Raisin Caine: "Lets say you have a car that gets 20 miles per gallon and last 250,000 miles. Having a car that gets 40 miles per gallon and lasts 100,000 miles is no solution."
One might point out that the price of the car does enter into that equation. Let's say you're going to drive 500,000 miles, and that gasoline is $4 a gallon (it's more than that here today).
20 mpg for 500k miles = $100k. Two cars at $25k each +$100k for gas = $150k for 500k miles.
40 mpg for 500k miles = $50k. Five cars at $20k each +$50k for gas = $150K for 500k miles.
Now you're going to say that they should cost the same, however a car that lasts 250k miles should logically cost more than a car that lasts only 100k miles, so it seems a reasonable comparison to me. That is, unless the price of gasoline increases, in which case, the 40 mpg wins easily.
However, "How can buildings adapt to climate change?" Any specific building can't do much. There are window coatings that reflect some light so that the AC requirement is reduced. For new buildings, more insulation is better. Maybe solar panels would help. Maybe heating water for the hot water system on the roof would help. Maybe a heat exchanger on the air coming into the building would be good.
Buildings aren't living creatures, so they are not capable of adapting.
Changes to building will not have an appreciable impact on climate change, as the largest source of carbon emissions is from developing countries that are trying to get to a low level of energy use.
Many of the changes being suggested for buildings would have very minor impacts on carbon emissions, but would cost a large amount. New construction with more power saving features will pay for themselves, but retrofitting older buildings probably is not as beneficial.
The impacts of climate change “are already affecting communities, natural resources, ecosystems, economies, and public health” (Executive Order (EO) 13653, Preparing the United States for the Impacts of Climate Change). These impacts can be managed through adaptation. Adapting to climate change is a complex, long term process that requires personnel to work together across their organization, as well as with any external stakeholders.GSA's Sustainable Facilities Tool outlines processes for planning and hosting climate risk workshops to facilitate the adaptation process.
WHY does it have to be about "climate change"???
Properly insulating buildings SAVES MONEY. It drops your energy bills. Everytime I have seen a "solution" that costs more money, it is not a solution.
Lets say you have a car that gets 20 miles per gallon and last 250,000 miles. Having a car that gets 40 miles per gallon and lasts 100,000 miles is no solution. It is worse for the environment. Having a car that gets 40 miles per gallon and last 250,000 miles is a solution AND it saves you money.
Reduce, reuse, recycle. It saves you money AND it is better for the environment. This is true regardless of whether you believe in catastrophic climate change.
Lets take the insulation example. There is a point where adding more insulation costs you more money than you save. Very close to this point, the energy put into creation, transportation and installation of the extra insultation insulation is more than the insulation saves. Therefore, at this point, adding more insulation is worse for the environment.
I've heard that buildings use a large chunk of total energy use. How can they be more efficient to help reduce the effects of climate change?
