Passive Energy Buildings – building for a future with temperature extremes

Passive Energy Building, links for more information 

Climate change is not just about increased temperatures on a global average it is about increased extremes in temperature and increased risk of severe weather conditions. Architecture in many areas is not suited to extreme changes in outdoor temperatures and often glass is a major building material for aesthetic reasons. Glass walls and large windows can make buildings overly cold during cold weather and overly warm during hot sunny conditions. Passive energy architecture tends to use smaller windows that can be shaded during warm conditions and walls may be made of wider materials that provide better insulation during hot or cold weather. 

There is no question of the reality – human use of fossil fuels has been warming the atmosphere since the Industrial Revolution started over one hundred years ago. The ozone layer depletion was addressed successfully with more study and political bipartisan work in the 1970’s and 80’s. Increased use of solar power was also begun at that time but who to blame and loss of fossil fuel profits became more of a concern and disinformation and denial took place after the initial progress with reducing ozone depletion. The history in a long read is available, the introduction and epilogue discuss the current situation and possible directions we are headed as a species and planet inhabitants. “Losing Earth: The Decade We Almost Stopped Climate Change,” by Nathaniel Rich, The New York Times Magazine, August 2, 2018, (Losing Earth/NYTMagazine).

Summary points from the introduction: 

  • Limiting warming to two degrees: tropical reefs will become extinct, sea levels will rise several meters and we will lose the Persian Gulf. This “long term disaster” has become the best case scenario we can hope for if we manage to stop producing greenhouse gases.
  • Three degree warming, possibly the realistic minimum we can expect: “short-term disaster” – loss of forests in the Arctic and loss of most coast cities.
  • Four degree warming: permanent drought in Europe; desertification of large areas of China, India and Bangladesh; Polynesia covered by sea waters; Colorado River reduced to a tiny creek; American Southwest largely uninhabitable.
  • Five degree warming: some leading climate scientist’s consider this level to place human civilization at risk of survival.

Summary take home point – we need to change our civilization in revolutionary ways now – and invent ways to remove greenhouse gases from the air in addition to decreasing adding more to the atmosphere. We need to stop using modern agricultural methods that don’t recycle phosphorus and allow it and other chemicals to run-off into groundwater and coastal waters. (Losing Earth/NYTMagazine).

A free course was available that provides more information about climate change effects that are already occurring and strategies that have been found helpful around the globe: From Climate Science to Action, by The World Bank Group, Coursera.org, resources provided for additional reading are included at the end of this post. A course being offered on the site by the University of Michigan can be enrolled in now which begins August 20th: Act on Climate: Steps to Individual, Community, and Political Action, coursera.org.

This is an area of interest for me but not my area of expertise. Preventative health education is my area of expertise and treating a growing population of humans with more effective methods would also be good for planetary health. Toxic medications eventually add to groundwater pollution and medical equipment and supplies is also adding to pollution.

See these resources for more information about Passive Energy Building and how modifying architecture methods now can help us in the future  (I am not affiliated with any of the resources, this information is being provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of Fair Use; it is not an inclusive list, just a few resources from a brief search or ones of which I was aware from other reading.): 

The problem of architecture and changing climate described: 

Some Solutions: 

One of the “10 Most Energy Efficient, Sustainable Buildings in the World”: 

A few photos of a passive energy rest area can be viewed in this collection of images of rest areas and travel photography: Where’s that rest stop?

Providing energy in sustainable ways at the community level is a strategy being used in one area of the U.K.: 

  • Chelwood Comm Energy – Community energy group, developing and operating solar power for the local community – chelwood.org

/Disclosure: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes. — *Passive Energy Building is a health issue because the very young, the elderly, and the chronically ill are more at risk from excessive heat exposure or extremes in temperature and climate change is making extremes in temperature more common in many locations globally. Reducing use of fossil fuels for air conditioning or heating will ultimately help protect against the long term risks of increasing levels of Carbon Dioxide and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

  • Resources on climate change from: From Climate Science to Action, by The World Bank Group, Coursera.org.

