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"Carbon neutrality " is a major trend for the next forty years. Everyone knows that it will inevitably affect future market investment and consumption trends... But while the general direction has been given to you, many people are still unclear about which station to board the train at.
carbon neutrality
"Carbon neutrality" is an energy conservation and emission reduction term that refers to the process by which enterprises, groups, or individuals calculate the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions they directly or indirectly generate within a certain period of time, and offset their own carbon dioxide emissions through afforestation, energy conservation, and emission reduction, thereby achieving "zero emissions" of carbon dioxide.
Nature has given humanity air, forests, and water, but we don't unconditionally enjoy everything in this world. Giving back to nature will become a trend in the future. (This is not simply a matter of human self-awakening, but rather a form of self-redemption after being repeatedly "driven" by nature.)
"Carbon neutrality" is a very broad term. To understand it thoroughly from the smallest things around us, we can break it down into two parts. There are two sets of words in "carbon neutrality": one is "carbon," and the other is "neutralization."
carbon
Carbon refers to natural resources composed of carbon elements, such as oil, coal, and timber. The greater the consumption of carbon, the greater the production of carbon dioxide, the primary culprit of global warming. With human activities, global warming is also changing (affecting) people's lifestyles, bringing about more and more problems.
As long as a person is alive, they will produce carbon emissions, whether it's breathing, eating and drinking, working, or traveling. So how much carbon does a person produce in a day?
An average citizen emits at least 50 kg of carbon dioxide per day, requiring the planting of 10,000 trees to absorb it. This calculation is based on the common daily behaviors of every individual.
1. Electricity consumption: One kilowatt-hour of electricity indirectly emits approximately 0.79 kg of carbon dioxide.
This includes: water heaters, light bulbs, washing machines, refrigerators, mobile phones...
2. Travel: One liter of fuel produces approximately 2.67 kg of carbon dioxide.
3. Cooking: 1m³ of gas indirectly emits 0.72kg of carbon dioxide.
4. Rice: 1 kg of grain indirectly emits 0.8 kg of carbon dioxide.
5. Clothing: One piece of clothing emits approximately 5.7 kg of carbon dioxide (from planting, processing, transportation, etc.).
6. Eating meat: 1 kg of meat indirectly emits 1.24 kg of carbon dioxide.
A tree absorbs approximately 1.66 kg of carbon dioxide per year, or about 0.0045 kg per day. Below is one of many carbon footprint calculator methods that can calculate your annual carbon emissions.
Calculation method:
Gasoline: ____ liters x conversion coefficient 2.7 = ____ kg CO2
Electricity consumption: ____ kWh x conversion factor 0.785 = ____ kg CO2
Meat consumption: ____ kg x conversion factor 1.24 = ____ kg CO2
Airplane mileage: Short-haul (less than 200km) ____km x conversion factor 0.275 = ____kgCO2
Midway (200-1000km) (____km-200x conversion factor0.105+55)=____ kgCO2
Long distance (greater than 1000km) ____km x conversion factor 0.139 = ____ kgCO2
neutralization
"Neutralization" means that the positive and negative are offset by each other.
Carbon is a specific material noun, while neutralization is a verb. It is the core of the entire "carbon neutrality" concept.
In terms of specific methods, how can we achieve the balance between positive and negative?
Since carbon emissions are related to a person's daily life, businesses, organizations, and individuals need to base their thinking on the concept of neutrality when considering production methods and taking actions in all production activities.
For example: reduce daily electricity consumption; use public transportation whenever possible; conserve food, cook only what you need, and reduce meat consumption; buy fewer clothes, and wash multiple items at once; conserve water, using rice water to water plants and laundry water to flush toilets; protect greenery, plant more trees, and avoid wasting products made from plants...
In summary: plan your life, conserve resources, avoid waste, and protect nature.
So, let's go back to the question: how can each of us get involved in the work of "carbon neutrality"?
As a business or organization: Are all your endeavors related to energy conservation and carbon emission reduction, such as the development of new energy sources, species protection, carbon dioxide absorption technologies, and resource recycling?
As an individual: Can your lifestyle habits and habits be related to saving energy and reducing carbon emissions, such as setting daily carbon emission limits, earning carbon credits every day, and making reducing carbon emissions a part of your daily life?
So, what does acoustic service have to do with "carbon neutrality"? Does acoustic service align with the concept of "carbon neutrality"?
Carbon neutrality: Top-level design
In my view, there is an indispensable concept in the "carbon neutrality" idea: "top-level design."
Top-level design: This involves using systems theory to plan all aspects, levels, and elements of a task or project from a holistic perspective, in order to concentrate effective resources and achieve goals efficiently and quickly.
In achieving carbon neutrality, resource conservation and nature protection both require time to prove themselves, making it a very lengthy process. To achieve this goal, thorough planning and coordination in the early stages are essential. Top-level design, a forward-thinking approach, is crucial for businesses, organizations, and individuals to commit to carbon neutrality. It involves anticipating risks with a long-term perspective and planning production and daily life in a holistic manner.
