RCE Teaches Energy Efficiency in the Classroom
How can the housing sector make meaningful progress towards reducing their carbon footprint?
The Clean Energy Transformation Act calls for significant reductions of greenhouse gasses and, in Spokane, the housing sector is responsible for roughly 24% of local greenhouse gas emissions.
How do we reduce carbon emissions in homes? It starts with modernizing the existing 50% of Spokane homes built prior to 1960 to be more clean and energy efficient, building new homes to a high standard of clean and energy efficiency, building more homes closer to major employers to reduce commute times, and training the next generation of workers to build the more eco-friendly homes of tomorrow.
As if that major challenge weren’t enough, did you know that Spokane is currently underbuilt by more than 30,000 homes, significantly driving up housing costs and pushing local workers to live in neighboring cities? To make the situation more bleak, while the State’s leaders in education continue to funnel students into a 4-year degree pathway 1 in 4 construction workers needed to build all those homes will reach retirement age in the next 10 years?
Really Clean Energy has partnered with Spokane Home Builders Association (SHBA) to launch a new workforce development program called Frame Your Future. This new program will teach engineering & construction basics, safety, and energy efficiency concepts to students and adult job seekers thus addressing the housing crisis, the worker shortage, and also tomorrow’s environmental mandates in one program.
SHBA members who feel the challenges of finding quality workers and recognize the perils ahead if nothing is done have donated time and money to create a privately-funded program to provide students with exposure to residential construction as early as elementary school. Really Clean Energy is proud to contribute by providing engaging curriculum and project management services.
Students participating in Frame Your Future programs and construction events are exposed to the following skills:
Blueprint reading
Electrical
Energy efficiency
Finish carpentry
Framing
Plumbing
Renewable energy
Roofing
Safety
Sheet metal work
Siding
Sustainable building
More information on program details and event schedules can be found here.