Is timber a sustainable building material?

Is timber a sustainable building material?

Timber is of course a sustainable material as it is a natural and renewable resource. Not only that timber derived from trees that consumes carbon dioxide and releases oxygen in their life cycle, it consumes less energy than other most of other materials as it does not need many manufacturing processes.

Timber is also a renewable material considering it reusability. Comparing to other major building materials such as glass, aluminium and steel, timber is the only one that can be reused without whole broken down and remanufacture. In addition to this, timber products other than paper are usually recycled into a new building. After structural timber is weathered and wracked, they becomes a good source to recycle to be skirting boards, doors, window frames, floor claddings, etc..

In recent years, recycled and salvaged timber becomes a fashionable icon in building projects. The valuable texture promotes the natural feelings that other materials cannot deliver. The lantern pavilion in Norway shown below was constructed by sustainable timbers and glass panels. The use of materials with the design highlights the beauty of environmentally friendly architecture. Being an iconic meeting place, it performs to the public the possibility to combine traditional architecture with modern building styles.

References:

1. Timber Sustainability

http://www.boral.com.au/TimberFlooring/sustainability.asp

2. Timber as a sustainable building material

http://makeitwood.org/documents/doc-692-timber-as-a-sustainable-material.pdf

3. The Lantern Pavilion: Glowing Contemporary Architecture Made of Sustainable Timber
http://inhabitat.com/the-lantern-pavilion-glowing-contemporary-architecture-made-of-sustainable-timber/

Is concrete a sustainable material

Is concrete a sustainable material

Concrete is a widely used material in modern architecture due to its resilience, structural strength, and minimalistic qualities. However, is it a sustainable material?

To see if a material is sustainable or not, we need to look at few points. But first of all, the tolerance of concrete gives it a great advantage of being a sustainable material as the main idea of sustainability is making the current situation available for future use. Therefore, the averagely long lasting material, concrete, that can stand at least 40 years, gains credit to be a sustainable material under this point of view.

There are few basic questions to ask for the sustainability of a material:

·       What is its real value -- for initial use and long term? 

·       Does it provide optimal performance for its application? 

·       Is it widely available? 

·       How ubiquitous are the source materials? Or, do they regenerate and how quickly?

·       What is needed to process it into a usable form? Did this process produce/release toxins or destroy habitat? 

·       How much energy and water did it take to make it? 

·       How much waste material did it generate?

·       What does it need to operate – maintenance inputs, operating energy?

·       Were the people involved in producing, delivering, and installing it fairly compensated? Were they provided with safe and healthy working conditions?

·       How long will it last? What happens at the end of its service life?

Considering the raw materials to make concrete contains water, cement and sand, which are widely available, and the building being built can last for a long time, concrete is a sustainable materials. In addition to this, the strength of concrete allows us to make change to existing structure, giving it extra flexibility to adapt to different future use. With the aid of modern technologies, the possibilities in the shape of concrete provides a lot of advantage to sustainable living through increasing daylight access and natural ventilation.

References:

1. What is a Sustainable Material?

http://www.sustainableconcrete.org/?q=node/1

2. The Sustainable Value of Concrete

http://www.sustainableconcrete.org/?q=node/2

The biodiversity in Australia – part b

The biodiversity in Australia – part b

To solve the threat stated before, Australia divides the responsibility into three sectors- the government, business and the community. This means that every one needs to work by themselves to achieve this. The government do this by few directions, it includes engaging all Australians in biodiversity through mainstreaming biodiversity, increasing indigenous engagement and enhancing strategic investments and partnerships; building ecosystem resilience in a changing climate by protecting diversity, maintain and re-establishing ecosystem functions and reducing threats to biodiversity.

Each implementation of each action provides clear details of what has to be done and what value is required to achieve. Taking vegetation as an example, according to the Australia’s native vegetation framework, it outlines the importance of conserving vegetation in Australia, the role of public and government, and the reference for legislation related to native vegetation management on Australian continent. For individual, it encourages us to learn more about native vegetation and its importance; participating in or supporting training and education to maximise the knowledge and understanding of good native vegetation management. So, it basically setting out the direction for the government and us to get an idea of what we can do and what we should do by providing current condition, threats and goals of vegetation conservation.

