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Building Codes: A Powerful Yet Underused Climate Policy That Could Save Billions

jar546

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Building codes usually come up in the context of safety – a properly constructed building can help prevent injury or death from fires, earthquakes, and extreme weather. But they’re also essential for reducing energy costs and cutting dangerous pollution, and major opportunities to update codes and leverage their climate solution potential are just around the corner.

Building codes governing energy-related components, such as insulation requirements and wall thickness, generate significant savings for residents and businesses. Today’s codes provide 30% more energy savings than codes from a decade ago, and residential and commercial building energy codes are projected to save $126 billion in cumulative energy costs between 2010 and 2040, while avoiding the emissions equivalent of 245 large coal-fired power plants.

State and local governments have the power to maximize this potential by determining which codes are adopted and enforced, thus deciding if new buildings will support an electrified and decarbonized future. California’s next statewide code update is grappling with multiple electrification issues, and the International Code Council (ICC) – the global codes and standards agency – recently redacted...............

Finish this Forbes article here: https://www.forbes.com/sites/energy...-climate-tool-building-codes/?sh=2f071f23d978
 
The Forbes editor who let that article through should be fired. Many in Socal received text messages last week warning that their electricity may get cut off due to high winds. Shouldn't California try to maintain power delivery against a potential disaster and not give in and shut it down? And the state wants to increase electrification?

California Owners of EVs may end up letting these cars collect dust in the garage.

Here's another view on California electrification: Power Grid the Worst
The state could not keep up with power demand during the summer heat wave. Electrification may bring benefits but California ain't the place to start such programs.
 
It would be a whole lot cheaper for California to just ban air conditioning in all homes.

Or build a coal plant already.

There is no excuse other than a legit natural disaster for a state in the US to have brown or blackouts of its power grid. We're the most technologically advanced nation in the history of the world, and there are literally dozens of viable means of power generation available to us. A public grid being down because the "green" regulations lead to the utility being unable to supply the demand and/or to maintain a safe grid is beyond ridiculous. It's embarrassing.

 
Because CodeWarrior is from the L.A./Chino area of CA. so there is some insight.
Even people here do not know what is best for the most populous state. it is also one of the Most Diverse States.
Hell we even allow Conarb to live here.....
No-one, even me, has all the answers.
 
Or build a coal plant already.

There is no excuse other than a legit natural disaster for a state in the US to have brown or blackouts of its power grid. We're the most technologically advanced nation in the history of the world, and there are literally dozens of viable means of power generation available to us. A public grid being down because the "green" regulations lead to the utility being unable to supply the demand and/or to maintain a safe grid is beyond ridiculous. It's embarrassing.

Sorry but we are far behind:

 
They are shutting off the power, not because of lack of power. but because during windstorms, the aging infrastructure fails causing fires. lines snap, lines shot circuit, transformers explode.
They can fix it all, with money. It's all about money. they are more concerned with paying dividends to investors than upgrading infrastructure.
 
# ~ # ~ #

" They can fix it all, with money. It's all about money. they are more concerned with paying dividends to investors than upgrading infrastructure. "
As is the case everywhere else !

# ~ # ~ #
 
Even people here do not know what is best for the most populous state. it is also one of the Most Diverse States.
Hell we even allow Conarb to live here.....
No-one, even me, has all the answers.
Why is California the only place where someone can get away with saying this:
“Southern California Edison said that over 288,000 customers in the Los Angeles area could see their power cut as a safety precaution during the storm. "When there is a high risk for a wildfire, we may temporarily shut off power to your neighborhood to prevent our electric system from becoming the source of ignition," the utility”

It’s in the national newspaper:
 
Wimps

So much for California bashing.

Climate change is real and we need to take drastic action. My guess is that many of the problems exist in other states.

This is not do say that California is not without problems because people are acting emotionally. This is not limited to California. For example the obsession is with electricity and not the carbon in the atmosphere. With carbon capture technology we can produce a replacement for natural gas that when it is burned the result in no net carbon into the atmosphere. The carbon that is burned is the same carbon previously removed from the atmosphere.

Remember the real problem/cost has to do with electrifying existing buildings not with new construction. We cannot wait for all of the existing buildings to be torn down or retrofitted.

In any case we will need to increase the grid capacity since we will be using more electricity. While this will be expensive when we address this problem we will also help prime our economy.

We are in for a wild ride but this is not a horse that we can get off of.
 
Why is California the only place where someone can get away with saying this:
“Southern California Edison said that over 288,000 customers in the Los Angeles area could see their power cut as a safety precaution during the storm. "When there is a high risk for a wildfire, we may temporarily shut off power to your neighborhood to prevent our electric system from becoming the source of ignition," the utility”

It’s in the national newspaper:
Lawsuits, wildfires, Building in wildfire interface zones, and a failing infrastructure.
 
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