Efficiency First

In an appearance yesterday on E&ETV’s daily interview program OnPoint, Kate Offringa, president and CEO of the Council of the North American Association of Insulation Manufacturers, made a convincing case for immediate passage of the HOME STAR legislation now pending in Congress. Offringa emphasized that:

Forty percent of all the energy that we use in this country is consumed in buildings and I’m not sure that that’s something that the general public is aware of, but we use more energy to heat, cool, and light buildings than we do in the transportation sector or any other sector. So, in terms of energy policy, addressing energy use in buildings is critical to our energy future as a country. What’s also important about the Home Star bill, which has received bipartisan support, as you know, in both the House and Senate, is the job creation angle. It’s going to create at least 168,000 jobs in an industry that’s been flat on its back for more than two years.

And when asked if contractors are ready to hit the ground running after HOME STAR is signed into law, she replied:

Thirty days after this bill has been signed by President Obama we’ll be ready to have people installing insulation in homes across the country. Insulation installers have had to lay off 30 to 40 percent of their workforce over the last year or two. So it’s not a matter of looking for people and training people to put them into this trade. It’s a matter of putting this trade back together with people who are out of work.

Watch the full interview here: www.eenews.net/tv/video_guide/1196