文档介绍：Chapter 1
Green Concepts and Vocabulary
THE GREEN BUILDING MOVEMENT TODAY
The construction industry and the architectural/engineering professions have
witnessed fundamental changes over recent years in the promotion of environ-
mentally responsible buildings. Since the 1973 oil crisis, the green building
movement has continued to gain momentum across all sectors of industry
and “green” construction has e the norm on many new construction
projects. Architects, designers, builders, and building owners are increasingly
jumping on the green building bandwagon. National and local programs
advancing green building principles are flourishing throughout the nation as
well as globally.
Indeed, the green movement has rated most areas of our society,
including the construction and home-building industries. Still, according
to Achim Steiner, executive director of the United Nations Environment
Programme (UNEP), “If targets for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction
are to be met, decision-makers must unlock the potential of the building sector
with much greater seriousness and vigor than they have to date and make mit-
igation of building-related emissions a cornerstone of every national climate
change strategy.” Steiner goes on to say:
Public policy is vital in triggering investment in energy efficient building stock, achiev-
ing energy and cost savings, reducing emissions, and creating millions of quality jobs.
In developing countries where more than 50 percent of households (up to 80 percent in
rural Africa) have no access to electricity, affordable, energy efficient, low-carbon
housing helps address energy poverty.
Green construction remains in its relative infancy and is continuously devel-
oping. Moreover, although the practices and technologies used in green build-
ing construction continue to evolve and develop, and vary from region to region
and from one country to the next, there remain certain fundamental principles
that apply to