IPCC Fifth Assessment Report 2014, Summary for Policymakers

John Roome, 2016, World Bank Blog, Climate Change from Negotiations to Action

UNFCCC, 2017, Paris Agreement Ratification

FAO, 2017, World’s future food security in ‘jeopardy’

› UNFCCC, 2015, Synthesis Report of the Aggregate Effects of the INDCs

The World Bank, 2015, Shock Waves – Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty.

The World Bank, 2015, Africa Climate Business plan

› UNFCCC, 2015, Historic Paris Agreement on Climate Change

The World Bank, 2013: Building Resilience – Integrating Climate and Disaster Risk into Development

› › World Bank, 2014, “New Climate Normal” Poses Severe Risks to Development in Latin America and the Caribbean

› Diop, Makhtar, World Bank Blog, 2014, Powering Up Africa’s Renewable Energy Revolution

› World Bank, 2014, Climate Change to Bring More Heat, Water Shortages to Middle East & North Africa

› World Bank, 2014, “World Bank Reports Significant Climate Change Impacts in Central Asia, Russia & the Balkans

› World Bank, 2015, Climate Change Threatens to Deepen Poverty in East Asia Pacific by 2030

› Asian Development Bank, 2014, Assessing the Costs of Climate Change and Adaptation in South Asia

World Bank, 2012-14, Turn Down the Heat Series: Why a 4°C World Must Be Avoided, Climate Extremes, Regional Impacts, and the Case for Resilience, & Confronting the New Climate Normal

/Disclosure: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use./

Climate change seems to be increasing lake effect snow

In future decades the winter season is expected to start later and be shorter with more lake effect snow later in the season. In the meantime we seem to be having more lake effect snow earlier in the season. Lake effect snow occurs when cold air passes over a warmer body of water such as the Great Lakes of the midwest region. Read more: https://weather.com/science/environment/news/2017-11-27-climate-change-global-warming-lake-effect-snow-winter-weather

Tis the season for snow tires and driving more slowly. Slick roads makes it take longer for your own and other cars to stop and trying to stop to abruptly can increase the risk of skidding or swerving into other lanes of traffic or off the road. Staying home can be a good idea even if you are familiar with driving safely in snow conditions – others on the road may not be used to the difference. If weather conditions are severe in larger urban areas where roads tend to be congested and travel fast then it would be helpful for businesses to close early or start late and allow workers to avoid more dangerous driving. Fewer drivers on the road is safer when roads are slick and/or visibility is poor.

Having windshield wiper fluid and an interior defroster that functions well is important for visibility when snow is icy or sleet like. Turning on your headlights even during the daytime is helpful during snow or foggy or other poor visibility weather conditions in order to help other drivers see your vehicle. If you are traveling significantly slower than typically posted speed limits it may also be helpful to turn on your Hazard light which makes both turn signals flash on and off and increases visibility of your vehicle.

Driving slower is the easiest way to help maintain control of your vehicle during slick conditions which can include heavy rainfall. Driving 55 instead of 70 is sensible with any snow conditions, add ice or heavy rainfall and driving 35 may be safer. If that is still feeling like the car is ice skating then pulling over and waiting out the weather may be safest. Hydroplaning of the tires can occur when there is a lot of water on the road and it makes the tires lose contact with the road and the road surface will act like a slick ice surface. Pulling over and stopping is safest during very heavy rainfall or when the roads are too icy. Snow itself can give some traction to the tires but if there is blowing snow or heavy snowfall then pulling over is also wisest as it can be difficult to see where the lanes are or even where the side of the road is located. Pulling over is more fun then spending time in a ditch or in a hospital. /Disclosure – I have driven in a lot of bad weather and slid off the road a couple times, pulling over and waiting is more fun./

Some simple driving tips for snow and ice conditions are available here:  https://www.edmunds.com/car-safety/driving-on-snow-and-ice-10-safety-tips.html

