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Green lifestyle starts with bricks and mortar
By Zong Lei |
December 14, 2009, Monday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
AS the Copenhagen Summit is heatedly discussing proposals to curb global warming and thus save the future of humanity, the Chinese media are heavily promoting a "low-carbon lifestyle."
A low-carbon life, simply put, is to reduce carbon emissions in daily life.
This involves simple things like using stairs instead of lifts, using energy-saving light bulbs instead of common ones and not setting the air-conditioning temperature too low in summer, and many other changes.
As China pledged to reduce carbon intensity by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2020, compared with 2005 levels, practice of a low-carbon lifestyle among individual Chinese, especially urbanites, can contribute to the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
While this requires action by the general public, policy makers have an important role to play in making this lifestyle easy to adopt.
My experience in Kazakhstan is one good example that could be followed in China.
For the past week, the average lowest temperature has been around -25 degrees Celsius in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, where we live at the moment.
Believe it or not, we still enjoy a room temperature of 20ish degrees without using any heating facilities.
Ironically, in Shanghai, while the outdoor temperature was around 10 degrees, I saw my parents in their apartment, through Skype video, wearing thick winter clothes. This was because the room temperature there was probably also 10 or even lower. And they were talking about buying an electrical heater.
Well, the irony is due to different construction standards. The comparatively new buildings of Astana have very thick walls, thick doors and double-pained sealed windows to retain the heart.
All this ensures good insulation, which shuts out the cold in winter and the hot air in summer.
However, in Shanghai you see a very different picture: the walls are not even half of the thickness of those in Astana, and the windows are of one-layered glass.
In other words, the question of good insulation is probably not considered when apartments are built.
But does insulation really matter that much in Shanghai as in Astana, the world's second-coldest capital? Well, if we are to talk about a "low-carbon lifestyle," then the answer is yes. Good insulation definitely saves a lot of energy. Our apartment in Kazakhstan is a case in point.
If the same construction standard were to be followed in Shanghai, then with the comparatively not-too-cold winter, most households probably do not even need heating facilities in winter.
Similarly, in summer, good insulation ensures there is a big difference between the outdoor and indoor temperature.
As China's economy continues to grow, ordinary Chinese have more disposable income. And naturally, people are willing to spend to live more comfortably.
In this sense, to make relevant policies on higher construction standards is extremely important, because buildings with good insulation significantly contribute to a "low-carbon lifestyle" of sorts.
Higher construction standards and use of quality materials does not make construction costs much higher.
If good insulation is taken into consideration at the design stage, international experience shows the cost will be limited and incremental. Further, the extra initial investment will pay off in energy savings in the long run.
To save our Earth, everyone has the responsibility to take action. At the same time, the government should enact and enforce relevant regulations to pave the way for ordinary citizens to easily "go green."
(The author is a freelancer based in Kazakhstan. Her email: jessie_zong@yahoo.com)
A low-carbon life, simply put, is to reduce carbon emissions in daily life.
This involves simple things like using stairs instead of lifts, using energy-saving light bulbs instead of common ones and not setting the air-conditioning temperature too low in summer, and many other changes.
As China pledged to reduce carbon intensity by 40 percent to 45 percent by 2020, compared with 2005 levels, practice of a low-carbon lifestyle among individual Chinese, especially urbanites, can contribute to the overall reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
While this requires action by the general public, policy makers have an important role to play in making this lifestyle easy to adopt.
My experience in Kazakhstan is one good example that could be followed in China.
For the past week, the average lowest temperature has been around -25 degrees Celsius in Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan, where we live at the moment.
Believe it or not, we still enjoy a room temperature of 20ish degrees without using any heating facilities.
Ironically, in Shanghai, while the outdoor temperature was around 10 degrees, I saw my parents in their apartment, through Skype video, wearing thick winter clothes. This was because the room temperature there was probably also 10 or even lower. And they were talking about buying an electrical heater.
Well, the irony is due to different construction standards. The comparatively new buildings of Astana have very thick walls, thick doors and double-pained sealed windows to retain the heart.
All this ensures good insulation, which shuts out the cold in winter and the hot air in summer.
However, in Shanghai you see a very different picture: the walls are not even half of the thickness of those in Astana, and the windows are of one-layered glass.
In other words, the question of good insulation is probably not considered when apartments are built.
But does insulation really matter that much in Shanghai as in Astana, the world's second-coldest capital? Well, if we are to talk about a "low-carbon lifestyle," then the answer is yes. Good insulation definitely saves a lot of energy. Our apartment in Kazakhstan is a case in point.
If the same construction standard were to be followed in Shanghai, then with the comparatively not-too-cold winter, most households probably do not even need heating facilities in winter.
Similarly, in summer, good insulation ensures there is a big difference between the outdoor and indoor temperature.
As China's economy continues to grow, ordinary Chinese have more disposable income. And naturally, people are willing to spend to live more comfortably.
In this sense, to make relevant policies on higher construction standards is extremely important, because buildings with good insulation significantly contribute to a "low-carbon lifestyle" of sorts.
Higher construction standards and use of quality materials does not make construction costs much higher.
If good insulation is taken into consideration at the design stage, international experience shows the cost will be limited and incremental. Further, the extra initial investment will pay off in energy savings in the long run.
To save our Earth, everyone has the responsibility to take action. At the same time, the government should enact and enforce relevant regulations to pave the way for ordinary citizens to easily "go green."
(The author is a freelancer based in Kazakhstan. Her email: jessie_zong@yahoo.com)
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