Reducing energy use by 15% in new homes certainly a noble
goal
Whether or not you believe that global climate change is a real
phenomenon or a hoax, it’s easy to support the idea of building
green.
Reducing energy use by 15% in new homes certainly a noble goal
Whether or not you believe that global climate change is a real phenomenon or a hoax, it’s easy to support the idea of building green.
Gilroy is considering joining a growing number of Bay Area cities that encourage developers to build energy-efficient homes. The Build It Green program, or BIG, is a nonprofit group “whose mission is to promote healthy, energy- and resource-efficient building practices.”
Specifically, they’d like to reduce energy use in new homes by 15 percent.
An intelligent ordinance would be a good example of acting locally
BIG’s goal is in line with environmentalists’ goal of reducing human impact on global climate change, to be sure, but it also makes sense from a national security and economic perspective. Reducing our nation’s dependency on foreign fuel sources increases national security and reduces our trade deficit.
BIG is an excellent example of thinking globally and acting locally.
Of course, the devil’s in the details, and we encourage the city to look carefully at the ordinances crafted in nearby cities to encourage environmentally friendly building practices – both those advocated by BIG and those proposed by other groups – to see what best fits Gilroy’s needs.
We’d like to see an ordinance that doesn’t need frequent updating to keep up with changing technology and one that tries to minimize unintended consequences like the state’s solar panel ordinance that might force a Sunnyvale couple to remove several redwood trees.
Higher initial costs can be offset by long-term energy savings
Just like the auto industry had to be prodded with regulations to increase fuel efficiency in vehicles, so too the home building industry needs to be prodded to build environmentally friendly homes. 
Yes, it will add cost, but many of those initial costs will be re-paid in energy savings over time. But the stakes are high – environmentally, economically and politically – and adopting green building standards is an important step we can take locally to help the nation and the world.
