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Opinion: The heat wave is a call for awakening: the government needs to help low-income families

Mark Wolfe is an energy economist, managing director of the National Energy Assistance Directors'Association (NEADA), and representing state directors in low-income countries. doing. Home Energy Support Program and Energy Program Consortium. He specializes in energy, climate, housing, and related consumer finance issues. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his own.

Perspectives Mark Wolfe

Last week, there were more than125 million peoplein the United States. Living under heat warnings and recommendations, the second major heat waveofis expected this week, breaking over 100 high temperature records. And that's only June.

The early heat wave of this year is natural. Throughout the United States, the frequency of heat wavesis steadily increasing, rising from an average of 2 times a year in the 1960s to an average of 6 times a year from 2010 to 2019. The duration of average heat waves in major cities in the United States is also increasing. Currently it is about 4 days, which is one day longer than in the 1960s.
Rising temperatures can be fatal. Approximately658die each year from preventable heat-related deaths. And low-income and minority families who can't afford to stay cool and live in densely populated areas with few trees areparticularly vulnerable.

Federal, state and local governments need to see the latest heat waves as an awakening call to develop long-term strategies to help low-income households adapt to rising temperatures. there is.

Here's where to start:

Treat cooling as if it were heating

Extreme heat is just as dangerous. But today, in many states, landlords only need to provide heat to their tenants and do not need air conditioning.

These are outdated rules and need to be updated to reflect rising temperatures.

About 7 million low- and middle-income households (income less than $ 40,000) do not use air conditioning, probably because they cannot afford it. Therefore, the state must require the landlord to provide air conditioning to the tenant.

California is considering a law. For example, it would do just that. The bill is also flexible, allowing authorities to use technologies such as insulation, airtightness, increased shade, roof cooling, and fans to create standards for addressing cooling issues in a variety of ways other than air conditioning.

Introduce utility blocking provisions during the summer

Only 17 states and the District of Columbia have summer utility blocking protectionblocking ProtectionThis starts when the temperature reaches a certain threshold or when a thermal recommendation is enforced. Also, in some cases, the rules provide very limited protection. For example, Nevada limits blocking to days only when temperatures exceed 105 degrees Celsius.

These are, at best, Band-Aid solutions. The state needs stronger barrier protection that applies throughout the season during the summer.

Providing additional funding

It costs an average of 8.6% for low-income families to pay for home energy, about67} More than the average of high-income families who spend about 3% of their high income on utilities.

And given the rise in electricity prices, the National Energy Assistance Board project predicts that the cost of household energy this summer will increase from $ 450 last summer to about $ 540. doing.

In addition, we need to further fund the Federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). The program provides the state with official grants to help low-income families pay for heating and cooling. Currently, about 85% of the program's funding is used by the state to help families pay for heating. With more money, we will be able to provide more robust cooling assistance and equipment.

Rising temperatures are killing people. Helping low-income families adapt to the hotter world and get the relief they need should be an important element of a country's climate adaptation strategy.