What can townhouse residents do to relieve the impact of climate change?

Sub questions:

What are the benefits of living in a town house?

What makes town homes different from other types of housing?

How does recycling help the environment?

What causes Climate Change?

How can we reduce climate change?

Why do solar panels help the environment?

What is the definition of a town house?

What is a rain barrel?

How do rain barrels help the environment?

How do solar panels work?

How does carpooling help the environment?

How does composting work?

How does composting help the environment?

Are town houses more energy efficient than single family homes?

 

Solution 1 – Recycling, Composting and Rain Barrels

One of the ways to reduce the impacts of climate change within a townhouse complex is to set up recycling, compost and rain barrels throughout the complex. Recycling can be done very easily as the townhouse complex would simply have to distribute recycling bins. Then organize for a recycling waste management company to properly recycle the recyclable items. Recycling helps the environment by causing less waste to end up in landfills. Landfills produce methane gas, and according to statistics Canada, 25% of our methane gas emissions are caused by landfills. Recycling can also reduce deforestation. This is because recycling means that we need to use less raw materials. Instead of cutting down more trees to make substances such as cardboard and paper, we can use recycled paper and cardboard, saving trees from being cut down. Recycling is also cheaper than using new materials so we save money. Also, lots of energy is required for making substances out of raw materials, so by recycling we can save energy. By recycling we can also preserve resources for the future, that way future generations still have raw materials. Another way townhouses can reduce the impact of climate change is by setting up compost bins. This is easy to do because rather than each household having there own individual compost bin, townhomes can have shared compost bins throughout the complex. The compost bins can then be used for fertilizing, making the soil in gardens more healthy. Soil also holds carbon dioxide, so by composting you are also helping the soil absorb carbon dioxide. Townhouses can also reduce the impacts of climate change by installing rain barrels. Rain barrels collect water out of your drain spout and typically hold about 190 liters of water, although they can be smaller or bigger. Rain barrels help reduce the effects of climate change by reducing polluted runoff ending up in streams and oceans. It also conserves water, because the rainwater caught in rain barrels can be used for gardening and washing your car. That means that instead of using treated drinking water you can use rain water, which conserves water and helps the environment. Town house complexes can fit rain barrels to drain spouts, and the water collected can be shared with the community or saved for personal use.

Solution 2 – Solar Panels

Another way to reduce the impacts of climate change within a townhouse complex is to install solar panels. Solar panels work by converting energy form the sun into electricity. They do this by photons knocking electrons free from atoms, which causes electricity. It would be easier for townhouses to switch to solar energy compared to single family homes. This is because townhomes have shared roof space so you would be able to have large solar panels powering two or possibly three homes compared to each house having its own individual solar panels. Solar panels help the environment by using the suns energy instead of fossil fuels, this means there is less demand for fossil fuels, so less fossil fuels get burned. Solar energy is a clean energy, which means it does not pollute so it is a good way to be environmentally friendly. One condo in Victoria switched to solar power, and has fitted 60 solar panels onto its roof. According to Bruce Mackenzie, president of the strata counsel for the condo, the solar panels will reduce electricity bills because they feed into the strata’s electrical panel. This shows that it is possible for housing to switch to solar power. I think that solar panels are very practical, especially for a townhouse complex, because shared roofs will make it more cost-effective, and because electricity prices are rising and solar panels costs are falling.

Solution 3 – Carpooling and Other Ways to Conserve

The last way to reduce the impacts of climate change within a townhouse complex would be to carpool and conserve energy. One of the things that makes townhomes different from other housing is because of the fact that they share walls and live close together. Townhouse complexes often know each other and often have to cooperate when it comes to many things, so it is easier to have a closer relationship with neighbors than in a single family home. I think it would be easy to arrange carpooling in townhouse complexes, there could be a bulletin board in a shared space of the community that people could offer rides to work or school. Then a person who wished to have a ride could contact the driver and they could carpool to work. This could also be done in neighborhoods but it would be harder as unlike townhomes, there is no shared space to offer a ride. Carpooling is a simple but good way to conserve fuel and reduce pollution and I think it would be especially efficient in townhouse complexes. Other ways townhouse complexes can conserve energy are switching to LED lights and making sure not to leave lights on while going out. It is also worth pointing out that a benefit of having shared walls is the fact that there is less heat loss. This means that townhomes conserve some energy in heating and have a slightly less heating bill.

