'Our entire society rests upon- and is dependant upon-our water, our land, our forests, and our minerals. How we use these resources influences out health, security, economy, and well-being." John F. Kennedy

According to the Worldwatch Institute, buildings construction and operation is responsible for:

• 40% of the world's total energy use,
  30% of raw materials consumption,
  55% of timber harvest,
  16% of fresh water withdrawal,   
• 35% of the world's CO 2 emissions,
  40% of municipal solid waste sent to landfills.

For a more comprehensive overview of building impacts, please visit the USGBC's Industry Statistics Page.

Building Construction and Operations consume natural resources and create pollution

Buildings use more than two-thirds of the total electricity consumed annually in the U.S. Narragansett Electric supplies Brown University with nuclear energy as well as fossil fuel and hydroelectric power. Using energy inflicts a burden on the environment through the mining and extraction of fossil fuels, air pollutants released in the burning of these fuels, energy used for transportation of fuel from its source to the power plant, and the byproducts of energy production. Saving energy minimizes a wide range of environmental impacts and potential health risks.

Poor Indoor Air Quality

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has ranked poor indoor air quality as among the top five environmental risks to public health, and claims that unhealthy indoor air, potentially ten times more contaminated than outside air, can be found in 30% of new and renovated buildings. Sick building syndrome is increasingly becoming a basis for lawsuits in the U.S. Brown pays for the sub-par performance of its buildings through health care premiums, absenteeism, and annual productivity losses due to building-related illnesses.

Current building designs could be more responsible

Due to a rapidly rising world population, intensifying demand on scarce resources and continued pollution, environmental degradation and its effects on our future are quickly becoming dominant issues. These environmental dilemmas are presently manifesting in a number of ways: regional imbalances in numbers of people and the food required to feed them, international environmental crime, energy scarcity, acid rain, build-up of toxic and hazardous wastes, ozone depletion, water shortages, massive soil erosion, global atmospheric pollution and climate change. Unfortunately, our current economic accounting system does not recognize the value of natural resources or the cost of pollution and loss of biodiversity as liabilities; thus, these issues are not of high priority to most governments. Independent higher education institutions have the unique position in society to lead by example through implementation of environmentally responsible design and practices. In order to thrive in the 21st century and beyond, Brown University should address its environmental impacts and focus on educating environmentally literate students who have experience solving environmental problems in the real world.

HPBD reduces adverse effects on the environment

David Roodman, the author of the Worldwatch Paper, suggests the best way to reduce the environmental impact of new buildings and save money on energy bills is to use natural forces to heat, cool, ventilate, and light the buildings, since half the energy used to make and run buildings goes to these functions. For example, they found that positioning windows to capture sun in winter, along with insulation and airtight construction could cut heating needs more than 97%. In addition, simply planting trees near buildings can cut summer cooling needs up to 30%. High performance design involves a myriad of effective energy efficient measures.

Brown can reduce its harmful impacts through high performance building design

Currently, the daily actions of Brown University deplete finite resources, pollute the water and air, and contribute to global warming. It is obvious that building design, construction, and maintenance have a tremendous impact on the environment, occupants' health, and natural resource supplies. The building design decisions Brown University planners make today have local, regional, and global consequences. There is something that can be done to improve Brown's operations: implement high performance building design.

Click here to learn about the "Characteristics of High Performance Buildings."

Roodman, David Malin. World Watch Paper 24: A building Revolution; how ecology and health concerns are transforming construction. Washington , DC : Worldwatch Institute, 1995 http://www.worldwatch.org/pubs/paper/124/

EPA: Clean Energy, How does energy use effect the environment? http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/impacts.htm

EPA " Healthy Buildings , Healthy People: A vision for the 21st Century." Office of Air and Radiation (6609J) 402-K-01-003, October 2001 http://www.epa.gov/iaq/hbhp/section_1.pdf