The way we transport ourselves is changing; we're growing our own food more and recycling as many drinks cans and milk bottles as possible.
But what are we building with? Even the houses and flats we live in have to follow an environmentally-friendly agenda if we're to halt climate change before it's too late. Let's take a look at some new-fangled (and some not-so-new) materials that we're all going to be living under before much longer.
We always think of beams as being wooden, but the Steel Recycling Institute tells us that builders prefer to use custom-made steel beams and panels in their newest projects. Steel is much safer in high winds and earthquakes, and a 2,000sq ft house needs at least 40 trees as its skeleton. If you use recycled steel beams, you're going to use the equivalent of six scrapped cars!
Steel isn't the only metal leading the eco-revolution. Aluminium is also very recyclable and very light, and it's finding its way into lots of buildings now. You could have an aluminium roof on top of a house, an
aluminium busbar in the electric wiring of an apartment block, aluminium wall cladding… most aluminium you see in use has already been recycled, so it's got serious eco-cred.
Concrete has gone in and out of fashion over the centuries, but it's currently in vogue thanks to its insulation and energy-saving properties. Some builders have started to use "cast-in-place" concrete walls that are cast in between two layers of insulation material. These insulating layers are then left where they are to carry on slowing down heat transfer. This is a useful technique for making building blocks.
The Environmental Protection Agency fined the world's leading surfboard maker for using a toxic compound in the foam it used to form its boards. This company folded, leaving the way open for a San Diego surfboard maker to develop a foam made from kelp, hemp and bamboo. This rigid foam has since been used in furniture, turbine blades, insulation panels and even surfboards! The foam has excellent insulation properties, better than polystyrene or fibreglass, and it's also very resistant to mould and pests.
Low E windows are coming our way, too. The E is for emissivity. These windows have a clear metallic oxide coating which helps to keep heat inside when it's cold and outside when it's hot! This type of glass tends to be used in single-pane storm windows, and these panes cost around 15 per cent more than regular glass, but when you think of the savings to be made on heating and air conditioning (up to 20 per cent each year), they're worth the premium.
Adobe is making a big comeback thanks to the fact that it's free, there's plenty of it and you don't need to transport it very far! It also has an excellent thermal mass, helping to regulate temperatures inside houses throughout the year. The only problem is that at present you'll pay a small fortune for the guys with the know-how. There are also no established building codes for adobe in the UK or the US (although Peru, China and New Zealand have the right codes), so you could end up paying up to £50 per square foot. This could all change as this material catches on, though.