| Cynthia Holzapfel lives in an intergenerational home in Summertown, Tenn. (Kevin Wurm for The Washington Post) | | Welcome. This week, cicada chaos and a "staggering" oil glut. But first, the rise of "boommates." |  | | Cynthia Holzapfel, 76, knows what it's like to share a home with someone else — or even 30 others. As one of the early residents of the Farm, a 1970s-era commune in Summertown, Tenn., Holzapfel lived under the same roof with multiple couples and more than a dozen children in a five-bedroom house where everything from the laundry room to meals were shared. "It was a constant party," she says. "It was like having all your cousins move in with you." The Farm is no longer a commune. Yet one thing never changed for Holzapfel: Housemates. Over the last 20 years, she has rented her basement to more than seven families. Holzapfel is among the growing number of baby boomers, the 76 million people born in the United States from 1946 to 1964, living with intergenerational housemates. And they just may be part of the solution to America's grinding house crises. Baby-boomer empty nesters now own more large homes in major cities than millennial families — and show few signs of moving out. Record prices and scarce inventory appear to have frozen everyone in place. Several generations living under one roof would help ease the housing crunch and the loneliness epidemic. It would also cut global warming emissions. Denser living is almost always greener: fewer homes, less energy and more efficiency overall. Freeing up room in boomers' homes could also bring young people and suburban families back to communities near jobs and schools, eliminating polluting commutes. "We've had a really delightful time with almost everyone that's come through here," says Holzapfel, adding some of their youngest housemates have become like grandchildren. "Each older couple can strike the right balance of who they want to have around. Everyone can find what works for them." "Boommates" have been booming for years, according to census data. If you want to join them, there's a variety of services that help you find a match. HomeShare Online (formerly Silvernest) offers nationwide matching with free and paid tiers. Nesterly finds graduate students in college towns willing to help with household chores for discounted rent. An online search will probably turn up a home-sharing agency near you, often at no cost. The National Shared Housing Resource Center has a list of about 50 nonprofits. Click on the full column below to learn more. Are you an empty nester with (or considering) intergenerational roommates? Tell me about your experiences at climatecoach@washpost.com. I read all your emails. |  | Field Sample The vaquita is the world's smallest cetacean — and its most endangered. The tiny porpoise, only four-and-a-half feet long, lives in a small stretch of waters, about 15 miles long and 7.5 miles wide, in the Gulf of California in Mexico. Only a few hundred are thought to survive. Mexico partnered with the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, a marine conversation group, to survey the population, and attempt to save the species. | | A vaquita porpoise swims in Mexican waters in the Gulf of California (Paula Olson/NOAA/AP) | | "There needs to be a new approach taken to transition fishers to gear that doesn't kill vaquitas," wrote Barbara Taylor, a marine biologist who led the survey. "The consumer can play an important role by first refusing to consume gillnet-caught seafood and then be willing to pay 'blue market prices' for truly sustainable seafood." Find out more on how to support them here. And Monterey Bay Aquarium's Seafood Watch has recommendations that can be added to your phone's home screen. |  | Learning Curve So far this year, the United States has already seen 11 separate billion-dollar weather disasters, causing over $25 billion in damage and 84 deaths. It's not just well publicized catastrophes like hurricanes. Nine were severe thunderstorms, many unleashing destructive twisters. The other two were winter storms. An overheating atmosphere and unprecedented ocean temperatures are fueling these storms, while growth and development patterns are placing more homes and businesses in the path of destructive storms. Last year, there were 19 thunderstorms that caused $1 billion in damage or more, a jump from previous years. | | Tuesday's HeatRisk is forecast to reach the highest levels across much of the Midwest, Ohio Valley and interior Northeast. (National Weather Service) | | Summer's extreme heat is here. While not unprecedented, several cities in the Midwest, Northeast and Mid-Atlantic are facing long days of extreme heat and high humidity unusual this early in the summer. Here's a city-by-city forecast for this week's prolonged heat wave. |  | The Second Degree The biggest question you had about my last column on delicious vegan cheese: Isn't vegan cheese unhealthy and ultra-processed? It's probably not useful to lump cheese into a single category. Few people have accused regular cheese of being a health food on its own, and all of it is highly processed (some more than others). While Kraft Singles (and canned vegetables) qualify as ultra-processed, some vegan cheese may or may not. My advice: Enjoy in moderation. Bonnie, a part-time resident of Wisconsin and dairy-farmer booster, admits to some sadness at the prospect of dairy cheese going away. "I shall instead choose optimism," she says. "Vegan cheese might be able to substitute for that vast quantities of generic cheddar, jack, and mozzarella that Americans consume, while dairy cheeses might be able to focus on niche, gourmet styles." It's not too late to get on the "bike bus," the convoy of parents and children who ride their bikes to school. Shannon Brescher Shea, who serves on the Rockville Bicycle Advisory Committee, says bike buses are catching on across the Washington, D.C., area: 57 schools recently participated in Bike to School Day and D.C. public schools teach every second grader to ride a bike in P.E. class. "It was the first program of this type in the country and still one of very few," writes Shea. |  |  | | Many of you pointed out that the stunning beetle in last week's picture was none other than Popillia japonica, a destructive and invasive Japanese beetle. Thank you for that identification. Grace McCabe of Salem, Ore., wrote in with a photo showing what happened after she got rid of her small front lawn: "Now the bees and birds benefit!" Here's my column on how you can do the same. Has anyone else turned their front yard into food for you — or wildlife? Send your photos and stories to climatecoach@washpost.com | | Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here to get The Climate Coach in your inbox every Tuesday. See you next Tuesday, Michael Coren, Climate Coach | | |
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