Some other tips in case you have to pull over in bad weather are included in a recent post: https://transcendingsquare.com/2017/12/03/traveling-shows-the-beauty-of-our-land-and-people/

Additional emergency equipment that can be helpful where snowfall is frequent is to keep a small garden shovel and bag of cat litter in the trunk of your car. They can be very helpful for getting the vehicle unstuck from minor snow bank or snowy parking lot type issues, the shovel helps you dig out around the tires and the cat litter adds traction to the slick areas under the tires. Over spinning your tires tends to create icy areas under them and make it more difficult to gain traction. A driving companion or passerby can be helpful to be able to push the car out of the snowbank.

The supermoon was a bright companion on a recent journey, helpful for lighting the road:

 

The Supermoon, 12/1/2017. space.com

The Supermoon, 12/2/2017.

/Disclaimer: This information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./

Climate change is real, Exxon knew all along, now it’s time to plan and do, not just talk

Climate change has already been happening. It is past time to stop arguing about whether human activity is a cause and to start transitioning to life on a different planet. We may be uncomfortable talking about it if we feel others aren’t interested or because we don’t know much about it. [ http://michiganradio.org/post/what-keeps-people-talking-about-climate-change#stream/0 ] And we might not know much about it because we have been given misleading information about it. Some in the fossil fuel industry including Exxon has known about climate change as early as 1981 but funded disinformation research and media stories that suggested the problem wasn’t occurring or wasn’t due to human activity. [ http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/jul/08/exxon-climate-change-1981-climate-denier-funding ][http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/04/06/3766659/fact-97-percent-climate-scientists-climate-change/]

There’s no time like the present, though, to start talking about it. Many people are going to be affected but in different ways around the planet.

Some areas that are already hot may become too hot for humans to live and work safely during more days of the year. The elderly and people with health problems or those working outside might be most at risk. Northern Africa and the Middle East may have greater than average increases in temperature compared to other areas around the world. Syria suffered a severe drought in 2011 which led to food shortages and may have been part of the cause of civil unrest in the nation that has led to ongoing fighting in the nation. [http://www.collective-evolution.com/2016/05/18/middle-east-and-north-africa-will-become-uninhabitable-due-to-climate-change/]

Increased health risks and crop and infrastructure damage can also result from more severe dust storms in dry climates. Areas in China have been experiencing loss of fertile land to desertification and an increase in dust storms that wind spreads to affect other areas in Asia as well. The dust can carry airborne disease risks. Erosion control grasses are being planted in some areas with desertification and duststorms.   [http://www.businessinsider.com/china-is-turning-into-a-desert-and-its-causing-problems-across-asia-2016-5]

Building more underground living spaces might help provide a cooler environment naturally and protection from a duststorm. Caves are always around 55’F after a certain depth – fact checker needs to look that up.

Flooding from melting glacier water is a risk in mountainous regions in several regions of the world. The type of flooding is called a glacial lake outburst flood (glof).  The water from the glacier melting collects in lakes at the top of mountain ridges. If too much water collects then surrounding rock and earth can break apart and the lake floods the valley below. is a risk at Thorthormi Glacial Lake in Bhutan. Work to prevent flooding has already been successful over several years of hand labor. The mountain top is too inaccessible to helicopters and unstable for large equipment. Shovels and shoulders are used to move boulders of rock or ice to make channels for the lake waters to drain through. It seems feasible that hydropower equipment could be set up downstream, further down the mountain from the hand digging crew. [http://www.worldpolicy.org/journal/summer2013/torrent-consequences ] [ http://climateriskmanagement.org/project-countries.php]

