PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 23, 2021
Are we really reducing emissions through the new building code? The foam insulation board required to modify the current exterior wall insulation code to R-25 is a polystyrene product, made from plastics. Won’t this require that we refine more oil? Doesn’t this add to greenhouse gases? And won’t the manufacturing of this product require energy to produce? Then there’s the shipping and transportation. And the installation process causes “forever” waste particles when cutting this product, which end up in air, water and soil. And the unhealthy air in these new homes requires a ventilation system or air exchanger (requiring power to operate). Are we really solving a problem or just making ourselves feel good that we’re leaving the polluting to others? ~ Maria DiMillo, Falmouth