Research Paper

The research paper provided us the opportunity to write about a topic we were interested in. I chose to write about sustainable preservation. People get excited by the prospects of a new LEED certified building; it is sustainable and good for the environment. What they do not take into account is how much energy they are using to demolish the existing structures. While researching, I found some very useful facts that may get people to reconsider rebuilding, and start thinking more about re-using:

According to Charles Lockwood, “Existing Buildings in the United States outnumber new buildings by more than 100 to 1."

In 1900, 41 percent of the materials used in the US were renewable, but by 1995, only 6 percent remained renewable (NTHP).

According to the EPA, it is estimated new sustainable buildings that optimize as much as 40 percent of recycled materials would still take around 65 years to recover from the energy used in tearing down an equivalent existing structure