Current Situation
The environment that the contemporary society lives in constantly suffers from various human activities. For instance, the city population growth requires local authorities to build new houses and apartment complexes. What is more, people move to capitals and big towns and, while having a desire to provide themselves and their families with good life, they develop their businesses by building offices, shops, and restaurants. All these practices require the use of specific construction materials that have a direct influence on the environment. The traditional ingredients prove to be detrimental for the soil and air, meaning that they deplete resources for future generations (Balogh). A personal experience of working in the construction industry for 20 years, has also showed what influence the building process has on the environment and encouraged to look for more sustainable resources.
If people continue using materials and engage in building practices that have a negative effect on the world, the environment will continue to suffer and cause problems for millions of individuals all around the world. Environmental challenges will not only lead to significant issues for the soil, air, and wildlife but also contribute to the appearance of various health conditions for human beings. As it was already mentioned, this project is motivated by the personal experience of working in the industry and witnessing the detrimental impact of traditional materials on the environment. Moreover, this issue should be important for the general public because everyone is interested in leading a healthy life and living in appropriate environmental conditions.
Recommendation
Considering all the discussed problems and adverse consequences for the environment, the purpose of the proposed project is to encourage construction organizations and agencies to use concrete made from environmentally friendly materials. In the contemporary world, where individuals are slowly trying to move towards sustainable living, “information about the strength, durability, and indestructible nature of concrete as a resourceful building material is emerging” (Balogh). This ingredient is considered to be a friend of the environment throughout its production and implementation procedure, which makes it a perfect choice for sustainable construction (Balogh). Therefore, of this material is used largely in the industry, it will bring many benefits to the environment and citizens of the world.
Companies are not educated enough about the concrete produced form sustainable materials; thus, while being encouraged to use it in their operations, they have to be provided with information about it. When most individuals think of concrete, they refer to cement, water, and sand; however, they have no idea that these elements can be recycled to produce a better and sustainable concrete (Day). The “green” concrete does not overuse the essential natural resources and is a perfect way to build an environmentally friendly house which will also be strong and aesthetically pleasing (Day). Hence, while having enough knowledge about the advantages of concrete, construction associations will be encouraged to use it in their operations.
Personal Qualifications, Knowledge, and Interest
As mentioned earlier in the paper, my interest of promoting the environmentally friendly concrete is based on the personal experience of working in the construction industry for 20 years. Throughout my career, I was able to work with various materials and notice their influence on the building process, the environment, and the outcomes. Instead of just doing my job, I always tried to look for better ways to organize the procedure and produce positive results. In addition, I am highly interested in the topics of sustainability and environmentalism. I have a significant amount of knowledge about problems that exist in the contemporary world and constantly try to make a contribution to promoting positive change by using environmentally friendly materials in the construction process. For this reason, I would love to encourage other organizations and companies to educate themselves about the sustainable concrete and use it in their projects in order to make the world a better place to live in.
Plan for Getting Started: Work Accomplished, Preliminary Findings, Materials
While conducting preliminary research, I mainly focused on finding credible information available online. I started my search by using such key words as concrete, sustainability, environment and then, after collecting some basic information, I continued with using more descriptive words and phrases. This method gave me a possibility to look at a variety of internet sources and carefully analyze their content by taking into account my professional knowledge and experience. I located a big number of articles and interviews and excluded those that did not match the main idea of my project or provided misleading information. Currently, I have three useful and, most importantly, credible internet sources, such as websites NBC News and The Concrete Network, and a blog Everything About Concrete by Mike Day. With their help, I was able to find out that the environmentally friendly concrete “is four times more resistant to water infiltration” which means that buildings made of it stand firmer and better (Baggaley). Consequently, by using a specific research strategy, I identified a few informative sources that will be essential for my future analysis and topic discussion.
When working on my final formal recommendation report, I will focus on locating more information in academic journals. In order to provide the general public with appropriate information, it is required to conduct extensive research in such databases as EDSCOhost, JSTOR, ERIC, Elsevier, and Google Scholar. Therefore, more time will be spent on finding and analyzing up-to-date and informative articles about sustainable concrete and its positive influence on the environment.
Plans for Completion, Work Remaining
Since I currently use only three sources that I found online, I will have to conduct more secondary research on the topic of my interest. I will mainly focus on locating books, research articles, and studies in the EBSCOhost database which has proved to be a credible source of information on a variety of issues. Even though I do not plan on organizing any interviews as a way to collect raw data and conduct primary research, I will largely use my professional knowledge by applying it to evidence found in published articles and researches.
There is a significant amount of work that has to be done in order to complete the final version of the report. It is essential to organize the work properly and create a written schedule of all the tasks that have to be completed. For instance, I currently possess four additional sources about the advantages of sustainable concrete that I am planning to use in my project; thus, they have to be read and analyzed carefully. In addition, I have to implement various ideas that I have regarding the way of transforming a short report into a longer one. These practices include extending the most important points, adding evidence from the sources, and proving personal insights and ideas.
The list of tasks is the following:
- 10.30 Finish the proposal and submit it
- 11.03 Finish reading the articles and books that I found
- 11.05 Go through my notes and analyze the data
- 11.07 Start writing the short report
- 11.10 Finish my short report and start transforming it to a longer one
- 11.20 Finish my draft of the final report
- 11.25 Talk to the instructor and ask questions
- 11.30 Make corrections according to suggestions given by the instructor
- 12.05 Finish editing and producing the final report
- 12.09 Turn in the final report
Positive Implications, Future Consequences, Benefits, Results
Overall, using concrete made of sustainable materials will have a positive influence on everyone involved in the situation directly and indirectly. By following the recommendation of the project, construction companies can advance their operations by building environmentally friendly homes that will be of the highest quality. Moreover, the general public will also benefit from the use of “green” concrete because it will not only have an opportunity to live in innovative houses but also receive positive influence on its physical well-being in the long-term perspective.
Nevertheless, the main agent that will benefit from the sustainable concrete is the environment. It is suggested that this material is “more elastic than ordinary concrete, meaning it might be a better choice for construction projects in areas prone to earthquakes” (Baggaley). In addition, walls from the environmentally friendly concrete can be used as batteries to store energy that comes from solar panels (Baggaley). Thus, the environment will receive a number of advantages from concrete made of sustainable materials.
Works Cited
Baggaley, Kate. “”Green” Concrete Can Be Game-Changer for Construction Industry.”, NBC News, 2018, Web.
Balogh, Anne. “Concrete Sustainability.” The Concrete Network, 2020. Web.
Day, Mike. “Building Green with Concrete.” Everything About Concrete, 2020. Web.