WATER:

It’s easy to take water for granted. We use water for everything; from washing our clothes and ourselves, to toilet flushing and dishwashing. And every drop of the  water we use undergoes a cleaning process that uses an energy source.

It's therefore important to reduce the amount of water a home needs to operate. 

ANOTHER CONSIDERATION:

According to many experts, water and its availability and quality will be a major issue for societies and the environmental Eco-system under climate change; With freshwater and potable resources strongly impacted.

Use is mainly linked to changes in population, food consumption, economic policy (incl. water prices), technology, lifestyle and society’s views about the value of freshwater ecosystems. Life-style, further explained as, the use of water-hungry appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, lawn sprinklers, toilets etc. Resources- in terms of quantity and quality, is therefore, critically influenced by human activity.

With building materials, mitigation can reduce the magnitude of impacts of global warming on water as a resource; However, there are negative side effects, such as increased water requirements for afforestation/reforestation activities or bio-energy crops, if projects are not sustainably located, designed and managed. IE: Soy And Corn based products.

It is important to not only consider water saving features in your new home, but also consider building products which have a more responsible management and practice in place when at all possible.

PRIMARY SOURCE:

Bates, B.C., Z.W. Kundzewicz, S. Wu and J.P. Palutikof, Eds., 2008: Climate Change and Water. Technical Paper of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC Secretariat, Geneva, 210 pp.

ENERGY

EMBODIED ENERGY EXAMPLE

WATER

RESOURCES: materials

NEW VS REMODEL: Preservation