Annual crops that don’t tolerate changes in heat or rainwater can be replaced the next season with types of plants that are more likely to tolerate the more extreme weather conditions. Global warming is a less accurate term than climate change because wet areas are likely to bet wetter, with more extreme storms and flood risks, and dry areas are likely to get hotter and dryer with more risk of drought. Sensitive perennial crops like fruit trees can be affected by earlier thaws followed by refreezing temperatures. The trees blossom early and then the refreeze prevents the fruit from developing. Cherry crops have already been adversely affected by this problem. Climate change and cherries: It’s the pits, (Fe. 2, 2016) https://citizensclimatelobby.org/climate-change-and-cherries-its-the-pits/

Transition planning would suggest that it might be sensible to start planting some more heat tolerant types of fruit trees in the areas that are currently focused on cherry trees and to start some cherry orchards in more northern areas. As the planet warms the types of crops and animals that were once well suited to a region may no longer be able to survive there in a warmer or wetter or dryer climate. Animals might be able to migrate to new areas but fruit trees have to be planted.

Hotter summer temperatures also shorten the growing season for many crops. Soybeans and peanuts are more heat tolerant than corn. Sheep and goats are more heat tolerant and can survive on more sparse forage than cattle. People are moving into urban areas as their coastal or cropland becomes less hospitable but urban areas tend to have even hotter temperatures than rural areas and work may not be available. Staying put and trying to adapt to the changed climate by planting different crops or type of foraging animal might be safer and healthier than trying to migrate to a crowded city. [http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatechange/publication/turn-down-the-heat]

Disappearing coasts and bleached coral reefs are not the only issues to be considered. [http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2016/04/26/3769440/great-barrier-reef-bleaching/ ]  Fish and aquatic mammals are already having mysterious mass deaths in many areas. Increased temperatures combined with increasing acidity, lower oxygen levels and changes in salinity may all be factors — in addition to oil spills and other pollutants. Lack of fishing would further impact food supply shortages due to smaller crop yields. Planning ahead now could include more focus on soy and peanuts and other legume crops that are protein rich and heat tolerant.

The oceans act somewhat like kidneys for the planet by detoxifying the excess carbon dioxide absorbed from the atmosphere and like the lungs as part of the oxygen/carbon dioxide cycle. Carbon dioxide is absorbed from the atmosphere and oxygen is produced within the ocean largely by microbes but also algae and seaweeds. Over half of our atmosphere’s oxygen is produced by ocean plankton and other ocean microbes. That’s just a rough analogy to suggest how important a change in ocean acidity could be to the planet. It’s not just fish on our dinner plate at stake (pun not intended) or the oysters and clams on the half shell but it is also the air we breath our oxygen at stake.

This is a topic that is already impacting lives lets start planning and transitioning to the changing world using sustainable low energy cost methods. Investing in people power and working on strategies for the long term. Rafts built into designs where there’s now beachfront living would be a water-world style transition. Building things starts with ideas and eventually to blueprints and shovels.

The carbon dioxide build up will last for centuries, and increase as we keep adding more to the air. The oceans absorption of carbon dioxide reduces the level in the atmosphere and buffers changes in the global temperature but at the cost of increased  ocean acidity in addition to increased ocean temperature.

The following  is a short article but gets to the point with the title:  “We could be seeing the worst case scenario for climate change now.” [http://www.forbes.com/sites/ericmack/2016/05/18/we-could-be-living-through-the-worst-case-scenario-right-now/]

We are already near a 1.5’C average temperature increase. Coral reef bleaching is happening regularly. The glacier and ice sheet melting has been more rapid than anticipated.

Let’s start doing and planning ahead rather than talk about whether climate change exists. What caused it is still an important discussion and topic for ongoing research and data collection by teams around the world because we also need to stop adding to the problem. A 4’C increase by 2100 is predicted to have worse impact than the goal of keeping warming to 2’C but 4’C would be the estimated outcome if we continue at our current rate of carbon dioxide production.

/Disclaimer: Opinions are my own and  the information is provided for educational purposes within the guidelines of fair use. While I am a Registered Dietitian this information is not intended to provide individual health guidance. Please see a health professional for individual health care purposes./