Study Shows Green Buildings Can Save Lives
Green initiatives and climate change have been at the forefront of the sustainability movement for years. Now, COVID-19 has spread from country to country across the world, disrupting the climate change conversation.
Photo by Arun Thomas . However, a new Harvard study suggests that the two factors are more connected than individuals may believe. The study demonstrates the need for green buildings in the midst of these two existential factors.
Green buildings are environmentally-friendly and emphasize the importance of human health and protecting the environment through its materials, output and design. Focusing on green buildings can save companies and communities money while encouraging productivity and a healthy relationship with the indoor and outdoor environments.
Standard buildings can release harmful pollution and emissions that green initiatives are trying to combat. As societies attempt to handle the coronavirus, you’ll see the effects that pollution can have on those who have the virus. From there, more and more people will put the focus on green buildings as a necessary step for the future.
The Harvard Study
The novel coronavirus has brought devastation across the globe. The virus spreads rapidly and currently has no cure or vaccine. Those who are most at risk are individuals with immunocompromised systems or those who have existing respiratory issues. Due to how contiguous the pandemic is, the issue of pollution comes into play.
Image by cplesley .
Francesca Dominici, Xiao Wu, and Rachel Nethery worked to develop this study with researchers at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health. They found that areas — usually urban cities — with higher levels of particulate matter have had higher death rates from COVID-19.
Since COVID-19 is a respiratory infection, it affects the lungs and breathing. Those who live in polluted areas have pre-existing lung problems due to the levels of contamination that they breathe in daily. With more of a compromised immune system and lung functions, death becomes more likely.
The researchers in the study state that the outcome from these results show the need for green buildings. Different types of buildings, in urban areas especially, burn fossil fuels and let off high levels of pollution. In order to properly protect public health, green buildings must become the norm.
Green Buildings for Public Health
The Harvard study shows that pollution is a detrimental and deadly factor in the pandemic. Moving away from fossil fuels and standard buildings will lessen risk levels and mortality rates for some. Therefore, green buildings can, in fact, save lives — and in more ways than you might think.
Green buildings rely less on energy usage and often incorporate renewable energy sources into their design. Giving off less pollution means there will...
