ALBUQUERQUE – Una comisión estatal está lista para votar este viernes sobre nuevos cambios a los reglamentos estatales de construcción, para definir si se hacen - o no - más eficientes en el uso de energía todos los nuevos edificios de Nuevo México. La Comisión de Industrias de la Construcción (Construction Industries Commission) votará, durante la junta que tienen programada para esta mañana en Albuquerque, las enmiendas a los reglamentos estatales que norman la construcción de edificios.

Tammy Fiebelkorn es representante para Nuevo México, del Proyecto Suroeste de Eficiencia Energética (Southwest Energy Efficiency Project). Integró el comité para el cambio de los códigos estatales, grupo que durante el año pasado desarrolló las enmiendas que hoy se proponen. Ella afirma que esos cambios ayudarán a que los edificios sean más compactos, con más aislamiento y otros medios que evitarán la fuga del aire enfriado o del calentado, y en consecuencia el desperdicio de energía y de dinero. Pero también hay medidas de sentido común.

"Exigir que realmente uses el tamaño adecuado de equipo en los edificios nuevos, para que no desperdicies energía con una unidad grande para una casa que no necesita una tan grande...cosas así."

Afirma que los cambios al reglamento de construcción ayudarán a incrementar en 20 por ciento la eficiencia energética. Los cambios que se proponen han tenido que enfrentar la oposición de la asociación de bienes raíces comerciales, cuyos integrantes sostienen que los nuevos reglamentos aumentarían innecesariamente los costos de construcción, haciendo así menos atractivo nuestro estado a los negocios y desarrolladores, y argumenta que ellos le ahorrarán mucho más costos de energía a las familias y a los negocios.

Fiebelkorn declara que este es el momento adecuado de avanzar hacia reglamentos que pongan énfasis en la eficiencia energética, no sólo por motivos económicos sino por actuar sobre el cambio climático, que podría impactar severamente al suroeste.

"Una manera fácil de reducir las emisiones de gases de invernadero es a través de la eficiencia energética, y esas normas nos dan hasta 20 por ciento de mejora contra lo que era antes en todo el estado para los edificios nuevos, y eso es algo bueno."

La junta está programada para las 9:30 de la mañana en el Workforce Training Center, a espaldas de las oficinas del CID en Albuquerque.

Las enmiendas propuestas pueden verse en .



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School buses are getting cleaner in Washington state after this year's legislative session.

Lawmakers in Olympia passed House Bill 1368, which will fund the purchase of zero emission school buses.

Rep. Tana Senn, D-Mercer Island, said the program is getting off the ground quickly.

"As we work towards that long-term goal of all new school buses being zero emission, we're kick-starting this year with $40 million in grants to school districts in overburdened communities," Senn explained.

Going forward, Senn noted school districts will have to purchase zero-emission vehicles once the total cost of ownership is equal to or lower than the cost of diesel vehicles. The state is leveraging the state's Climate Commitment Act resources to fund the transition of its 10,000 school buses.

Devin Denney, director of transportation for Highline Public Schools in King County, which already has electric school buses in its fleet, said he has driven the electric buses and talked about some of their benefits from a driver's perspective.

"You're not competing against that engine noise, the kids aren't competing against the engine noise," Denney observed. "It's a much quieter bus all the way around. The major advantage, of course, is that there's no tailpipe emissions with an electric bus, so our kids' health is better protected."

Senn emphasized health studies have shown there are negative health effects from diesel vehicles for kids, and it is easy to understand why.

"If you think about kids waiting to get on their bus in front of an elementary school and you have this line of buses idling, letting out diesel fumes right at the height of a little child, it becomes obvious that this is probably not the most healthy thing for our children," Senn added.


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Today, in honor of Earth Day, climate advocates are asking California lawmakers and Gov. Gavin Newsom to rally around a plan to put a $15 billion bond measure on the November ballot.

If passed, the bond measure would fund a range of climate resiliency measures.

Sam Hodder, president and CEO of the Save the Redwoods League, said March was the tenth month in a row to break monthly heat records.

"I think Earth Day is a terrific opportunity for the broader public to recognize how nature is critical for resilience, for our quality of life, for our mental and physical health, and for our communities more broadly," Hodder outlined.

Two similar bills to put a bond measure on the ballot are under consideration in Sacramento, Assembly Bill 1567 and Senate Bill 867, but they have been stalled since last summer. The bond would finance many programs, including some to restore wetlands that guard against sea-level rise, and to remove dead wood in forests to guard against mega-fires, which Hodder noted have killed 20% of the giant sequoias in recent years.

Opponents pointed out the state already faces a budget deficit and cannot afford to take on more debt. But only 5% of California's old-growth coastal redwoods remain, mostly due to aggressive logging many decades ago.

Hodder argued the giant trees can be critical ingredients in the fight against climate change because they trap so much carbon.

"Redwood forests sequester more carbon per acre than any other forest system in the world," Hodder emphasized. "We have the opportunity to transition the redwood forest from something that is vulnerable to climate change to something that is helping to solve and address the climate crisis."

Experts blame climate change for California's wild weather over the past few years, which has been marked by extreme drought, devastating fires and flooding rain.

A new report from the National Wildlife Federation warns that the effects of climate change in the Quad Cities, along the Iowa-Illinois border, will be severe.

But researchers got the public involved in studying to find ways to head off some of the most pressing concerns.

The report says climate change means a warmer, wetter future for the Quad Cities, which straddle the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois.

But rather than repeat what experts have already been saying about drastic flooding along the Big Muddy, Prairie Rivers Network River Health and Resiliency Organizer Nina Struss said researchers and Quad Cities residents brainstormed solutions to tackle the effects of climate change.

"Flooding and flash flooding were the top concerns," said Struss. "Extreme heat was also a big concern, as well as drought and other extreme weather events."

Researchers combined that information with hard science at the University of Illinois to create 3D models depicting what climate-induced flooding along the Mississippi could look like in the future.

The survey also asked people to identify which geographical areas and populations are most at risk from the effects of climate change, and worked with the community on solutions to mitigate some of them.

Struss said this research proposes what are known as nature-based solutions to combat the effects of climate change - restoring, preserving and even expanding existing ecosystems, like wetlands and tree canopies. But creating more eco-friendly infrastructure, too.

"Can we work to maybe have our pavements that we're putting in be more permeable, so that they can absorb that water and have that higher water-holding capacity?" said Struss. "Can we focus on areas to plant more native plants that have stronger root systems, versus ones that have shorter root systems, to help with that water-holding capacity?"

Struss said this research isn't a one-off. It will continue to change, she said, as the climate changes, the needs become more clear, and the effects more drastic.

She said progress in addressing climate change relies on more research, education and funding.




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