Tomorrow the House of Representatives will vote on legislation aimed at pulling the hard-hit construction industry out of depression. With over 2 million jobs lost in the construction trades since 2006 and an unemployment rate of about 25%, now is the time for Congress to act. The bi-partisan legislation (H.R. 5019), known as Home Star or “Cash for Caulkers,” would rapidly bring $6 Billion to the residential contracting and home performance industries while providing substantial energy efficiency rebates and financing options for homeowners.

I know what you’re thinking – do we really need more government action? Months ago, when I first considered the Home Star legislation, I was also skeptical. In fact, I was pretty opposed to the idea. This is the story of why I changed my mind.

In March, we hosted Jared Asch, the National Director of Efficiency First (a trade organization supporting the Home Star legislation), at the Populus offices in Boulder, Colorado. Not always the most charming of hosts, I have to admit I heckled him a bit (sorry, Jared). You have to understand that like most people these days, I’m hesitant about more government spending. And, like all small business owners, I worry about what an influx of spending in my industry might mean for the little guy. In Boulder, like towns all across America, we like to keep it local – local beer, local farmers and local small businesses. So you can’t blame me for wondering what will happen to the “two contractors and a truck” business model when big national box stores jump head first into the home retrofit market.

A few weeks after Asch’s visit, by the time I interviewed Matt Golden, President of ReCurve and Policy Chair of Efficiency First, I was already changing my mind about the Home Star legislation.

When I really started listening, I realized I had been hearing the same stories over and over again: small businesses ready to hire, but worried about false starts; families struggling with high energy bills, but lacking the money to insulate their attics; unemployed contractors searching for work, but finding no openings. On the contractor side, I saw abundance of supply (companies ready to grow, people ready to work) and, on the consumer side, I heard demand (homeowners wanting more comfortable, energy efficient homes). Yet, not a whole lot was happening. It seemed that after four long years of economic recession and job losses, we had all lost some confidence. The Home Star legislation is meant to unlock this market demand by providing a jump start to put the home energy retrofit industry back on track, paving the way to sustainable growth and job recovery.

Ultimately, Matt Golden helped me see the big picture. More than just a rebate program, Home Star will transform the home energy efficiency improvement industry by encouraging national standards, contractor training, and substantial benefits to small business, big business, and homeowners.

Most immediately, Home Star will stimulate demand for home energy efficiency improvements on a scale that’s never been seen before, creating an estimated 168,000 jobs over the next two years. By structuring the program as a direct rebate for homeowners and providing two tiers of improvements (“Silver Star” and “Gold Star”), small businesses can compete and differentiate their services in an expanding marketplace. In places like Boulder, Colorado, where we tend to root for the home team, I have no doubt that local businesses will continue to thrive.

Beyond the immediate benefits, I have become convinced of the long-term environmental and economic importance of scaling the home energy efficiency improvement industry. So while I remain a champion for small businesses everywhere, I understand that we also need big business on board if we are serious about energy independence and meeting the challenges of global climate change. It will take an army of small businesses, as well as the big box stores, to weatherize the millions of homes nationwide needed to combat global warming and move towards a truly sustainable clean energy economy.

So in the end, I changed my mind about Home Star. Yes, I know, it’s still government spending. But in a world where we subsidize oil companies with tax breaks and where high unemployment rates cost the government money, passing the Home Star legislation – which provides incentives for Main Street, while slashing unemployment – sounds pretty much like a home run.

This is your opportunity to get involved – the House of Representatives is scheduled to vote on the bi-partisan Home Star bill (H.R. 5019) tomorrow, Thursday, May 6^th – take a minute and call your representatives.  To find contact information for your Congressional Representative, go to www.house.gov and use the “Find Your Representative” search form at the top of the page.

Looking for a better understanding of pending climate change legislation?  Like most of us, you’ve probably read bits and pieces regarding “carbon cap and trade,” “Waxman-Markey,” and “Kerry-Boxer.”

If you’re looking for an informative breakdown of the proposed legislation, including a general overview of how the proposed cap and trade regulatory scheme would operate, check out this helpful Faegre & Benson Climate Change Law Update webcast.  The webcast contains four parts, addressing federal legislative proposals, carbon offsets, federal regulation and case law, and regional and international programs.

Have you heard of “Cash for Caulkers?”  Yesterday, President Obama proposed a home energy retrofit rebate program as an effort to create more green jobs, while lowering energy consumption through increased home energy efficiency.

Want to learn more? See the White House press release and a transcript of  the president’s remarks.

Populus is a full service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus guides architects and builders through the requirements of mandatory green building codes and optional green home certification programs, providing HERS rating, LEED for Homes Green Rater services and municipal energy code consulting.  In addition, Populus offers an Energy Code Workshop for architects and municipalities, as well as LEED for Homes training.  Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.

