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According to the World Watch Institute, buildings account for one fourth of the world's wood harvest, two fifths of its material and energy usage, and one sixth of its fresh water usage. These demands will be exacerbated as population growth compels us to multiply the total number of buildings on the planet over the next generation. We clearly must find a way to provide safe and decent shelter for all without ravishing the global ecosystem. |
The many societal and environmental problems associated with modern construction can be readily solved--but the vast majority of building professionals remain unaware that there exist any problems, much less of the solutions. EBNet fills this crucial gap by educating the building community, and making useful information about environmentally-friendly building materials readily available to all.
In the affluent nations, buildings voraciously and unnecessarily waste energy and physical resources, while causing both environmental degradation and health hazards to their occupants. EBNet finds and disseminates ways to conserve scarce resources, to make intelligent use of abundant waste materials, and to thereby slow the destruction of the natural systems upon which we depend..
In the poorer nations, where much of the world's population lives in unsafe, unsanitary structures, labor is plentiful but modern materials such as lumber, cement, and steel are rare and expensive. EBNet points out ways to use affordable and catalytic touches of modern technology so as to make indigenous building systems safer, healthier, and more durable.
Doing more with less is the key to working with, and not against, the natural world that supports us. EBNet brings useful knowledge to the people worldwide who design and construct buildings.
