When should we begin?

Can you convert this beautiful scene

   

Picture 1 Hess-Indonesia Ujung Pangkah Project, Information can be accessed through this website 

(Photograph Courtesy of PT Tripatra Engineers and Constructors)

into equally beautiful scene like this?

Picture 2 A 1.6 MW Denver International Airport Photovoltaics Farm 

 (Photograph Courtesy of Denver International Airport)

You have to wait until I sum up my ethical opinion due to previous blog I published…

In my opinion, the “only” reason behind sustainability is ethic.  However, one may perceive other reasons as sustainability foundation.  What I meant here is to keep trying to approach based on the proximity of perfection—theoretically.  It is hard to answer the explanation since people tend to struggle with their own interest and many conflicting interests behind it.  It is “politically” correct isn’t it? 

From a different viewpoint, the need of mediator—I emphasize to the role of government—is adequate to achieve win-win solution between two parties.  As the continuation from my previous introduction, the surrounding area near Lapindo remains stagnant.  There have been no solutions given to the affected societies.  From the contractor’s side, it has claimed to pay all losses—meanwhile they have approached the government to announce this riot as a national disaster.  Truthfully, the societies are still struggling to achieve their rights back.  At this point I will stop to further involve in a political atmosphere.  Nonetheless, I will define the damage types of this disaster.  The losses can be considered into two parts, i.e. both material and immaterial.  The measurement for material loss is clear.  Yet, the immaterial loss could be anything, for instances: the jobs availability, close-knit neighborhoods and a community structure.  The loss level has covered up to the entire county in that area.  Most importantly, one question may rise—how about the non-human ecosystem?  I bet no one can measure these losses and never can.  Extinction of a wide array of biodiversity…

Answering the starting question, solar is abundance in the equator area.  Indonesia positions on exactly the middle of equator.  It is convincing to harvest this infinite resource.  Photovoltaic has been widely known to accommodate direct energy conversion to electricity.  Given the same amount of money to produce, my individual opinion will stick on the renewable resource.  There will be no predetermined starting point to begin.  Neither am I nor other dedicated experts noted as newbie in the renewable energy.  In fact, this is an old idea.  Since the era of Edison, solar has been noticed as the “light” to the future energy.

Flashback:

Back in 1931—the year when Thomas Edison died—Edison told his friends Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone: “I’d put my money on the sun and solar energy. What a source of power! I hope we don’t have to wait until oil and coal run out before we tackle that.”

(Quoted from: website )

Hence, why should we wait to implement this? 

NB: Green Act: 14.4 miles  = 0.475 gallons oil

        Cumulative  15.6 miles  = 0.515 gallons oil

An Introduction

I was supposed to write down this at the first time I came to Gainesville (in late December 2009), the place where I began shifting my mind for my future career...  

"...to discover the future, you have to look at the past..." C.K. (1/9/2013 - 05.14 pm ET)

I knew that I have found my interest in Sustainable Construction since I had engaged in my first experience in construction –a small commercial building construction phase.  At that time, I hardly thought to find the effective design of a workshop building to optimize long-term benefits, to put on budget efficiency and to lessen environmental impact.  Although I have not been familiar with sustainability term, I had also found out that it was a part of sustainability concept that I had tried to get –the minimum effect to the environment as well as to the maintenance cost in the next future... 

Something had bugged my mind when I involved as field engineer in a big project for onshore construction of oil and gas plant, I realized that sustainability was the important key factor for every project related with construction activities. I was shocked by direct seeing ex-Lapindo project location during my onshore-break in Sidoarjo—East Java.  Disaster... yes... the local community and it local area had been affected by the impact of extreme hazard just because of unnecessarily construction miss-management.  The mud flood had unfortunately lifted up to the neighborhoods and its surrounding... This major impact had made a total downturn in the community life and of course the economic.  Surrounded by deep sorrow, I had been personally thinking that sustainable construction is absolutely required for engineer’s consideration within projects especially in projects in a country.  

Afterwards, recent worldwide environmental issues has made my self had strong alert that sustainable construction is a significant area of concern; not only to my specific interest in sustainability–focused  in energy management– but also to my country development that will have results in huge contribution for the knowledge internationally.  Recent tendency of sustainability issues must reinforce companies and governments in most country to have their particular standards fulfilled and complied to the international conventions: the term of energy saving policy, regulation for green house effect, and research for the alternative energy due to carbon amount restriction.  Innovations which are focused on these issues, indeed, will strengthen the main objective of sustainability. As consequences, my specific interest in energy management, not only should we know in how much the energy could be saved in every stage of project –from the initial appraisal, construction, adjustment, demolition stage– but also operation and maintenance will have significant correlation in determining amount of energy consumption. The whole activities both in construction and maintenance will significantly contribute to the basic knowledge in a sustainable design. 

Once again, albeit it is as a late start... in fact, it is just a new beginning towards sustainability (t.b. continued)

NB: today's green act: 1.2 miles of biking = 0.04 gallons oil saved.