In fact, other than salmon sashimi, a proper biodiversity benefits our world in every aspects from breathing to cultural qualities. It provides food, fibre, fuel and fresh water; it provides cultural services such as spiritual, recreational and aesthetic values; and it even helps us to regulate pollution and climate. Therefore, there is really a need for the public to understand the current situation and start  to do something in a daily basis in order to make our city to be a sustainable city.

References:

1. Australia's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/australias-biodiversity-conservation-strategy

2. Australia’s Native Vegetation Framework

http://www.environment.gov.au/system/files/resources/76f709dc-ccb3-4645-a18b-063fbbf0a899/files/native-vegetation-framework.pdf 

The biodiversity in Australia – part a

The biodiversity in Australia – part a

According the definition, biodiversity is the variety of different types of life found on earth. It is a measure of the variety of organisms found in different ecosystems. And here the question comes, “What is good about conserving biodiversity?” The answer is pretty straightforward; all living creatures need other creatures and plants in one way or another. All the daily food we need is benefited from a healthy ecosystem. Proper growth of plants depends on lots of factors other than water and sun, the earthworms that facilitate the growth of plant roots, and hence efficient nutrients, the low amount of plant eating animals such as deer and rabbits, if there is no lions in an ecosystem, the abundant number of herbivore may cause depletion on certain plant species. In fact, importance of a healthy ecosystem, as what a sustainable biodiversity can deliver, is needed to sustain our delicious and vibrant dinner set. =] Who can live without a salmon sashimi every week?

For Australia, known as a country that has a large biodiversity, which is unique in her land, has strategies to conserve such valuable diversity. According to the Department of the Environment, biodiversity in Australia in currently declining due to numbers of threats. The loss of habits due to degradation and fragmentation, the increase of invasive species, unsustainable use and management of natural resources, changes to the aquatic environment and water flows, and the last and the most important one, the climate change, all have negative impacts on the biodiversity. Hence, Australia’s conservation is based on tackling these threats.

References:

1. Why do we need to conserve biodiversity?

https://ypte.org.uk/factsheets/biodiversity/why-do-we-need-to-conserve-biodiversity

2. Australia's Biodiversity Conservation Strategy 2010-2030

http://www.environment.gov.au/biodiversity/publications/australias-biodiversity-conservation-strategy

BUSHHHHHH FIREEEEEEEEE~!!!!!!!!!!

BUSHHHHHH FIREEEEEEEEE~!!!!!!!!!!

“Bush fire is one of the four natural disaster in Australia, together with drought, flooding and severe storm.” My Australian studies lecturer told me in my foundation years. Bushfire, being a frequent event during the hotter months of a year that causes property damage and loss of human life, it is in fact has some linkage to the sense of sustainability.

Certain native floras in Australia have evolved to rely on bushfire as a means of reproduction. And indigenous Australians have used fire to foster grasslands for hunting and to clear tracks through dense bush. Of course, the use of bushfire from indigenous people is under control instead of just burning bush site randomly. Low intensity of bushfire burned in relatively small area was used to maintain a pattern of vegetation to encourage new growth and attract game for hunting, and encourage the development of useful food plants, for cooking, warmth, signaling and spiritual reasons. With the constant moving nature of aboriginals, the constant use of fire indeed resulted in a fine pattern of different vegetation and fuel ages across the landscape. As a group of people populated the Australian continent for more than 40,000 years, their way of living somehow shows their consideration on sustainable living. Appropriate demolishment is attempted for future development, biodiversity is sustained as a result.

References:

1. Bushfire risk management

http://nsw.greens.org.au/policies/nsw/bushfire-risk-management

2. Traditional Aboriginal burning

http://www.dpaw.wa.gov.au/management/fire/fire-and-the-environment/41-traditional-aboriginal-burning