ABSTRACT
The Earth’s biosphere provides the ecological services that underpin human life. However, as the scope and intensity of human domination over the biosphere have expanded, basic attributes of the biosphere such as the physical movement of materials, numbers and distribution of species, and the arrangement of Earth’s landscape are increasingly controlled by human action. In some areas, such as the center of large cities, human transformation is nearly absolute, whereas in other places, such as remote parks, human influence is felt chiefly through the alteration of global cycles. However, no place is free from multiple, interacting human impacts. The reckless manner in which this domination has taken place has led to sustainable development movements that attempt to harmonize human actions and desires with ecological reality. One of these efforts is taking place in the construction industry.
