The National Association of Realtors has accelerated efforts to address the issue of Global Climate Change and its impact on the real estate market in the coming decades. Since both Presidential candidates support climate change legislation, it is unlikely this issue will be removed from the national policy agenda anytime soon. Climate change proposals currently under discussion in Congress and the Administration, if enacted, could impact homeowners in some of the following ways:
- Mandated energy auduts at point of sale\
- Mandatory Disclosure of Utility bills prior to sale
- Mandated energy efficiancy upgrades prior to sale
- A requirement that buildings produce more energy than they consume
First, I will step back and applaud
the National Association for
couching the
terms of the discussion in what I consider more realistic terms
– global
climate change. I know we all have our personal biases on
whether the world is
warming, cooling or warming in some places and cooling in others. I
remember as
a high school Junior our national debate topic dealt with the disastrous global
cooling trend that would end life as we knew it by the end
of the last century.
I could argue very effectively to demonstrate the validity of those
theories
and I think it’s partly to blame for a generation of free
love and
hallucinogens – after all, the world was ending soon, why not?
So having survived one
end-of-the-world event, I tend
to take the current hysteria of global warming arguments with my
customary
grain of salt followed by a shot of Cuervo. I think it is demonstrable
that our
climate is changing although I consider it highly suspect and somewhat
presumptuous to conclude that we are responsible for it all. I know
there are
those who truly believe the earth revolves around them but
I’ve got a news
flash for them – as soon as I can drag the media away from
Sarah Palin and the
economic Armageddon.
Anyway, it is incumbent on us all
to be good stewards
of this earth. It may not be much but it’s all
we’ve got so why not make an
effort? Is outlawing plastic bags and mylar balloons going to do the
trick?
Hardly. But the debate about a more ‘Green’ future
is a worthwhile one that we
can all engage in.
I recently sat through a 3 hour
briefing of our
Presidential Advisory Group on climate change and, as you might
suspect, we
endured our share of alarmists. The panel actually lasted 2 days but we
were
treated to the highlights reel – 3 hours of PowerPoint
without the bathroom
breaks, coffee breaks and the interminable questions from the guy at
table two
who knew everything. It was interesting to note that several speakers
began
their presentations with what appeared to be supportable evidence of
climate
change and then without any nexus whatsoever, launched into their
attack on
mankind for causing these problems. Wha? It’s like A equals B
and C is the
cause of D thru Z – no logical connectivity.
Fortunately there is also a growing
contingent of
groups supporting a more coherent approach to being Green. Of course
attaching
the word ‘green’ to most anything these days makes
it automatically cool and
probably more
expensive, but there are
many legitimate groups exploring our alternatives and making real
progress in
the preservation of our globe. Conserving our existing natural
resources is
critical but most of us have a natural aversion to wastefulness so
that’s not
too hard. We can do more. And the necessity of developing alternative
and
renewable fuel sources is a no-brainer, although more problematic to
implement.
Building homes and offices that
generate their own
energy is a great goal. I recently saw areas in Hawaii where entire
communities
have gone ‘off-the-grid’ generating their own wind
and hydro power, retaining
rainfall and reclaiming waste water, growing their own food organically
and
raising their own livestock. This type of organic self-sufficiency, and
the way
the government encourages it rather than penalizes it, should serve as
models
for our own communities.
Some of the forecasts and impacts
of climate change
include:
- <!--[endif]--> Climate change is
global but weather is local (they get paid big bucks for this, folks).
- Storm events
will
intensify
- Sea levels will
rise – possibly several feet this century
- Rising sea
temperatures will create more intense coastal storms and more interior
droughts
- <!--[endif]-->Weather
variability will increase making it more difficult to predict
- Decreased
predictability means increased risk
- Increased risk
means higher insurance rates (something we can already relate to).
- Some areas will
become increasingly difficult and expensive to develop
- Avoid
‘high
potential’ risk areas, low-lying coastlands, river deltas,
hurricane belts and
high wildfire risk zones. Use common sense (well, there’s a
problem right
there).
Well, that’s the good
news. And here you are worried
about your silly old mortgage. You should be moderately encouraged that
the National Association of Realtors
is on
your side. Well meaning legislators may be tempted to over-react (NO!)
and take
silly steps that would impact your private property rights, your
ability to
build or sell your own home and the cost to insure and maintain it. We
understand the need for moderating that approach as it impacts your
home. While
one hand of the government tries to dig us out of this economic hole
we’re in,
we want to make sure the other hand isn’t throwing in more
dirt. It’s an
ongoing battle – we’re up for it.
