Catastrophic flooding. Extreme heat. Flash droughts. Our safest refuge should be our homes – our sanctuaries from the proverbial and literal storms. But the reality is, many of our homes are not safe. Not by a long shot.
Bold action must be taken, along with critical short-term strategies that effectively balance our continued economic growth with our long-term decarbonization and environmental goals.
In case you missed it, your unvented gas stove may be slowly debilitating you and your customers. Fortunately, replacements like induction cooktops are both cheap and more effective.
The state’s inadequate state building codes don’t take climate impacts into account. Not only is this a major economic and safety risk, but it could also leave the entire real estate industry vulnerable to legal liabilities in the future.
Gov. Charlie Baker and his administration are happy with the changes the legislature made to the climate policy bill that’s been the subject of negotiations and debate – both public and private – for months, but his top environmental official stopped short of saying Baker will sign the bill into law.
Scuttling what looked to be a major session-ending accomplishment for the legislature, Gov. Charlie Baker vetoed ambitious climate legislation on Thursday over his concerns that key pieces of the bill could stymie housing construction, and that the legislature did nothing in the bill to help cities and town adapt to the effects of climate change.
No matter what happens on Nov. 3, the commonwealth needs to act on our own state legislation to combat climate change, boost clean energy and reduce carbon emissions.
A provision in the bills allows cities and towns to adopt a “stretch” net-zero building code, which real estate industry groups said would be technically difficult to implement given the cost of energy efficiency and HVAC technology.
Who is ultimately responsible for ensuring buildings are prepared for climate change? That’s the question facing design professionals and other decision makers, in the aftermath of extreme weather and in light of increasingly public information on the foreseeability of climate risks.
