Historic Preservation and the Environment

The Environmental Chapter has many important parts - here is one that is surprising not in your textbook - how historic preservation is a key part of the environment debate.

The"greenest homes are the ones already built" - how is tearing down an 80 year old 1,500 sq ft bungalow or Spanish Revival home and throwing it in the landfill (one third of our landfill is construction debris), building a 5,0000 or 6,000 sq ft new home with a few "green" features good for the environment?

Assignment: Write a 3 to 5 page paper answering the following questions:

PART ONE

REMEMBER, "cut and paste" is not acceptable for college work. A few quotes is fine (make sure that you reference them), however excessive "cut and paste" (greater than 10%) is not acceptable and will result in zero points or an "F".

Your work must be original, DO NOT CUT AND PASTE FROM THE SOHO WEBSITE! I provide you with references to help you, cut and paste is regarding as CHEATING - refer to the class syllabus for more info on this.

1. What is Historic Preservation and why is it important today? Give at least three specific examples.

2. Who is Save Our Heritage Organisation (SOHO), what is their mission?. PLEASE do not "cut and paste" - use your own words to describe this historic preservation organization. Give at least three examples of HOW they educate, advocate and preserve important and historic sites and cultural resources in San Diego County.

3. How does historic preservation help our environment? Give at least three specific examples.

4. Name three ways that you can restore older homes and keep them "green". Replacing original wood windows (made of old growth wood that will last over 200 years is NOT an answer). Be specific and give examples.

A Little Background:

Environmental Sustainability

Historic preservation is an effective tool for valuing and protecting our environmental resources, including those that have already been expended as well as those not yet used. Because it encourages us to reuse sound older buildings instead of abandoning or demolishing them, and to revitalize existing neighborhoods instead of building sprawling new subdivisions, preservation is "recycling" on a grand scale.

The Costs of Building Construction and Demolition

The United States is responsible for 22% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, though we have only 5% of the world's population. In the United States, building construction and operations account for 48% of Greenhouse gas emissions.

Energy Efficiency of Historic and Older Buildings

It is often assumed that older and historic buildings are "energy hogs" and that it is more environmentally friendly to demolish these buildings and construct new energy efficient buildings than to preserve these existing buildings. However, recent work indicates otherwise. Recent calculations indicate that it takes about 65 years for an energy efficient new building to save the amount of energy lost in demolishing an existing building.

References:

For Research only, DO NOT cut and paste from these sites (cut & paste = cheating or 0 points!).

http://www.sohosandiego.org

http://www.sohosandiego.org/reflections/2009-1/environmental.htm

http://www.sohosandiego.org/reflections/2006-2/economics.htm

PART II

Watch the Richard Nickel Story on Youtube.

1. Who was Richard Nickel?

2. Who was Louis Sullivan?

3. How did Nickel influence the historic preservation movement in America?

4. Summary of this video, two to three parag