Retrofitting America could jump-start our economy

Chill Your Power Bill

By Carl Pope

Once again this winter, as a recession settled over the country, millions of Americans struggled to heat their homes. Come summer they'll have to figure out how to keep their air conditioners going. On top of the financial crisis, the country faces an energy crisis because we are burdened with buildings powered by fossil fuels that waste that power through inefficiency.

The American Institute of Architects hopes to make the monthly energy bill a thing of the past, endorsing renowned architect Ed Mazria's vision of making all new U.S. buildings energy self-sufficient and carbon neutral by 2030. Last September the International Code Council, which develops the construction rules used by most U.S. municipalities, came within a few votes of adopting a bold new set of energy-efficient building standards. The building industry -- which doesn't, after all, pay our utility bills -- strongly opposed and beat back the package. Despite the setback, the council endorsed code standards that will reduce energy use in new buildings by about 20 percent.

As usual, California is setting the standard. Its Energy Commission has adopted a goal of zero carbon emissions from new buildings by 2030, and the Sierra Club is challenging local development plans that fail to minimize CO2 emissions. When the Club and state attorney general Jerry Brown sued Stockton for its inadequate general plan, the city set a breathtaking precedent, agreeing that every new residential and commercial building be far more efficient than even California's codes require, the equivalent of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification.

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