Mission Statement

We, the students of the Environmental Studies Senior Seminar hope to educate and inspire students, faculty and staff of Mount Holyoke College through our efforts and research contained within this website. We aim to achieve a more sustainable campus by promoting environmental responsibility, conservation of resources, energy efficiency, and increased reliance on renewable energy sources.

Energy Initiative Homepage

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Earth Day 2004

Energy Conservation
Green Buildings

Renewable Energy
Green Campuses Nationwide
Codes of Conduct
Eco-Villages
Looking Into the Future
What Can You Do?
References
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Sustainable Building Design
An Overview


By definition, sustainable design seeks harmony with its environment. To properly balance human needs with environmental opportunities and liabilities requires detailed analysis of the specific site.

Avoiding overdependence on mechanical systems to alter indoor climate is a crucial part of creating a sustainable building. The building design must reflect seasonal variations in solar intensity, incidence angle, cloud cover, and storm influences

- U.S Department of the Interior

WHY SUSTAINABLE BUILDINGS? Sustainable building merges sound, environmentally responsible practices to look at the environmental, economic and social effects of a built project as a whole.

SUSTAINABILITY: “Meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” - including nature

DESIGN: Designers include all those who change the environment with the inspiration of human creativity. Design implies the conception and realization of human needs and desires.

DESIGN FOR SUSTAINABILITY: Designing for sustainability requires awareness of the short and long-term consequences of any kind of transformation of the environment.

The design, construction, and maintenance of buildings has a tremendous impact on our environment and our natural resources. There are more than 76 million residential buildings and nearly 5 million commercial buildings in the U.S. today. These buildings together use one-third of all the energy consumed in the U.S., and two-thirds of all electricity.

By the year 2010, another 38 million buildings are expected to be constructed. The challenge will be to build them smart, so they use a minimum of nonrenewable energy, produce a minimum of pollution, and cost a minimum of energy dollars, while increasing the comfort, health, and safety of the people who live and work in them -Smart Communities Network

Buildings consume or are responsible for:

40% of the world's total energy use,
30% of raw materials consumption,
25% of timber harvest,
35% of the world’s CO2 emissions,
16% of fresh water withdrawal,   
40% of municipal solid waste destined for local landfills,
50% of ozone-depleting CFCs still in use

Structures also affect watersheds, habitat, air quality, and community transportation patterns. (Source: Worldwatch Paper #124). 

CLICK HERE for more information on the impacts of buildings on our environment

Examples of Sustainable or Green Building Design: Take a look at what has already been done.

 

 

 

This page was created by Ann Jyothis Raj '05 in Environmental Studies 390,
Senior Seminar, Spring Semester 2004