Reflection:

1- What questions did you need to research in order to research your topic?

I had to ask lots of questions to research his topic. The first questions I asked myself were about what exactly townhouses were and what separated them from other types of housing, such as single family homes. Then after that I began asking myself questions such as “What is climate change” and “What are some ways to reduce the effects of climate change”. Once I had answered those questions I started to figure out what my solutions would be. I then researched my solutions and lastly thought about how living in a townhome would make the solutions easier or harder.

2 – What new or familiar digital tools did you try to use as you worked through this project?

I used google to do the majority of my research. this is a familiar tool as I have used it many times. I also used Easy Bib to cite my sources. This is a new tool and I found it easy to use and very helpful because I just had to put ion the website that I used, and then it would show me the citation.

3 – What was the process you used to investigate the topic?

I used the Information Fluency process to investigate the topic. This meant that I had to ask lots of questions, answer my questions, analyze the information and make sure it didn’t contradict any of my other information and asses the process.

4 – How did you verify and cite the information you found?

I verified my information by trying to use reliable sources and comparing information to other information to make sure it made sense. I cited my information using Easy Bib.

5 – How did the process of completing this challenge go? What could you have done better?

I think the process of completing this challenge went alright. I had a couple challenges finding information and figuring out how to write about my findings, but I persevered and figured everything out. I think  I could have used more of a variety of sources because I mainly used google and I didn’t use many other sources. In the future I would like to try to use more resources such as Destiny.

Sources:

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“Recycling Is Important.” Recycling Guide, 14 Feb. 2008, www.recycling-guide.org.uk/importance.html. 

“Easy Climate Change Solutions.” Freshwater Future, 10 Sept. 2015, freshwaterfuture.org/services/publications/freshwater-voices-newsletter-archive/freshwater-voices-2014-series-issue-four/easy-climate-change-solutions/.

Freudenrich, Craig. “How Composting Works.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 2 Apr. 2001, home.howstuffworks.com/composting.htm.

Matasci, Sara. “2019 Health & Environmental Benefits of Solar: EnergySage.” Solar News, EnergySage, 10 Sept. 2019, news.energysage.com/health-environmental-benefits-of-solar-energy/.

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Belvalkar, Mrunal. “Why Is Carpooling Good for the Environment.” WheelZine, WheelZine, 19 Mar. 2018, wheelzine.com/why-is-carpooling-good-for-environment.

“How Do Solar Panels Work?” LiveScience, Purch, www.livescience.com/41995-how-do-solar-panels-work.html.

Matasci, Sara. “2019 Health & Environmental Benefits of Solar: EnergySage.” Solar News, EnergySage, 10 Sept. 2019, news.energysage.com/health-environmental-benefits-of-solar-energy/.

“The Causes of Climate Change.” NASA, NASA, 30 Sept. 2019, climate.nasa.gov/causes/.

“How Do We Know That Humans Are the Major Cause of Global Warming?” Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/global-warming/science-and-impacts/science/human-contribution-to-gw-faq.html.

Office of Housing and Construction Standards. “Strata Housing.” Province of British Columbia, Province of British Columbia, 26 Sept. 2017, www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/housing-tenancy/strata-housing.

“TOWNHOUSE: Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary.” Cambridge Dictionary, dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/townhouse.

“Climate Change: The Basics.” Climate Atlas of Canada, climateatlas.ca/climate-change-basics.

Denchak, Melissa. “How You Can Stop Global Warming.” NRDC, 22 Aug. 2019, www.nrdc.org/stories/how-you-can-stop-global-warming.

“The Energy Footprint of Apartments, Rowhouses and Houses.” Community Architect, archplanbaltimore.blogspot.com/2014/01/the-energy-footprint-of-apartments.html.

“Is It Too Late to Prevent Climate Change? – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet.” NASA, NASA, climate.nasa.gov/faq/16/is-it-too-late-to-prevent-climate-change/.

“Causes and Effects of Climate Change: National Geographic.” VDYoutube, www.vdyoutube.com/watch?v=G4H1N_yXBiA.

West, Sarah. “Compost: Secret Weapon Against Climate Change?” Nature’s Path, Nature’s Path, 20 Sept. 2018, www.naturespath.com/en-ca/blog/compost-secret-weapon-climate-change/.