what implications will taking into account carbon foot prints have on the roles, methods and materials we now use in construction and what features should we look out for?
This is a sort of odd question but here goes: A carbon footprint basically is a measurement of the amount of carbon (dioxide) that gets put into the atmosphere as a result of a person's energy usageSince most household baseline electricity is generated by coal-fired plants, using electricity adds to the average person's carbon footprintAlso, since most cars emit CO2, the gasoline one burns adds to one's footprint as wellA building's carbon footprint would be the energy that the building usesFor example if a building is designed to be heating- and cooling-efficient, it would use less energy for HVAC and thus have a smaller C.FAlso you need to take into consideration the proccesses of building the buildingThat is, running the machines, cranes, backhoes, concrete trucks, burnig fuels like diesel for trucks and acetylene for torches, and so on.
