Please sign our petition below–to sign go to:     http://chng.it/mxbFRgLNmg

Arlington Greens have initiated this petition to the Arlington County Board, Arlington Virginia, asking them to approve $10 million to provide $9 million in emergency housing (rental) grants and $1 million for emergency grocery gift cards for Arlington residents who have lost their income because of the coronavirus and face possible eviction and hunger.

Arlington County’s housing grants program today helps about 1,200 low income rental households.   We propose that the county board add $9 million to this rental grants program to pay all or some of the rent that lower income Arlington renters face owing to loss of their jobs or incomes because of the virus.

About 55 percent of Arlington residents are renters; 70,000 Arlington renters earn under 60-percent area median income (under $50,000 yearly for a single person), and many of these renters have no paid sick leave, and/or work in businesses that will close or are closed with the virus.   Many will need help.

The Arlington Department of Human Services (DHS) can easily give out these rental vouchers and emergency grocery gift cards to Arlington residents who are facing dire financial hardship owing to loss of their job or income because of the virus.   The amount of the rental voucher and amount of grocery gift amount would vary depending on the financial need of the household.

Queens Court

Energy use in Arlington for homes has been rising over the past few years, in part fueled by more residents but also by changes in the size of new houses being built, particularly detached houses.  The 9-percent rise in residents in Arlington during 2010-18 increased use of electricity and natural gas in apartments and houses, but so did having more new McMansions.^[1]  During 2010-18, residential use of electricity in Arlington rose 3 percent to 809 million kilo watt hours (kwhs), while use of natural gas rose 28 percent to 91 million therms. [2]

The average house in the United State has about 1,971 square feet of living space; the average house in Virginia is slightly larger at 2,227 square feet, according to the U.S. Department of Energy.[3]  The larger the living area, the more energy is required to heat, cool, and power devices and appliances in that space.

In Arlington over the past decade or so, more and more older detached houses, generally with under 1,500 square feet of living space, are torn down, and replaced by a new 4,000 or larger square foot house.  In 2019, the number of such tear downs amounted to 158.[4]

While the new house may have better insulation and often more energy saving appliances than the demolished house, the much larger living space overwhelms any such energy efficiency savings.  Studies of energy use in U.S. houses indicate that a 4,000 square foot house uses about 160 percent more electricity than a 1,500 square foot house, and about 76 percent more natural gas, as outlined here.[5]

Energy use by size of house in the United States:

Size of house                   Electricity    Natural gas    Combined Carbon 

(Annual in kwhs)  (Annual in therms)    (Metric tons)

Average 1,500 ft2 house     12,000                   10                       8.9

Average 4,000 ft2 house     31,200                   18                     22.0

Increase (percent)               160                          76                      146

From a carbon emissions basis, the larger house uses 146 percent more carbon than the 1,500 square foot house.   The larger house is 167 percent larger in living space, but uses about 146 percent more carbon.  Thus, standard building or appliance efficiency does not overcome the effects of the larger living space.   A new larger house would need to cut its emissions by 146 percent and that would require solar panels, much better insulation, geothermal heating and cooling, and other passive building technology.

[1] The population of Arlington rose 9 percent from 207,000 to 225,000, according to Arlington County VA,  Profile 2018, and Profile 2008 https://arlingtonva.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/31/2018/04/2018Profile.pdf

[2] A therm is the heat value of natural gas; 100 cubic feet of gas (CCF) equal 1.036 therms.

[3]  U.S. Dept. of Energy,  “Household energy use in Virginia,” based on 2009 data,  www.eia.gov/consumption/residential

[4] Arlington County, “Quarterly Development Tracking Report,” for 2019, https://projects.arlingtonva.us/data-research/development/quarterly-tracking-report/

[5] Natural gas use data from Http://pemc.coop, and electricity use from https://comparepower.com/kwh-electricity-energy-usage-calculator/  Energy data were converted to carbon equivalents as follows:  1,000 therms equals 5.3 metric tons of carbon; 1,423 kwhs equals 1 metric ton of carbon.  Source:  EPA.

If one completes their Virginia income taxes this year, they may note an obscure tax credit listed on the tax form called “the Virginia Coal and Production Incentive Tax Credit” that gives a tax credit to Virginia mining companies (up to $3 per ton of coal mined).  (Code of VA 58.1-433.1)  In the latest year for which data are available (2015), the State of Virginia gave out $37 million to 56 corporations to subsidize their mining of coal.  This tax boondoggle started in 1988, and has given out so far over $610 million to coal owners and operators.   Yes $600 million to encourage more coal mining in our state.

Mountain top coal removal in WVA, from EarthJustice

Given our climate emergency, one would have thought that encouraging more coal mining is the last thing on Earth we Virginia taxpayers should be doing.  The Virginia Sierra Club and the Virginia Conservation Network have repeatedly called for ending this tax subsidy for coal mine owners and operators. http://www.vcnva.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HB2198.pdf  But, the Virginia General assembly has refused to stop this carbon emission madness.

