I'm kind of struck by how Americans are in love with stick-built houses. This is despite the fact that they burn down, get termites and carpenter ants, are vulnerable during hurricanes and tornadoes and usually aren't that efficient to heat and cool. Even if we were to act decisively now, which we probably won't, the effects of climate c…
I'm kind of struck by how Americans are in love with stick-built houses. This is despite the fact that they burn down, get termites and carpenter ants, are vulnerable during hurricanes and tornadoes and usually aren't that efficient to heat and cool. Even if we were to act decisively now, which we probably won't, the effects of climate change will get worse before they get better. Some places are just too risky to build in and we should be constructing houses to withstand the worst that man and nature can throw at them.
I live in Central Europe where most houses are built of masonry, not wood, and there are reasons for that. You see lots of old buildings here. If an old building wasn't destroyed in WWII, the buildings last for centuries. There are people in places like Italy living in houses where the basic exterior of the house was constructed in the Roman era, and that is in a seismic zone.
Your point about adapting how we live to climate change is well taken. Of course we also need to mitigate the damage we are doing long-term, but in the coming decades we need to build smart for the future. Don't rebuild your house that burned down in such a way that it is likely to burn down again.
There is a development in Florida that was specifically designed to survive hurricanes. It works. The challenge is that decades of construction in Florida does not meet these standards. Perhaps this can be figured out too. My thought is… when you buy a house, think these risks through. When it burns, blows down, floods or slides down a hill, you are likely on your own.
I'm kind of struck by how Americans are in love with stick-built houses. This is despite the fact that they burn down, get termites and carpenter ants, are vulnerable during hurricanes and tornadoes and usually aren't that efficient to heat and cool. Even if we were to act decisively now, which we probably won't, the effects of climate change will get worse before they get better. Some places are just too risky to build in and we should be constructing houses to withstand the worst that man and nature can throw at them.
I live in Central Europe where most houses are built of masonry, not wood, and there are reasons for that. You see lots of old buildings here. If an old building wasn't destroyed in WWII, the buildings last for centuries. There are people in places like Italy living in houses where the basic exterior of the house was constructed in the Roman era, and that is in a seismic zone.
Your point about adapting how we live to climate change is well taken. Of course we also need to mitigate the damage we are doing long-term, but in the coming decades we need to build smart for the future. Don't rebuild your house that burned down in such a way that it is likely to burn down again.
There is a development in Florida that was specifically designed to survive hurricanes. It works. The challenge is that decades of construction in Florida does not meet these standards. Perhaps this can be figured out too. My thought is… when you buy a house, think these risks through. When it burns, blows down, floods or slides down a hill, you are likely on your own.