Green Building“The building sector contributes up to 30% of global annual greenhouse gas emissions and consumes up to 40% of all energy” (UNEP ). The construction industry is a major contributor to global warming and, consequently, melting ice caps, rising sea levels and the recent proliferation of extreme weather. However, this not only contributes to global warming; the construction sector also contributes to urban pollution. In the United States alone, the construction industry generates hundreds of millions of tons of municipal solid waste each year. It’s clear that the construction industry needs to change if we are to survive as a species. Ultimately, we need to convert our cities into “sustainable cities,” but a good start in this direction is a building industry practice known as Green Building. A green building is an ecologically sustainable building designed, constructed and operated to minimize its total environmental impact. Some of the main goals behind green building include reducing energy consumption, water conservation and recycling. To do this, green builders use renewable energy such as solar, wind or hydroelectric power, which provides buildings with clean energy and zero carbon dioxide emissions. They manage water through water-efficient irrigation systems, captured rain, or on-site recycled water for on-site landscaping. They also develop a waste management plan that diverts a significant amount of solid waste from landfills to recovery facilities. Many people often think that green building is very expensive. But the cost of a building, house, or apartment complex that is green depends on how “green” they want it to be. Prices can vary by as little as 1 percent in paper towns. In the sustainable city, areas of land and space will be devoted to agriculture, eliminating the need to transport food long distances. Additionally, the only type of transportation will be public transportation, which will minimize or even eliminate the need for fossil fuels. People will use their surroundings and surroundings in useful and productive ways, both for themselves and for the life around them. Organizations such as Terreform Center for Advanced Urban Research are already developing plans to convert major U.S. cities like New York into sustainable, self-sufficient cities. It is important to realize the seriousness of the effects of non-ecological products and behaviors, so that society can work to remedy them before it is too late. Green buildings and sustainable cities are the future, because without them there is no future.