Action | Update the Uniform Statewide Building Code |
Stage | Proposed |
Comment Period | Ended on 6/26/2020 |
Virginia ranks very low out of the US States as far as energy efficiency. That hurts us in all kinds of ways. It means people are paying higher utility bills, in particular those that can't afford it. It means that we need more fossil fuels because we need more energy than the renewables we have. That means that we need fossil fuel infrastructure like compressor stations that tend to be sited in minority neighborhoods and thus adversely and dis-proportionately affect the health of minority residents. It also means that we are not succeeding in the fight against climate change, which means that low-lying areas like Hampton Roads are at more risk.
Buildings are a huge fraction of the state energy use. Please help Virginia cut that energy use and related carbon emission by updating the building codes to more efficient international standards that look toward the future.
This document has a collection of articles about how much renewable energy and energy efficiency can help us go carbon-free.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LjtamziqYH24JAZ4Y8RIDU0P7yr7UHP97FhxFfe_AZs/edit?usp=sharing
This site has information about the harm the pipelines do, and why we need energy efficiency to reduce our relaince on fracked gas pipelines.