"Thousand-year floods are obliterating communities with staggering...

CNN Climate 2 years ago

"Thousand-year floods are obliterating communities with staggering regularity; hurricanes are getting stronger faster and beating coastlines with more brutal wind and surge; the heat is so extreme that first responders are filling body bags with ice as a last-ditch effort to save people from heat stroke. "At the current rate of ecosystem collapse, scientists predict 1.2 billion people will become climate refugees by 2050, while over a million species of plants and animals are on the brink of extinction. "Even for voters untouched by flood, fire or drought, the crisis is driving up the cost of food, insurance and supply chains for everyone. Their tax dollars are now pouring into billion-dollar efforts to keep the Earth we know from heating beyond salvation, while other ventures race to adapt our built environments to more violent physics. Property values, insurance rates and building codes are changing, and experts are warning that unnatural disasters like Hurricane Helene are just the opening acts of an existential threat. "Looking back through time, it's hard to imagine a more severe or consequential gap between candidates on a single issue." writes CNN's @BillWeirCNN. Read the full analysis at the link in @cnnpolitics bio. 📷: CNN/Julian Quinones

layersDaily Sustainability Digest

Published about 2 hours ago



Wildfires destroying homes in the Midlands and Shropshire crews moving between fire and flood show why sustainable construction must now treat climate resilience as a core design requirement. Sustainable building design, low carbon design and eco-design for buildings need to account for overheating, fire risk, drainage capacity, defensible space and durable fabric performance.

Whole life carbon, embodied carbon and life cycle cost are becoming inseparable from safety, insurability and asset value, making whole life carbon assessment and lifecycle assessment essential tools for developers, councils and investors.

Karachi’s mangrove loss reinforces the construction value of green infrastructure and nature-based flood protection. Tidal creeks, mangrove belts and resilient coastal landscapes can reduce erosion, store carbon and protect communities, supporting environmental sustainability in construction without relying solely on hard engineering. For sustainable urban development, green construction and eco-friendly construction must prioritise site planning, biodiversity and building lifecycle performance alongside energy-efficient buildings and net zero carbon buildings.

Plans for a wind-turbine recycling facility in the Scottish Highlands point to a more mature circular economy in construction. Renewable infrastructure must address end-of-life reuse in construction, resource efficiency in construction and the embodied carbon in materials, especially composite blades and complex low carbon construction materials. The shift supports circular construction strategies, low embodied carbon materials and net zero whole life carbon targets, aligning with BREEAM, BREEAM v7 and wider expectations for environmental product declarations (EPDs). The strongest signal for decarbonising the built environment is clear: sustainable building practices must measure the carbon footprint of construction across design, use, maintenance and decommissioning.

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