Build more housing sustainably to protect environment, climate

As a young person, I want to call attention to what citizens and local government are doing to build sustainable housing for our future. Resilience to extreme weather, energy-efficient design, heat pumps, low-carbon construction, on-site renewable energy, and providing for non-automotive modes of transportation, some of which are incentivized by new laws like House Bill 1183 and HB 1491, are important to creating a stable future, and can also lower energy costs and support healthy, well-connected communities.

When I was younger, wildfire smoke was not the norm for summer, and its recent rise makes clear the need for a more sustainable world. We should be building these technologies into all new housing, and retrofitting existing homes to make them more sustainable as well.

Miles Silverman

Bellingham