The American Lung Association has praised the recent announcement of new energy efficiency standards for housing financed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). The standards are expected to have a positive impact on both energy usage and air pollution.
In response to the new standards, the President and CEO of the American Lung Association, Harold Wimmer, expressed gratitude to HUD and USDA, stating, "Thank you to HUD and USDA for updating the energy efficiency standards. These standards will reduce energy costs for residents, but also result in less energy usage, less air pollution and improve resiliency in extreme weather events resulting from climate change."
Wimmer further highlighted the significant reach of the new standards, mentioning, "The new standards will impact 155,000 HUD and 15,000 USDA housing units per year. They will reduce costs for residents as well as cut greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution."
Moreover, Wimmer emphasized the environmental benefits of the new standards, noting, "In fact, the new standards will generate an estimate reduction of as much as 6.35 million metric carbon emissions over 30 years, which is the same as removing 46,000 cars from the road each year."
Acknowledging that there is still work to be done to enhance air quality, Wimmer described HUD and USDA's initiative as a crucial advancement, stating, "While there is much more to do to improve our indoor and outdoor air quality, HUD and USDA’s new energy efficiency standards are an important step forward."
Individuals interested in learning more about the initiative and getting involved can visit Lung.org/Healthy-Efficient-Homes. For additional information on improving indoor air quality, resources are available at Lung.org/Clean-Air.