What if this $37 million each year was given to homeowners as a $1,000 tax credit to install their own solar panels or put in $1,000 of insulation and weatherization in their home?   This would help 37,000 Virginia homeowners lower their utility bills either through solar panels or just more weatherization and insulation.   The home owners’ utility bills would be markedly lower, and so would carbon emissions in Virginia.

Alternatively, this $37 million or a portion of it could be used to pay for re-training, pensions, and re-location of Virginia coal miners who lose their jobs inevitably.  There are only about 2,000 coal miners left in Virginia, and their days of employment coming to an end.  The State of Virginia could re-train the younger ones, and provide pensions to older workers unable to retain or to relocate to an area in Virginia with low unemployment

Measured Energy Savings & Greenhouse Gas Emissions from LEED-Certified Buildings, Talk by Oberlin College Professor John Scofield, followed by Q&A on implications for 2020 Arlington Energy Plan for Carbon Neutrality

Monday, March 02 at 7-9 PM  Arlington Central Library   (1015 N. Quincy Street)  Arlington, VA 22203

Oberlin College professor John Scofield, a national expert on U.S. green building certification, will speak about his research on energy savings and greenhouse gas emissions from LEED buildings that demonstrate such building certifications do not significantly reduce emission from commercial buildings.   Discussion follows on Arlington County’s own green building program, and the forthcoming 2020 Community Energy Plan in Arlington that proposes to make Arlington carbon neutral.  Attendance is free.   EcoAction Arlington is co-sponsor with the Arlington Greens.   Attendance is free.

The Arlington Tenant-Landlord Commission is considering asking the Arlington County Board to change the Arlington Human Rights Ordinance to ban landlords from refusing to accept government funded housing vouchers/grants for low income renters, the majority of whom are seniors and disabled persons.   Arlington Greens support HUD vouchers and expansion of county-funded housing grants as a means to expand affordable housing in Arlington for renters earning under 50%-area median income.

We encourage Arlington residents to attend the Wednesday, February 12 meeting of the Tenant-Landlord Commission, and speak in favor of this requiring landlords to accept government assistance to help low income renters.  The T-L Commission meeting begins at 7 pm at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Arlington, Va (adjacent to Courthouse Metro), first floor Azalea Room.  https://commissions.arlingtonva.us/events/tenant-landlord-commission-meeting-5-2020-02-12/

The Greens sent the following letter of support:

We support a recommendation from the T-L commission to the County Board recommending that the human rights ordinance be modified to require landlords to accept government housing grants and vouchers, whether from the Federal Government or the county.  This would rectify this discrimination against low income persons, most of whom are seniors and disabled persons.   The decision of some landlords today to refuse to accept such government funds that help low income renters in Arlington is de facto discrimination, and should be banned under our Arlington County human rights ordinance.

The Arlington Greens

Queens Court

At the January 7 meeting, Arlington Greens agreed to ask Arlington state delegates and state senators to support granting Arlington County local powers over energy/environmental building codes so that Arlington can achieve carbon emissions cut set by Paris Climate Treaty.  We ask that Greens and community members also contact their delegates and senators to support this common sense environmental legislation:

Petition to Arlington state delegates and state senators, January 2020 on allowing local authority to achieve environmental/energy plan

To:   Virginia General Assembly Delegates Patrick Hope, Alfonso Lopez, Mark Levine, Rip Sullivan, and State Senators Barbara Favola, Adam Ebin, and Janet Howell:

As residents of Arlington, we ask that you support environmental legislation in this session of the General Assembly that would allow the Arlington County Board of Supervisors to modify the existing Virginia building codes so as to strengthen energy savings and environmental protection for any buildings in Arlington.   We ask that Arlington be permitted a local option to override Virginia State building codes so that Arlington can fulfill its Community Energy Plan that would meet the required carbon emissions stipulated in the Paris Climate Treaty.  The Arlington County Board approved its community energy plan in September 2019, but does not have the full authority under state law today to implement it.

The Virginia Board of Housing and Community Development (BHCD) has repeatedly failed (as recently as 2017) to approve the minimal International Environmental Conservation Code that would have achieved at least a 30 percent savings in energy use in new buildings, and thus new buildings in Virginia are very energy wasteful.

Arlington County needs authority to require builders of new structures to meet stringent energy savings including carbon neutral buildings, mandating geothermal and solar voltaic panels, enhanced insulation, among other features in order to meet its community energy plan goal to have a carbon neutrality goal by 2050.  It cannot do this since 80 percent of carbon emissions in Arlington occurs in buildings without stricter building codes.

