Some houses are being built to stand up to hurricanes and sharply cut emissions, too

By ISABELLA O’MALLEY
Associated Press

Climate change is increasing billion-dollar disasters, many of them from intensifying hurricanes. Some housing developers are building homes with an eye toward making them more resilient to such extreme weather, and friendlier to the environment at the same time. Buildings are major contributors to greenhouse gas emissions through the construction of the materials that go into them, like cement and steel, but also from the energy they use — especially if they’re not efficient. Some builders say that a resilient home is a sustainable one. Solar panels, battery storage, higher-quality insulation, and even thoughtful landscaping and site management are all ways this new generation of homes is positioned for an increasingly warm and stormy world.