MINIMIZING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND THE EFFECTS IN NIGERIA THROUGH GREEN DESIGN AND GREEN BUILDINGS

摘要

The environmental impacts of buildings are enormous. Conventional buildings use large amounts of energy, land, water, and raw materials for their construction and operation. They are responsible for large amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as well as emissions of other harmful air pollutants. They also generate large amounts of construction and demolition (C&D) waste and have serious impacts on plants and wildlife. Considering the statistics, reducing the amount of natural resources buildings consume and the amount of pollution given off is seen as crucial for future sustainability. Over 40 percent of the energy used in Nigeria goes to heating, cooling, and power our buildings. And because much of this energy comes from dirty and dangerous sources like coal, oil, natural gas, and nuclear power, this accounts for nearly half of global warming pollution in the country. This high level of energy consumption pumps billions of tons of global warming pollution into the atmosphere causing ill health and depletion of the ozone layer. Green building is a high-performing, thoughtfully designed building that is very energy and water efficient, reduces its footprint on the planet, and provides a safer, healthier environment for the builders and future occupants throughout a building's life-cycle: from sitting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction. There are a number of motives to building green, including environmental, economic, and social benefits. However, this paper calls for an integrated and synergistic green design (GD) to both new construction and in the retrofitting of existing structures using renewable resources like sunlight through passive solar, active solar and photovoltaic techniques, using plants and trees through green roofs, rain gardens for reduction of rainwater run-off to minimize environmental pollution in Nigeria.