy.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

 Background Study Global warming is an issue that arises to the whole world these days.
Its refers to the rising average temperature of Earths atmosphere and oceans, which started to
increase in the late 19th century and is projected to keep going up. Since the early 20th
century, Earth's average surface temperature has increased by about 0.8 C (1.4 F), with about
two-thirds of the increase occurring since 1980 (America's Climate Choices, 2011). Warming of
the climate system is unequivocal, and scientists are more than 90% certain that most of it is
caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases produced by human activities such as
deforestation and burning fossil fuels (IPCC Synthesis Report, 2007)
Considering the global warming condition, the nations around the world try to make an
action to reduce and prevent it, thats way the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), create The Kyoto Protocol, which is protocol that aimed at
fighting global warming. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the goal of
achieving the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. The Protocol
was initially adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, and entered into force on 16
February 2005. As of September 2011, 191 states have signed and ratified the protocol
(Wikipedia, 2012).
In every country, whether developing or developed countries must have the
infrastructure development activities and the construction industry is part of these activities.
The construction industry is the major natural resources consumer, for example in the UK. Its
accounts for 90% of all non-fuel mineral use (Natural Building Technologies, 2012, and large
proportion of timber use. The construction industry is also use in large amount the material,
such as wood, asphalt, concrete, steel, glass and various other types of material taken from
nature. The use of such material resulted the industrial sector as a contributor to greenhouse
gas emissions.
Meanwhile along with the pace of population growth, the construction process and the
provision of infrastructure will not stop, and the process is as described above using materials
from nature, which are increasingly difficult to obtain. In response to this problem the expert
has developed the idea of green construction / green building as a human effort and innovation
for energy saving and protect the environment from the damage that getting worse, especially
caused by construction industry.
Green Construction or Green Building itself is refers to a structure and using process
that is environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle:
from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and demolition. This
requires close cooperation of the design team, the architects, the engineers, and the client at
all project stages (Ji & Plainiotis, 2006). Green building system is a new system, which has a
difference with the conventional system, and the application of this system could add 30-40%
to project costs. This is what became one of factor, especially for the construction owner are
reluctant to implement it.
 One of feature in green construction or green building is the energy efficiency, the
energy cost in typical building roughly account for about 30 to 40 % of total operating cost,
further, in most countries, electricity, which is one of the main forms of energy used in building,
is generated using fossil fuels such as oil, gas and coal. These fossil fuels are non renewable and
also, during combustion emit carbon dioxide, which contribute to global warming. Since
building typically account for more than one-third of the total national energy consumption,
government agencies in many country are promoting energy management to control energy
resources and environmental emissions.

READING

Climates can change a lot over centuries. Sometimes a region will be warmer than
average for 100 years! Until recently, warmer temperatures have occurred for natural reasons.
Today, humans may be changing the climate and making it warmer.
Human activity can have a negative impact on the environment . Humans destroy the
habitats of animals and plants when they build cities and cut down forests. When people burn
oil, coal, and natural gas, they can also change the climate. How does this happen?
Pollution from factories and cars adds toxic4 gases to the air. These gases rise to the
Earths atmosphere. As the sun's rays warm the Earth, the gases work much like the glass in a
greenhouse. They help trap the heat in the atmosphere, which makes the Earth grow warmer.
That's why they are nicknamed "greenhouse gases."
If the Earth continues to warm up, all of the ice on the North and South Poles could
melt. Global warming would cause the oceans to rise and cover more land. Many places along
the coasts of every continent, including the city of New York, would be underwater.
Many people do not believe that global warming is a real problem. But in the last 100
years, average temperatures have risen 0.7 degrees Celsius, or about 2 degrees Fahrenheit. This
may not sound like a lot. Yet, this change is more than twice as much as previous temperature
increases. The average temperature rose only 5 degrees Celsius over the last 5,000 years.
Scientists think the average temperature could rise another five degrees in the next 100 years.

