green buildings绿色建筑

When we think of green buildings, we tend to think of new ones-the kind of modern, solar-paneled masterpieces that make the covers of architecture magazines.But the US has more than 100 million existing homes, and it would be incredibly wasteful to tear them all down and replace them with greener versions An enormous amount of energy and resources went into the construction of those houses.And it would take an average of 65 years for the reduce carbon emissions (排放)from a new energy-efficient(节能)home to make up for the resurce lost by destroying an old one.So in the broadest sense, the greenest home is the one that has already been built.But at the same time, nearly half of US carbon emissions come from heating, cooling and powering our homes offices and other buildings."You can't deal with climate change without dealing with existing buildings," says Richard Moe, the president of the National Trust With some exceptions, the oldest homes tend to be the least energy-efficient.Houses built before 1939 use about 50% more energy per square foot than those built after 2000, mainly due to the tiny cracks and gaps that expand over time and let in more outside air Fortunately ,there are a vast number of relatively simple changes that can green older homes, from historic ones like Lincoln's Cottage to your own postwar home.And efficiency upgrades(升级) can save more than just the earth; they can help protect property owners from rising power costs 绿色环保建筑 提到绿色环保建筑,我们自然会想到一些建筑类杂志封面上的充分利用高科技,装有太阳能面板的精品建筑.但是,美国现有一亿住宅,如果把这些住宅全部拆掉,取而代之已更为绿色环保的建筑,那么这将会是种极大的浪费,因为建造环保型住宅需要使用大量的能源和资源.新建的节能型住宅减少的碳排放量平均需要长达65年时间才能够你补拆毁旧住宅所造成的资源浪费.因此,从广义上来讲,最绿色环保的住宅就是那些已建成的住宅.但是,同时美国碳排放总量的一半是为住宅,办公室和其他建筑提供暖气,冷气和动力所产生的.”如果不处理好现存建筑,就无法应对气候变化,’国家信托主席理查德说。 除了一些特殊情况,最老的房子往往都是能源使用率最高的住宅。1939年之前修建的住宅每平方英尺会比2000年之后修建的住宅多消耗50%的能量。这主要是因为,随着时间的流逝,原来狭小的缝隙和缺口会扩大,导致更多的外界空气流入室内。 辛运的是,现在大量相对简单的变化就能够使像林肯故居,之类的历史建筑,或是你自己在战后修建的房子等古老的住宅变得更绿色环保。能源利用率的提升不仅能够挽救地球,还能够帮助房产拥有者减少能源方面的开支。 Think of 记起,想起;考虑;想象;关心kind of有点;有几分modern现代人;有思想的人;现代的;近代的;时髦的solar-paneled太阳能板masterpiece杰作;绝无仅有的人million 百万;无数existing目前的;现存的;存在incredibly难以置信的;非常的wasteful;浪费的;不经济的;奢侈的tear them all down 拆除versions版本;译本 Enormous庞大的;巨大的;凶暴的amount of energy能量construction建筑;建筑物carbon emissions碳排放energy-efficient 节能to make up for 补偿destroy破坏;消灭;毁坏broadest sense 广义climate change气候改变the president总统;主席the least 最少per square foot每平方英尺tiny crack小裂纹gaps裂开over time随着时间过去;超时let in让。。。进来;嵌入relatively 相当的;相对的;比较的historic有历史意义的;历史上著名的cottage 小屋;村社postwar战后efficiency效率;效能;功效upgrade升级more than just 不只是property owners业主