As America mulls its urgent energy predicament, we’re being
seduced yet again by splashy, pseudo-energy solutions—scores of
new nuclear power plants, expensive carbon capture and
sequestration technology at coal plants, and “drill baby drill”
for more offshore oil—while a truly effective answer to our
energy and emissions problems is already on the table. Buried
deep within the 1,428-page Waxman-Markey climate bill passed by
the House and now on the Senate floor is a demonstrably sane
solution to reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG)
emissions. Yet this simple idea is being largely ignored, even
as its principles have been championed by architects around the
country who are serious about making a difference in the
nation’s energy future. That real solution is Section 201 of the
Waxman-Markey bill, which covers building energy codes—that’s
right, building codes. The measures set out in Section 201 are
so powerful they can single-handedly transform the entire built
environment in the U.S. by 2050,