Discussion:
 The debate on climate change is as what really caused the climate to vary with time and
which affected us adversely. Some say that climate is changed by natural factors like ocean
currents or volcanoes while others deny this fact and try to prove the point that human
activities have forced the climate to change. I support the second opinion, human activities
indeed made the climate to change and result into global warming.
The concentration of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has increased from 290ppm in
1880 to 352ppm in 1989 which can be concluded as the 20% increase. This increase is almost
certainly a result of human activities (Ruddiman,2003).
There has been seen a sufficient increase in the emission of Greenhouse gases due to
human activities. For example methane has an estimated rate of emission from human activity
on the planet which is 375 million tons per year. For carbon dioxide, there is also an estimated
rate of emission from human activity which is 7100 million tons per year. The anthropogenic
emissions of these two gases are easier to estimate, because we know approximately how
much oil, coal, and natural gas humans produce for consumption around the world each year.
We also know approximately how much forest is burned and converted to agriculture each
year. According to 'The state of the environment' published in 1991 by the Organization for
Economic Co-operation and Development, human activities emit about 68 million tones of
nitrogen oxides, 99 million tons of sulfur oxides, 177 million tons of carbon monoxide, and 57
million tones of particulates (dust). However, all these numbers are very approximate. On the
other hand, sulfur oxides have been found to slightly counteract the greenhouse effect caused
by other gases. Still, sulfur oxides are very harmful to the environment and are best known for
causing acid rain. Carbon monoxide doesn't contribute to the greenhouse effect, but has
significant effects on atmospheric chemistry. Dust is generally thought to cool the atmosphere
close to Earth's surface, but this effect depends on various factors, including the size and color
of the dust particles. (Davis, 2004)
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a scientific body set up by the
UN to look at climate change. It says that human activity is the main cause of the changes seen
in climate. Recent reports from the IPCC have concluded that most of the observed increase in
globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed
increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations. "From new estimates of the
combined anthropogenic forcing due to greenhouse gases, aerosols, and land surface changes,
it is extremely likely that human activities have exerted a substantial net warming influence on
climate since 1750." (Uk governement's digital service: DirectGov)
The most important factor for the climate change is the speeding up of greenhouse
effect by manmade activities, which is usually known as Global Warming. Basically, the
Greenhouse effect is naturally caused by the emissions of gases like nitrous oxide, carbon-
dioxide, methane, ozone and water vapor. However, anthropogenic activities like burning the
fossil fuels and deforestation makes the greenhouse effect stronger. Which means more heat is
trapped and the Earth's climate begins to change unnaturally.
The fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas) are burned for various human activities mainly
used for transportation, manufacturing, heating, cooling, electricity generation etc. this can be
summed up after the industrial revolution, in 18th century, and more of the fossil fuels were
being burned frequently. Therefore, manmade gases were being emitted into the atmosphere,
mostly in the form of carbon dioxide emissions, from the burning activity. These gases speed up
the greenhouse effect, forcing the climate to change.
Another factor forced the climate to change and resulted into global warming is the act
of deforestation. Deforestation increases the amount of carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere.
Also, due to the disappearance of trees, photosynthesis cannot take place which lowers the
oxygen level in the atmosphere. Deforestation is rampant today due to the increase in human
civilization. The levels of deforestation have increased by about nine percent in recent times.
Moreover, the burning of wood also causes it to decay, therefore releasing more carbon-
dioxide into the atmosphere, and carbon-dioxide being the main culprit in global warming
increases.
Another man-made cause of the increase in the Green house effect due to the emission
of such gases is the use of any electrical appliances. Even the refrigerator in the house emits
gases which contribute to the Greenhouse effect. These gases are known as
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and are used in refrigerators, aerosol cans, and some foaming
agents in the packaging industry, fire extinguisher chemicals and cleaners used in the electronic
industry. Some processes of the cement manufacturing industries also act as a cause towards
the Greenhouse effect.
Population growth also is an indirect contributor and one of the causes of the
Greenhouse effect. With the increase in population, the needs and wants of the people
increase. Therefore, this increases the manufacturing processes as well as the industry
processes. This results in the increase of the release of industrial gases which catalyze the green
house effect. The increase in population also results in the increase of agricultural processes.
Most man-made machines, like the automobile also contribute to the green house effect.
In one of the recent articles global warming has been linked with the recent natural
disasters. As almost fourteen million people have been affected by the torrential rains in
Pakistan, making it a more serious humanitarian disaster than the South Asian tsunami and
recent earthquakes in Kashmir and Haiti combined. The disaster was driven by a 'supercharged
jet stream' that has also caused floods in China and a prolonged heat wave in Russia. Which
comes after flash floods in France and Eastern Europe killed more than 30 people over the
summer. Jean-Pascal van Ypersele, vice-president of the body set up by the UN to monitor
global warming, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), said the 'dramatic'
weather patterns are consistent with changes in the climate caused by mankind. "These are
events which reproduce and intensify in a climate disturbed by greenhouse gas pollution," he
said, "Extreme events are one of the ways in which climatic changes become dramatically
visible."
Professor Andrew Watson, a climatologist at the University of East Anglia, which was at
the centre of last year's 'climate gate' scandal, said the extreme events are "fairly consistent
with the IPCC reports and what 99 per cent of the scientists believe to be happening".
"I'm quite sure that the increased frequency of these kinds of summers over the last few
decades is linked to climate change," he said. (Gray)
 However , authors such as Lean and Rind (1996) believe that, although natural factors
may be the reason for most temperature increase before the Industrial Revolution, ' the most
likely cause of climate change since about 1850...is the growing concentration of greenhouse
gases as the net atmospheric temperature increase, or 'forcing' is largely due to human
(anthropogenic) activities .Interestingly, particulate emissions from volcanoes produce a net
decrease in global temperatures, due to the reflective properties (albedo) of the sulfate aerosol
particles formed in the stratosphere. (Bianchi, 2010)

Conclusion:
The earth's climate is dynamic and always changing through a natural cycle but the
anthropogenic activities make this cycle speed up unnaturally that create problems in the
atmosphere as either the earth gets oddly warmer or the people have to face natural disasters.
However if man has created all these problems, he should also try to make things better by
finding practical solutions.