A recent post to the worldchanging site (Non Energy Benefits …in Buildings) reminds us of the other, arguably more important, benefits that arise from improved environmental performance of our building and built environment.   It has long been recognised that improved envionments lead to improved performance, comfort, health and well being, yet some how this has been lost in our head-on rush to address carbon, carbon and more carbons.

There is always the need to balance our approaches, ensuring a balanced triple bottom line – ie that of environmental, social and economics, or as was in common use a few years back, fit for people, planet and purpose.  (I do still like the Patrick Geddes triptych of Folk, Place and Work, he agrued amongst other issues, that all design and particulary planning should benefit folk, place and work in equal measures)

The post to Worldchanging on green issues in New York City caught my eye over the weekend:

Around 85 percent of all the buildings that will exist in New York City in 25 years are already standing, according to reporter J. Alex Tarquino in this past Sunday’s edition of The New York Times. 80 percent of the city’s greenhouse gas pollution is created by building energy use — with residential buildings taking up about one-third of that energy.

So however advanced green building methods become, however energy-efficient, we’re going to make the biggest gains in cutting energy use — thus lowering particulate and greenhouse gas pollution — by transforming these older buildings.

Even though the New York way of living is inherently very energy-efficient, compared to other American cities or communities, we can do better, reports Tarquino:

The article makes a valid point of focusing equally on the facilities management aspect of the built enviroment as the construction.

There are so many figures around as to the built environments contribution to carbon and other ”greenhouse’ gases.

Sometimes it feels we are patting fog…do we really know? As Dave over at Carbon Coach has been pointing out for many years now…if carbon gases were purple then the sky would have changed colour in our lifetimes,  and we would be living in a purple haze now – but we would take action …but as its colourless…we don’t.