专业英语(中英)可持续发展及结构工程师.docx

Sustainability and the Structural EngineerThe desire for high-performance, green, sustainable, and Leadershipin Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)-certified buildingshas become a major force in today’s construction market. Asthe hype surrounding green construction evolves, the role of thestructural engineer in contributing to sustainable building seemsto have been diminished to that of simply being a specifier of constructionmaterials rather than a designer of sustainable structures.The real issue for the structural engineering profession is determiningwhat role the structural engineer should play as green buildingevolves into a collective design and construction consciousness.The answer is simple: the structural engineer needs to emphasizethe contributions that good design decisions can make to thesustainability of a structure.Historical PerspectiveTo look at the present and future of the green building movement, itis necessary to look at how it got to where it is in the first place.There has been so much talk of sustainable this and green that—notjust in the construction world, but in every facet of life—that it issometimes difficult to recall a time when green was not the hottopic it is today. But it was not always this way and it did nothappen overnight.So when did this concern for the environment begin? Throughouthistory, there have always been those who have appreciatedand respected the natural world, but ironically, instead of beingimmersed in nature, it may actually have taken a step away—tothe tune of around 240,000 miles (386,243 km)—for people to gainthe perspective of earth as something precious and vulnerable.British astrophysicist Fred Hoyle identifies that moment as the firstphotos of earth taken during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, saying,“Something new has happened to create a worldwide awareness ofour planet as a unique and precious place. It seems to me more thana coincidence that this awareness should have happened at exactlythe moment man t