This week on “The Climate Divide,” how the District is doing at creating healthy homes
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This week on “The Climate Divide,” we visit the first Healthy Homes Fair, where local residents had the opportunity to ride e-bikes, taste treats cooked with induction stoves and see how heat pump water heaters worked. Organized by the D.C. nonprofit Electrify DC on Apr. 6, the fair was also an opportunity to inform people about the different government rebates and resources that could make these purchases more affordable.
The federal government has a variety of programs aimed at helping low and moderate-income residents afford replacing fossil-fuel-burning household appliances and heating and cooling systems with electric ones, including new funding from the federal Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022. But it’s not clear yet when those resources will start to flow to D.C. residents. The D.C. government has its own decarbonization initiatives as well that are central to the city’s overall goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by more than half of the 2006 level by 2030.
(photo by Xavier Andrade)
In this episode, we also report on Mayor Muriel Bowser’s recently proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year and the concerns raised by environmentalists and community advocates that the budget would defund climate equity programs, such as the Healthy Homes and Residential Electrification Amendment Act, which would provide electric retrofits to 30,000 low-income households in the District.
Listen to episode two as we explore these issues and hear from local residents, activists, D.C. officials and experts, including Vanessa Bertelli (Electrify DC’s executive director), Councilmember Charles Allen and Reverend Dr. Lewis T. Tait, Jr.
About “The Climate Divide”
In this third season of “The Climate Divide,” we’ll cover solutions that foster sustainability and resilience in the District. Since environmental burdens aren’t felt the same, many people are working to ensure that the climate transition is equitable and that vulnerable residents have a healthy future and the resources to face natural disasters. Season three will examine how numerous grassroots initiatives, city government programs and federal grants will impact residents.
“The Climate Divide” is hosted, produced and edited by Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe. Claudia Peralta Torres provides additional editing and sound mixing support. Christine MacDonald is the series editor and executive director of Hola Cultura. Members of the Society and Culture team, part of Hola Cultura’s Storytelling Program for Experiential Learning, also contribute to this podcast. “The Climate Divide” is supported by Spotlight DC and the Pulitzer Center.
– Story by Marcelo Jauregui-Volpe
– Copy edited by Michelle Benitez
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