Is the Waxman-Markey bill bringing change to the US?
Posted: July 31, 2009 by Edwina, Category:Sustainability
I just read this great perspective on the bill from Matt Macko on CleanTechies. Working at IES, which is solely focused on enabling low-energy building design and has a presence on both sides of the pond, I’ve seen the rise of the importance of carbon reduction first here in Europe and now in the US. Public opinion here is still divided, but the tide is definitely turning…
Matt comments on how US public opinion to the bill has been quite negative…
“The public response to this bill has not been good. Googling the bill generated several articles: almost all were in opposition. Sadly, people tote it as another method Obama has found to increase taxes. They claim it is an unnecessary step to solve a group of alarmists’ wild and false theory, Global Warming. Without arguing the validity of Global Warming, one friend put it to me this way: “If the believers are wrong and Global Warming is not true then we have implemented changes that will improve our environment and the Earth, if the naysayers are wrong and Global Warming does exist and we do nothing, our cities are underwater.”
There are however many (like Matt) in the US completely behind this bill and 100% committed to sustainable building design, not least Ed Mazria of Architecture 2030 - you should definitely read his take on the bill at http://www.architecture2030.org/news/news_072209.html
Or Jerry Yudelson, a US green building consultant, who released today a video looking at the differences of energy consumption between Europe and the US http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sF4lZsx9Ifs. With advocates like this pushing alongside the bill you have to hope that general US public opinion will start to sway towards the positive sometime soon…
Even from a purely commercial perspective, the fact that there is now a market in the US for our building energy analysis software is pretty telling. It’s been used here in the UK by the top building design firms for over 10 years now. In the last 3, we’ve been able to open offices in both Boston and San Francisco, with all the major A&E firms engaging with us!
Bring on the change!
