New green building codes stall rebuilding efforts after Colorado wildfire

New green building codes stall rebuilding efforts after Colorado wildfire

Transcript¹

The Marshall Fire destroyed more than 500 homes in Louisville, Colo., in December. Homeowners who want to rebuild face a new set of green building codes. To some, they look like an expensive obstacle.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Families in Colorado are still looking to rebuild their lives after the Marshall Fire incinerated parts of Boulder² County at the end of December. Over 500 homes in the city of Louisville were destroyed. Those looking to rebuild face a new set of green building codes, and to some, they're an expensive obstacle. Sam Brasch of Colorado Public Radio reports.

SUE LOO: Between these two trees is what was our house.

SAM BRASCH, BYLINE³: It's a frigid⁴ morning when Sue Loo and her husband take me to see what's left of their two-story Louisville home. It's not much.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: Pile of rubble⁵ there used to be a furnace. That's an exercise machine. That's...

LOO: Oh, yeah, that is. It's 30 years of love and happy times - just all in ashes.

BRASCH: December's Marshall Fire nearly leveled this entire suburban⁶ neighborhood, where homes often sell for more than $700,000 apiece. Families are now adding up if their insurance policy will cover the cost to rebuild. Loo worries inflation won't be the only thing pushing up the price. Last fall, she watched Louisville City Council pass some of the state's most aggressive green building codes.

LOO: No one - you know, no one - thought that there were going to be 550 homes in Louisville on the ground.

BRASCH: All those fire victims are now subject to so-called net-zero rules. That means each home needs to cover its own energy needs with rooftop solar or some other renewable energy resource. They also need plugs ready for electric cars and heating systems. The amount Louisville estimates that'll add to the average cost to rebuild a home? At least $20,000.

LOO: This is politics on the backs of people who lost everything. I just can't understand that (crying).

BRASCH: Loo called on other fire victims to ask for a break from the new codes, and many testified at a recent City Council meeting.

(SOUNDBITE OF MONTAGE)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: Normally, I would be a strong advocate for the climate. However, being on the other side of actually being a fire victim, my perspectives have changed dramatically.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #3: I'm asking you for common decency⁷ to your fellow citizens to relieve us from the net-zero 2021 building codes.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #4: And put people ahead of your political expectations.

BRASCH: Not all fire victims want to suspend the codes. Some see it as a unique chance to build a model low-emissions community. In the middle of the debate is Louisville Mayor Ashley Stolzmann. She's a climate hawk⁸ who pushed for the codes in the first place. And she says the fire, which ignited amid a record drought in a warm winter, proves climate change is an immediate⁹ public health threat.

ASHLEY STOLZMANN: If there were community members coming in and saying, you know, if we could use lead pipes again, we sure could save a lot of money, I also wouldn't think we should put lead pipes in houses. I would figure out a way to make sure people had safe, clean drinking water.

BRASCH: That said, Stolzmann doesn't think fire victims should carry the financial burden.

STOLZMANN: If we can put together a plan that covers the cost of doing these upgrades, that seems like a very positive outcome.

BRASCH: There's no estimate of how much the new codes could add to Louisville's total recovery. Insurance policies will cover the gap in some cases, but Colorado's governor and its largest power company say they're ready to help.

STOLZMANN: And I'm confident we'll come up with something that will help people rebuild.

BRASCH: But Sue Loo, the resident who lost her home, she's not convinced.

LOO: It's sort of like, you know, the - oh, what is it? The Tom Cruise movie, you know? If the money's there, show me the money - because I'm not seeing it.

BRASCH: And if the codes stay in place, she worries that'll mean more debt for fire victims and longer stays in someone else's basement.

For NPR News, I'm Sam Brasch in Louisville, Colo.

(SOUNDBITE OF NOVA EXPLORA'S "MOUNT SOUL")

1 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

2 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

3 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

4 frigid   

adj.寒冷的，凛冽的；冷淡的；拘禁的

参考例句：

• The water was too frigid to allow him to remain submerged for long.水冰冷彻骨，他在下面呆不了太长时间。
• She returned his smile with a frigid glance.对他的微笑她报以冷冷的一瞥。

5 rubble   

n.（一堆）碎石，瓦砾

参考例句：

• After the earthquake,it took months to clean up the rubble.地震后，花了数月才清理完瓦砾。
• After the war many cities were full of rubble.战后许多城市到处可见颓垣残壁。

6 suburban   

adj.城郊的，在郊区的

参考例句：

• Suburban shopping centers were springing up all over America. 效区的商业中心在美国如雨后春笋般地兴起。
• There's a lot of good things about suburban living.郊区生活是有许多优点。

7 decency   

n.体面，得体，合宜，正派，庄重

参考例句：

• His sense of decency and fair play made him refuse the offer.他的正直感和公平竞争意识使他拒绝了这一提议。
• Your behaviour is an affront to public decency.你的行为有伤风化。

8 hawk   

n.鹰，骗子；鹰派成员

参考例句：

• The hawk swooped down on the rabbit and killed it.鹰猛地朝兔子扑下来,并把它杀死。
• The hawk snatched the chicken and flew away.老鹰叼了小鸡就飞走了。

9 immediate   

adj.立即的；直接的，最接近的；紧靠的

参考例句：

• His immediate neighbours felt it their duty to call.他的近邻认为他们有责任去拜访。
• We declared ourselves for the immediate convocation of the meeting.我们主张立即召开这个会议。