The Feds Object To Energy Smart Local Governance

Montgomery County, Maryland, is moving toward a stronger building code, with requirements for new homes to meet the Energy Star home building parameters. This is the type of measure rapidly implementable across the country to help foster the move toward a more sensible building infrastructure such as envisioned by Architecture2030 (which has a plan to a deCarbonized building infrastructure by 2030).

The move to Energy Star construction, as the minimum standard, will mean a reduction of energy consumption by at least 15 percent over existing building code.

But they’re being opposed in their efforts by … [drumroll] … the Bush administration.

This is part of an overall Montgomery County effort to achieve an 80 percent reduction in County carbon emissions by 2050.

“We are attacking literally every source of greenhouse gas that exists and ensuring that our county and our citizens use less energy,” said council member Roger Berliner (D-Potomac-Bethesda), lead sponsor of the measures and an energy lawyer.