Perhaps we can start with Warmists like Barack Obama, Al Gore, Bernie Sanders, and all the rest
Green building isn’t enough; we need green zoning.
How can cities that have green building codes have zoning bylaws that protect low-density single family housing?
These days it seems that everyone is fighting over zoning. Housing costs in many cities are unaffordable but the great proportion of the cities are locked into single-family zoning and building anything but a detached house seems almost impossible. Right now we see these battles in Seattle, San Francisco, and Toronto, but they are happening just about in every successful city.
And the hilarious thing about it all is that these are also cities that have green building standards. San Francisco has a green building codedesigned to reduce energy use, Seattle’s green standard “saves resources and promotes renewable, clean energy”, Toronto’s standard’s intent is to “reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions.”
The great hypocrisy is that the single biggest factor in the carbon footprint of our cities isn’t the amount of insulation in our walls, it’s the zoning. (snip)
We have been saying it for years: denser urban living is the key to reducing our carbon footprint. Some, like David Owen, call for really high density; I have called for the Goldilocks Density; the fashionable phrase now is the missing middle; both describe density high enough to support local businesses so that one can mostly get around by walking, but buildings that are low enough that they can be efficiently built out of low carbon materials like wood.
Interesting. Forcing Everyone Else into tight urban areas. A lot easier to control them and keep an eye on them, eh?
We have been talking about the relationship of density and carbon for years, and we have been talking about green building codes, certifications and bylaws. But green building isn’t enough; we need green zoning. Any civic government that calls itself green while protecting low density single family housing is just being hypocritical.
What they mean is that government needs to pass regulations restricting single family housing. Sounds less like a science or more like authoritative government as pushed by idiots who think the bad parts will never effect themselves.
