News for LA’s Best Buildings: October 14, 2022
Connection Cues
‘A Living, Breathing Building:’ The Rise of Resilience Centers Amid Extreme Heat in the U.S.
On the Saturday before Labor Day, in the east Los Angeles neighborhood of Boyle Heights, temperatures outside climbed to 105F (41C). It was the fourth day of California’s longest September heatwave on record. That afternoon, the entire state was under a “flex alert”, in which Californians were asked to turn down their air conditioners and unplug appliances to avoid putting so much demand on the power grid that utilities would have to intermittently cut electricity.
But at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory, or BHAC, children sat around a table engrossed in the role-playing game Dungeons and Dragons. The thermostat read a cool 72F.
In the News
GSA and DOE Issue RFI for Technologies that Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA), in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office, has issued a request for information (RFI) for technologies that help reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from commercial buildings.
The Biden-Harris administration has committed to tackling the climate crisis by putting the United States on a path to achieve net-zero emissions, economywide, by 2050. Federal agencies are directed to implement a government-wide approach that reduces GHG emissions, increases resilience to the impacts of climate change, and spurs economic growth through innovation, commercialization, and deployment of clean energy technologies and infrastructure.
Los Angeles Commission Supports Equitable Building Decarbonization
Los Angeles got one step closer to carbon-free buildings when the Climate Emergency Mobilization Commission (CEMC) voted on September 20 to approve the Report on Equitable Building Decarbonization, authored by its city staff arm, the Climate Emergency Mobilization Office (CEMO). The report synthesizes findings and recommendations from CEMO’s stakeholder engagement process earlier this year, and now it will be delivered to the city council to confirm community priorities for building decarbonization legislation. The city council intends to review the report in committee in October.
California Plans to Phase Out New Gas Heaters by 2030
The Golden State just became the first in the nation to begin making fossil-fuel furnaces and heaters a thing of the past.
In its ongoing effort to slash ozone pollution, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) voted Thursday to ban the sale of new gas furnaces and water heaters beginning in 2030. Homes will be required to install zero-emissions alternatives, like electric heaters.
The vote is designed to meet EPA regulations limiting ozone in the atmosphere to 70 parts per billion. Much of California still exceeds that limit.
West Coast Leaders Double Down on Bold Actions to Fight Climate Crisis
In the latest of several climate partnerships among Pacific Coast governments, California, Oregon, Washington and British Columbia signed a new Statement of Cooperation (SOC) Thursday recommitting the region to climate action.
The partnership promotes collaboration between the four regional governments on accelerating the transition to a low-carbon economy, investing in climate infrastructure like EV charging stations and a clean electric grid, and protecting communities from climate impacts like drought, wildfire, heat waves and sea-level changes. The SOC includes a major focus on equity, ensuring no communities are left behind in the transition to a low-carbon future.
October Top 10 Solutions
This month’s Top 10 most-viewed solutions on the Better Buildings Solution Center include the Home Energy Score™, a webinar series on performance contracting, the new Better Buildings Financing Navigator 2.0, Ford’s Go Green Dealership Program and more!
A volunteer at the Boyle Heights Arts Conservatory in Los Angeles leads children in a game of Dungeons and Dragons. Photograph: Gabriela Aoun