The concept of "carbon neutrality" in acoustic services
1. Acoustic services: anticipating noise risks.
Anticipatory thinking involves using the breadth and depth of one's existing knowledge to assess potential risks and thus avoid them. This aligns with the forward-looking perspective in the concept of carbon neutrality. Noise is usually only perceived after use; in acoustic services, noise detection work can be conducted, and knowledge of relevant noise laws and acoustic standards can be used to anticipate potential legal violations. For example:
① Noise producers: Factories, construction sites, bars, KTVs, elevators, etc., which are obviously noise-generating places, how can acoustic knowledge be used to comply with noise laws? How can they be constructed to minimize noise?
② Noise Victims: Individuals typically cannot foresee noise risks when purchasing a home. Firstly, they lack the ability to detect them; secondly, they are unaware of the noise sources; and thirdly, they lack solutions. Acoustic knowledge can help individuals minimize noise sources in their buildings when making a purchase.
2. Acoustic services: Reduce resource waste.
The most important measure for "carbon neutrality" is reducing resource waste. With a proactive approach to acoustic services, risks can be avoided during building construction or when individuals purchase homes, thereby reducing future waste caused by substandard construction and poor living experiences. What wasteful behaviors might occur if noise risks are not anticipated? For example:
① The karaoke bar in the commercial and residential building lacked acoustic treatment, causing severe noise pollution and numerous complaints from residents, leading to its order to cease operations for rectification. If the karaoke bar needs acoustic treatment, it will have to undergo basic renovations again. This redundant renovation is an avoidable waste of resources.
② A residential building lacks acoustic design. An elevated highway is located 50 meters away, the elevator shaft is right next to residents' bedrooms, the floor slabs are not properly soundproofed, the rooftop water pump lacks vibration damping, and the air conditioner units are not uniformly planned... Various noise issues have been complained about in the residents' group chat, the property management is powerless to resolve them, leading to significant neighborhood conflicts. Some residents are forced to sell their homes, while others are hesitant to buy property there again. Regardless of police intervention, selling and moving, or repeated repairs by the property management, these noise problems will remain difficult to resolve, resulting in a substandard residential building that wastes various resources.
③ If a house is noisy due to the lack of acoustic treatment during the initial renovation, and the upstairs neighbors complain about the noise, the only way to do soundproofing later is to remove the original renovation.
④ The lack of acoustic design in the offices leads to noise interference between offices and meeting rooms, resulting in high background noise, increased workload for employees, reduced work efficiency, and low morale. This also wastes company resources.
3. Acoustic services: Maximizing their effectiveness
Maximizing the effectiveness of acoustic services aligns with the "carbon neutrality" principle, ensuring that resources, personnel, land, and goods are used to their fullest potential, thus extending the lifespan of goods and reducing unnecessary waste. Acoustic services can empower many fields, maximizing their impact.
① In concert halls, theaters, cinemas, recording studios, etc., acoustic design can make the spatial sound environment clearer and the sound better, thus maximizing its functionality.
② In bars, KTVs, and similar establishments, acoustic design should be implemented to avoid low-frequency noise disturbing residents and high-frequency noise affecting music quality, thereby maximizing the functionality of the establishment.
③ In home life, acoustic design can prevent external noise and neighbor noise from affecting the quality of life, making the residence more comfortable.
4. Acoustic Services: Building a Long-Term Harmonious Life
Carbon neutrality is a long-term philosophy of harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature. In the short term, while carbon neutrality primarily concerns the relationship between humans and nature, if this harmony is gradually cultivated, it can also sprout between individuals, between people and society, and between people and the world. From an acoustics perspective, green acoustic buildings, through acoustic design, mitigate potential future noise pollution, ensuring that society is not plagued by noise-related conflicts. Noise has become one of the top ten annoyances of life. For example:
① Take measures to soundproof your home to avoid fights between neighbors over noise.
② Implement soundproofing measures in the office to prevent colleagues from developing grudges due to noise.
③ Implement soundproofing and acoustic measures in classrooms to prevent teachers and students from damaging their throats and hearing due to noise, thus protecting their health.
④ Implement sound insulation and acoustic measures for cinemas to avoid operational problems caused by poor acoustic environment.
Sound health is undoubtedly an essential part of a harmonious life.
It's important to reiterate the spirit of "carbon neutrality ," which is also our company's ultimate philosophy for resolving neighborhood noise disputes. Whether upstairs or downstairs, those creating noise should be mindful of their actions, and victims shouldn't be overly sensitive. When neighbors are accommodating, understanding each other with a "neutral" mindset, and considering things from each other's perspectives, problems can often be easily resolved.
Acoustic services, whether now or in the near future, must conform to the concept of "carbon neutrality," both in form and in the deepest sense.
Note: The above article represents only the author's personal views; corrections and discussions are welcome.