Page 12 - Green Builder May-June 2020 Issue

Green Building NEWS

The Latest on Sustainability and Renewable Energy

Extreme Weather Expected This Summer

Half of this season’s Atlantic storms may become hurricanes.

EADING WEATHER EXPERTS predict above-normal probability for
major hurricanes and storms making landfall in North America this
hurricane season. Meteorologists from Colorado State University,
L one of the nation’s top hurricane forecasters, predict 16 tropical
storms will form, of which eight will become hurricanes. In an average season,
there are 12 tropical storms, six of which are hurricanes. The dire predictions
compound potential issues for homeowners already stressed and sheltering
in place due to the coronavirus pandemic. Experts are urging homeowners and
builders to proactively line up defenses and be ready for heightened storm
activity, before the home improvement center and retailer rush that occurs
when hurricane and tropical storm forecasts appear. “It’s not uncommon to
see images of neighborhoods that show mass destruction after a hurricane,
and yet the homes that have been properly fortified are still standing,” says
Renee Ramey, executive director of the Metal Roofing Alliance (MRA). “It all CREDIT: ALEXANDER GERST/FLICKR
starts with making the right decisions and choosing more resilient materials
and installation processes right from the get-go.” Other preparation steps
include surveying the landscape for dangerous projectiles, having a certified Evil eye. This summer’s hurricane season may be one of the worst ever. If
building inspector or engineer examine the home, checking the home’s so, a category 4 storm such as Hurricane Florence in 2018 may seem
insurance coverage and having an escape plan in place. routine.

Pandemic Wreaking Havoc on Clean Energy Sector

Labor department warns that one-fourth of all green energy workers could be jobless by July.

ORE THAN 1 IN 6 PEOPLE in the green
energy industry lost their jobs during
the first six weeks of the coronavirus
M pandemic, according to data from the
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) released in mid-May.
That data reveals that almost 600,000 clean energy
workers filed for unemployment from mid-March to
end of April. The industry’s losses accounted for
2.5 percent of all jobless filings nationwide—26
million—during that time.
The stark numbers are a drastic turnaround from the
industry’s outlook at the beginning of the year. Clean Pandemic panic? An already
battered green energy sector
energy had been one of the U.S. economy’s biggest could be nearly decimated if
and fastest-growing employment sectors, growing current unemployment
10.4 percent from 2015 to 3.4 million jobs at the end trends continue. CREDIT: COURTNEYK/ISTOCK
of 2019. Nearly three times as many people held clean
industry jobs compared to the fossil fuel industry.
Now, a potential 850,000 green energy workers will be unemployed by end of 310,000 workers—about 70 percent of all sector jobs—filed for unemployment.
June—roughly 1 in 4—unless the federal government takes action, DOL warns. Renewable energy came in a distant second: 71,800 unemployment filings, or
Most green job losses in April were in the energy efficiency sector, where about 13 percent of all sector jobs, according to DOL.

6 GREEN BUILDER May/June 2020 www.greenbuildermedia.com

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