Retrofitting buildings so they are weather-tight is an important step towards increasing human comfort. Yes, this is an issue of infrastructure and doesn't fit into the notion that newer is better and what we need is excellent new homes, stores, factories, and offices. gsmoke has posted here of a group in Massachusetts that is creating group activity in weatherization, publicizing the idea and methods, and developing leadership. Probably that's why I was inspired to track down the weatherization effort last fall in Kotzebue, Alaska. Can you find local-to-you examples?
The article I read is called "Giving Cold Shoulders a Warm Reception: A team of volunteers makes elders' homes more livable in Kotzebue". Written by Tamar Ben-Yosef and published in First Alaskans. I didn't find it online, so did that archaic thing of walking to the library to read it.
http://www.firstalaskansmagazine.com/
Weatherization kits were used. Here's what was in the kits:
weather strips for exterior doors
insulating plastic (for interior side of windows)
foam and plug-ins for electrical outlets
energy-efficient light bulbs
The houses selected for winterizing are old and fragile. The climate is cold and windy. The normal value for heating degree days (July 1 through April 4) is 12711. Fargo ND is 3646
http://paot.arh.noaa.gov/...
The Kotzebue Community Emergency Task Force designed the project. People from Shell Oil came up as volunteers.
pictures and text here
Shell Oil put together a group of about 150 volunteers -- about a third from Anchorage representing companies like AT&T, Wells Fargo and Frontier Drilling -- that came to Kotzebue to perform some winterization projects on homes to make them more energy efficient.
Hope this encourages you to support weatherizing in your own neighborhood.