We are rapidly approaching the United Nation’s climate change conference in Copenhagen (or “COP-15″, the 15th annual conference of parties).  Last week, the White House announced U.S. targets for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and announced that President Obama will head to Copenhagen on December 9th to attend the United Nation’s climate change conference.

What are President Obama’s targets for GHG reductions?  Initially, the U.S. will pursue a 17% reduction below 2005 levels by 2020 (to put this goal in historic context, the modest Kyoto targets were 7% below 1990 levels).  This proposed target corresponds to the GHG limits contained in the climate change legislation passed by the U.S. House.  It is worth noting that the U.S. Senate is considering a bill that would set a more aggressive target of 20% below 2005 levels by 2020.  Long term, President Obama has a stated goal of an 83% reduction in GHG emissions by 2050.  These long-term goals have been incorporated into pending climate change legislation by targeting 30% below 2005 levels by 2025 and to 42% below 2005 levels by 2030 (the same year that the Department of Energy is targeting affordable zero energy homes for all Americans).

In addition to President Obama, several top White House officials and cabinet members are also expected to attend the Copenhagen conference, including Energy Secretary Steven Chu.  For the first time in history, the United States will establish a Center at the conference where top U.S. officials will deliver keynote speeches on energy efficiency and climate change.  In a sign of the times, the U.S. Department of State has established a “COP-15″ Facebook page and website to track the event.

See the White House press release, the COP-15 Web site, and COP-15 Facebook Page.

In a parallel move, the day after the White House announced U.S. GHG targets, China announced a reduction of the “carbon intensity” of its emissions by 40%-45% by 2020.  This measure of emissions, which differs from the U.S.’s emission measurements focuses on the amount of CO2 emissions per unit of GDP.  China’s measurement would mean that total GHG emissions in China would actually increase from today’s levels, but would result in far less GHG emissions than the expected increases associated with the rapid growth of the economy in China.  To achieve these binding goals, China will focus on research, development and commercialization of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies and encourage low-carbon lifestyles.  In addition, China’s Premier will attend the Copenhagen conference.

Populus is a full service sustainable design consulting firm that focuses on high performance, net-zero and near-net-zero custom residential and multi-family projects.  Populus guides architects and builders through the requirements of mandatory green building codes and optional green home certification programs, providing HERS rating, LEED for Homes Green Rater services and municipal energy code consulting.  In addition, Populus offers an Energy Code Workshop for architects and municipalities, as well as LEED for Homes training.  Visit Populus at www.popboulder.com.

How does the economic stimulus plan address residential weatherization and energy retrofits?  Yesterday, Vice President Biden released the Obama Administration’s “Recovery Through Retrofit” report.  The report lays out a plan to assist U.S. residents upgrade the energy efficiency of their homes.  The plan is to create green jobs and reduce U.S. energy consumption.  See the rest of the press release which discusses the Retrofit Ramp-up, available grant funding and innovative financing options (which are very similar to Boulder County’s ClimateSmart Loan Program):

At the same time, DOE issued a solicitation that offers $454 million in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds—including $390 million for a “Retrofit Ramp-Up” program—to support energy efficiency efforts throughout the country.

At a Middle Class Task Force meeting earlier this year, the vice president asked the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) to develop a proposal for federal action to lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining industry for home energy efficiency retrofits. Their response comes in the October 19 report and includes these federal recommendations: provide U.S. homeowners with home energy retrofit information, including an energy performance label for existing homes; get past cost barriers by making financing more accessible, including long-term municipal loans repaid through the owners’ property tax bills, a concept known as Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE); and establish national workforce certifications and training standards, creating a uniform set of national standards to qualify workers for energy efficiency retrofits. See the Recovery Through Retrofit report (PDF 485 KB). Download Adobe Reader.

DOE’s new solicitation will support the retrofit objectives with a series of “Retrofit Ramp-up” awards, ranging from $5 to $75 million, for states, local governments, and Indian tribes. DOE seeks innovative programs that are highly leveraged, are broadly replicable and scalable, can achieve cost savings when scaled up, and are likely to be self-sustaining beyond the funding period. The programs should achieve high-quality retrofits for a large fraction of the buildings within entire neighborhoods and communities, and they can include PACE programs and programs that employ Home Performance with Energy Star, a national program from DOE and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. DOE also offered $64 million in energy efficiency grants for local governments and state-recognized Indian tribes that are not eligible for direct funding under DOE’s Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program. Applications are due on December 14. See the DOE press release, download the full solicitation (PDF 395 KB), and see the solicitation postings on grants.gov and FedConnect.