Dear Editor,
[Re: LETTER – Council should adopt green code, The News, June 14]
The Green Code is not helpful.
In response to a letter to the editor calling for the adoption of the Zero Carbon Step Code by the Maple Ridge council, new carbon reduction requirements of new buildings will only add to the cost of construction and the housing shortage.
Less greenhouse gas emissions mean more electricity. But the electricity has to come from somewhere.
Even overlooking the need for every home to have EV charging infrastructure and heat pump installation, there are real limits that our electrical system can provide. A Fraser Institute study found that it would take 10 new mega-dams the size of the Site C hydro dam that took 20 years to build at a cost of $16 billion to handle the increased demand in Canada, even if any more viable hydro sites can be found, or 13 large gas (i.e. fossil fuel) plants. And the earth's climate will not be improved by reducing the 1.5 per cent of carbon emissions that Canada is responsible for, since we have no control over the major emitters of India, China, Russia, and the United States.
So a reality check is in order before we go down the rabbit hole of more punishing and costly carbon taxes, regulations and "encouragements."
Ron Lauria, Maple Ridge
