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There Is Also A Need To Improve The Supervision Of Building Control As Well ...

There is also a need to improve the supervision of building control as well as the awareness of small contractors in terms of the relevant building regulations.
Chapter 8 details further research that can be undertaken on this topic, in terms of suggesting areas of further research, by pointing out weaknesses in the Literature Review, Methodology and the analyses presented. Suggestions are also made as to improving Government actions and small contractor awareness of the problem of global warming. The author suggests that implementing new Part L requirements might be not sufficient, alone and in themselves. The author proposes that all new housing should achieve the current required standard of insulation, allowing homeowners to reduce heating, much below the current thresholds. In addition, it is suggested then retrofits of insulation should be better supervised by local authorities.
Chapter 2 Global warming and the Greenhouse effect
2. 1 Introduction
It is known that fifty per cent of all resources consumed across the planet are used in construction, making it one of the least sustainable industries in the world, however our daily lives are carried out in, and on, constructions of one sort or another, and, as such, contemporary human civilisation depends on buildings for its continued shelter and existence. It can be concluded from this that it is absolutely essential for our civilisation to find a solution to the problem that this dissertation focuses on i.e., domestic housing and the CO2 emissions resulting from insufficient insulation. Residential dwellings, as we have seen, are responsible for a large part of this negative impact on the environment.
Many academics argue that the massive growth in renewable energy that is now occurring will reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but that this will not be sufficient, and that we also need to reduce carbon emissions directly, through energy efficiency, for example. Buildings, and the construction industry, are the largest sector, using more energy than other industries, responsible for 40-50% of EU CO2 emissions, for example, and therefore present a massive potential for savings, if only the industry as a whole can be persuaded to make these savings, and in as timely a manner as possible.
2.2 Global Warming Mechanisms and consequences
In order to understand the basis for this dissertation, we must first understand the principles of global warming. Global warming is the term used to define the increase in the Earth's atmospheric temperatures that has been occurring over the last century, with the temperature increasing by nearly 1oC over the last century. It is thought that the Earth's atmospheric temperatures are increasing due to greenhouse gases, which create a layer in the atmosphere, which essentially reflects heat back to the Earth, gradually increasing the temperature of the Earth's atmosphere.


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