The way forward - 5

In 20 to 30 years' time it will be too expensive to extract fossil fuels, which are only 25 per cent efficient. There however, does not appear to be any hurry to change over to renewable energy sources, which in Europe stand at a meagre 6 per cent.

Malta intends to have 5 per cent of its electricity consumption coming from renewable sources by 2010, primarily through the installation of more domestic solar water-heaters.

To reduce reliance on fossil fuels, EU Directive 2001/77/EC states that by 2010, the emission of CO2 is to be reduced by 20 per cent. In Malta, energy requirements are mostly totally reliant on imported fossil fuels, of which 60 per cent is utilised for electrical generation and 30 per cent for transport.

The feasibility of importing natural gas by pipeline for use in power generation is being considered, which should lead to improvements in power efficiency and air quality. Environ-mental benefits of shifting from one fuel system to another may be gauged from the CO2 emissions for the various fuels.

The following useful data on the building sector tend towards the importance of sustainable building development to which the rest of this features addresses:

¤ 40 per cent of energy is used in the building sector;
¤ 40 per cent of all materials are used in the building sector; and
¤ 25 per cent of water is used by the building sector.

Any one development has a much larger environmental impact than is immediately apparent. At first sight, the imprint may appear small, just the impact on the site on which the development sits.

But, when the environmental capital inherent in the construction of that development is considered, the energy and resources expended in the manufacture and transport of materials, the energy required to prepare the site and construct the development, a hidden but much larger environmental impact is apparent. Subsequently when the development is in occupation, the ongoing energy and resources expand to sustain the development, thus, even in a very efficient building, ongoing energy use over the lifetime of the building will represent four times that of the embodied energy used in the construction process.

A sustainable approach is not merely "an engineering problem" but requires further designing to meet societal needs, understanding what makes towns and cities sustainable.

As a general rule, natural building materials are also healthy ones. Twenty years ago nobody believed in ecology, it is the clients who moved the concept forward. An improved quality of life has asked for healthier buildings, which utilise low primary energy, the improved air quality helps reduce sick leave by a half.

For ecological buildings, the services engineer is to be engaged in partnership from the onset, for a healthy building to evolve. Not all spaces are to be heated or cooled uniformly, as it is good for the body to be subjected to varying climatic conditions.

Heavy metals, poisonous materials and cellulose fibre for insulation, should be avoided. Foam glass, old newspapers with boric acid and seaweed are however, safe materials to use. Oil or plastic paint should be substituted with water paint, since this is less toxic and thus reduces the risk of lung cancer.

The main organic materials are earth products ranging from earth blocks, sun-baked bricks, clay mortars and earth-based plasters, together with stone, timber and lime mortar.

Our island is 25 per cent built up and has a favourable climate. It requires solutions adapted to the local context. A glass high rise building using as much energy as a whole town is not a sustainable solution for Malta. It is possible to achieve thermal comfort by passive means not involving the use of energy.

The utilisation of basements as a passive form of cooling to the upper floors is virtually unknown. A residence requiring air-conditioning for its comfort may be considered a design disaster. A good climatic orientation taking ventilation advantage of light breezes, a light coloured roof top, not as is the norm, covered up in dark textured bituminous membranes, the provision of ceiling fans, together with humidity reduction with the help of a dehumidifier should create a comfortable environment for most days of the year.

If air-conditioning has to be installed, the provision of ceiling fans would reduce the demand by 5oC. Besides, the initial capital expenditure, there needs to be more education on the energy efficiency ratio (EER) number of a unit, together with choosing units, such as VRF that are more environment-friendly.

As costs are to be added to the constructions, this would further affect their affordability, although green buildings have been quoted as being more affordable, as they can cut down on heating/cooling costs.

It is commendable that the Housing Authority has taken the initiative in constructing an energy-efficient block. However, it may be contentious, as less is then left of its budget due to the higher construction costs. It is thus left with less revenue, so able to construct fewer units, which in turn causes the property market to act in a less affordable manner.

Quarries and the high thermal capacity of limestone in Malta show that stone is an obvious building material. As stone occurs naturally, it is healthy, enduring and attractive. Although health problems can occur in quarrying and site cutting, stone in general poses a minimum pollution risk. Our stone buildings can be more sustainable if particular emphasis is given on the mode of quarrying/transporting the material to site with reduced dust production, together with greater importance being given to its reuse.

The current quarrying stocks are estimated to last for a further 35 years. So why is it that unsustainable solutions were adopted in the hospital and other large projects, where good quality excavated limestone building material was dumped instead of producing building blocks? In the proposed classification of contractors, environment-friendly contractors are to be given their due weighting. It is now far easier to dump disused material than to stockpile it for future use in the project.

This then exacerbates the present waste management problem where 85 per cent of waste is building waste. Why is rock fill not being deposited on the seabed for reclamation purposes? The present landfill is the hottest issue, with 1.5 million tons of waste produced annually. It would be interesting to identify how much of this waste is due to the unsustainable provision of the car parking spaces for the issue of building permits.

During the Chamber of Architects and Civil Engineers National Conference on "The Culture of Sustain-ability - Sustainability as a Culture", hosted last November, the favourite definition quoted was: "garbage is just material at the wrong place at the wrong time."

It was further stressed by then parliamentary secretary George Pullicino, that by 2007, introductory standards, monitoring, enforcement recovery, recycling of waste, and waste charges are to be established. The landfill is to be closed by 2007 and rehabilitated by the next 10 years.

If northern countries collect and save water, even use solar energy, why is there this resistance in Mediterra-nean countries? Why is the recycling of "grey water," for example water already used for washing, or the specification of low flush sanitary fittings and water-saving devices, on especially large development not enforced, together with the provision of more sewage treatment plants?

Although renewables should be encouraged, however with offshore wind energy and solar energy at the best supplying less than 10 per cent of the power required, our main aim should be energy saving.

Malta's national report on sustainable development presented to Johannesburg 2002, notes that "the construction industry should be directed to improve design for thermal efficiency and to adopt energy saving measures prior to being granted development permission. In this regard, there is the need to step up funding for research to improve knowledge on local materials and conditions."