We therefore act that authority be delegated to Arlington County or to any other jurisdiction that may also want to implement its own strict environmental energy plan (such as the City of Alexandria) to strengthen building codes so as to achieve energy savings and thus meet environmental goal on carbon emissions.

The Arlington County Board will consider a zoning request from Amazon to build a 2.1 million square foot complex in Pentagon City that will hold 12,000 employees plus retail stores on December 14.  Amazon has offered the county $20 million for affordable housing construction in exchange for an extra half million square feet of office space. We urge Arlington residents to attend and speak against Amazon for the following three reasons:

    the 2.1 million square foot project will lead to excessive carbon emissions;

Amazon’s offer of $20 million for an extra half million square feet of additional office space is far     below the economic value of that space;

Amazon’s $20 million offer does nothing to significantly mitigate the negative effect of this project on affordable housing in Arlington.

Environmental effect of project undercuts County’s goal to meet Paris Climate Treaty.–This proposed project is not carbon neutral and not a green building despite a LEED certificate.  The project will not use 100 percent renewable electricity until at least 2030.   There is already abundant renewable energy available for large companies like Amazon if they decide to pursue it.  Google already does this for its new facilities in the U.S.   Amazon should pledge it will use only renewable electricity immediately in the project; and add on-site solar panels and geothermal heating and cooling to cut carbon emissions.

This project will use 36 million kilowatt hours of electricity and 67 million cubic feet of natural gas annually.  This will increase commercial use of electricity and natural gas in Arlington by 2 percent each and contribute 30,000 metric tons of carbon emissions a year.

In September, the county board approved goals for the community energy plan that require a drop of about 5 percent annually in carbon emissions; the board cannot approve Amazon’s project as presented today, and expect that we can reduce carbon emissions in Arlington.  What do we choose: the Paris Climate Treaty or Amazon?

A half million square feet of extra office space approval is worth a lot more than $20 million.–Amazon wants you to allow it to add a half million more square feet of office space not allowed under current zoning.  Office space in Pentagon City rents for about $40 per square foot annually; 500,000 square feet thus provide an annual rent of about $20 million a year or over 30 years $600 million.   How about asking Amazon for a $200 million lump sum?

 $20 million will not offset at all Amazon’s negative effect on affordable housing.–Housing prices in Arlington since HQ2 was announced have risen 10-30 percent; rental costs are also expected to follow a similar pattern.  A 10-percent rise in rents in Arlington will cost renters about $100 million more a year.   $20 million in AHIF will finance the building of about 200 new CAF units for 200 households.  There are about 50,000 rental households in Arlington—14,000 households earning under 60 percent AMI.  Does financing 200 new subsidized units offset the harm to 50,000 rental households in Arlington?  No.   Amazon should offer ten times the $20 million offered at the least.

Greens voted at their November meeting to support community efforts to get a municipal electric utility started in Arlington. A municipal utility would supply electricity to all residents and businesses in Arlington operating like our current water and sewage system. The municipal utility would have the authority to purchase renewable electricity and then distribute it to Arlington customers.

Our Revolution Arlington has started this municipalization effort and sought help from Greens. Go to their website for more information: https://greenpowerarlington.org/

The utility could also help customers in Arlington reduce their wasteful use of electricity through weatherization or technical help and could help homeowners install solar panels and provide most or all of their own electricity.

Municipal utilities often have lower electricity rates than private investor-owned companies like Dominion Energy. Dominion Energy has also become a leading fracked natural gas company building pipelines in Virginia and doubling down on carbon based electricity rather than pursuing wind and solar power.

There are 18 areas in Virginia that have a municipal utility, the closest being Manassas. There are over 15,000 such municipal utilities in the U.S. and large cities like New York and Chicago are considering creating such a system.

The county board would have to authorize a municipal utility in Arlington, voters would then have to approve this in a referendum, and then the county would purchase power assets of Dominion Energy, and start the municipal utility. Any profits would go immediately to the county government and could be used for any purpose.

Arlington Greens voted at their meeting on Nov. 6 to support a petition to the Arlington County Board to temporarily halt new building construction permits until the county board is able to approve an effective Community Energy Plan that will force buildings to have green building and green energy in all new buildings.

The County board in September passed a partial Community Energy Plan (CEP)that sets out the goal that Arlington will be carbon neutral within 25 years or so, but that plan had no funding or building zoning changes that would have compelled new buildings to meet this high green energy standard. New buildings–residential or commercial–will last often over 40 years, and using current wasteful, carbon-based electricity and heating will mean no reduction in carbon emissions from them for the next 40 years.

The County Board has promised to enact the full CEP by June 2020 that will include changes in building codes so that the environment and carbon emissions can be improved. The county needs to halt giving out building permits until the June CEP is approved. Amazon has proposed building two towering high rises in Pentagon City–these should NOT be approved until we have a full CEP.