Getting Going on Greening Homes
by Karen on January 30th, 2009
On yet another freezing day in Chicago, it might seem odd to contemplate days when the temperature is over 100 degrees. But that is a great metric for what we are facing with climate change. Chicago currently has about two days a year with temperatures above 100 degrees. If we do nothing about greenhouse gas emissions, by the end of the century, Chicago is projected to have 31 such days. Essentially, each year we would have a month of extreme heat. And while I may not like the cold, I really don’t like extreme heat.
Thinking about roasting in the future is no fun and considering the broader impacts on buildings, ecosystems, and other structures is even less pleasant. However, I recently attended a summit by the Chicago Climate Action Plan, and it had some uplifting news. The City of Chicago has broken down the challenge of addressing climate change into specific tactics, and at the meeting they gave updates on actual progress.
Take housing, for example. Buildings overall are the key issue for Chicago; 70% of emissions come from this sector. This is often a surprise for people because so often we focus only on the emissions associated with transportation. (Transportation is also huge, but only 21%.) Within buildings, you have the housing sector. The city has actually documented retrofits to over 6,000 units of residential housing that have been completed in the past year. Completed! These units are seeing double-digit reductions in energy use – preventing emissions and saving money.
Now 6,000 units may sound like a lot, but the goal is to complete 400,000 by 2020 to mitigate the 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide that need to be offset. So there is huge growth to come. While many organizations will be driving some of these changes, ShoreBank looks forward continuing to encourage more property owners to incorporate energy saving improvements by offering the financial services and technical assistance that make it possible. We like summer – we want to keep it livable!
Tags: Chicago Climate Action Plan, community development, green banking, green building, ShoreBank, triple bottom line
[...] To learn more about the Chicago Climate Action Plan’s environmental impact, check out my colleague Karen’s earlier post here. [...]
[...] Chicago Climate Action Plan The City’s plan to retrofit 400,000 units of housing by 2020 to mitigate 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide [...]