Is my donation to Green Buildings Now tax-deductible? Yes. Donations, handled by Seattle First Baptist Church, are tax deductible.

What is a resilience hub? Resilience hubs are centers that provide human services, reduce greenhouse-gas pollution, enhance social equity and community self-determination, and function as a center for community assistance in times of emergency. Campus partners at the South Beacon Hill Resilience Hub grow and distribute food, educate preschoolers, offer anti-racist training, and advocate for equitable climate action, affordable housing, jobs and job training, and other community needs.

Why are you replacing gas furnaces? Isn’t natural gas a clean fuel? Gas and oil furnaces are a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions, which are responsible for the climate crisis. For most households, gas furnaces are the second largest source of carbon pollution, exceeded only by automobile use.

Shouldn’t the government provide incentives for the transition of buildings to clean energy? Yes, government must play a leading role if we are to avoid the worst impacts of global heating. The federal and Seattle governments have created funds to help some lower-income homeowners and commercial property owners switch from fossil-fuel heating to nonpolluting heat pumps. However, this assistance is not at the scale of the task before us, and private funding will be needed until governments adopt broader solutions supporting an equitable transition to clean energy use.

What good will it do if I support this project? Weatherizing and decarbonizing these few buildings will impact a whole community and serve as a model for progress on racial justice and climate change. Your contribution will reduce carbon emissions. And, like the ripples from a pebble thrown into a pond, we are raising awareness of the need for a just transition to a sustainable future.