[MCN] NYTimes : Secret Deal Helped Housing Industry Stop Tougher Rules on Climate Change

[Lance Olsen]

NYTimes Oct. 26, 2019, 5:00 a.m. ET
Secret Deal Helped Housing Industry Stop Tougher Rules on Climate Change

By Christopher Flavelle <https://www.nytimes.com/by/christopher-flavelle>
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1st 2 paragraphs

WASHINGTON — A secret agreement has allowed the nation’s homebuilders to make it much easier to block changes to building codes that would require new houses to better address climate change, according to documents reviewed by The New York Times.

The written arrangement, in place for years and not previously disclosed, guarantees industry representatives four of the 11 voting seats on two powerful committees that approve building codes that are widely adopted nationwide. The pact has helped enable the trade group that controls the seats, the National Association of Home Builders, to prevent changes that would have made new houses in much of the country more energy-efficient or more resilient to floods, hurricanes and other disasters.


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During WWII, … we transformed our economy incredibly quickly in order to protect ourselves. All hands were on deck. Women flooded into factories, and millions of Americans moved to a new state to work a “war job.” Families including children were also mobilized — and 40 percent of vegetables were grown at home, in “victory gardens.” The government laid down strong regulations, such as a ban on the production of new consumer cars. More than 37 percent of our gross domestic product was spent on the war effort.  

If the United States rises to the challenge of confronting the climate emergency, we can still “cancel the apocalypse” and begin restoring a safe climate and healthy society. The first step is telling the truth. We need a national acknowledgement that we face a climate emergency.

https://thehill.com/opinion/energy-environment/449079-moving-into-emergency-mode-on-climate-change



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