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https://weather.com/science/environ...ities-ban-natural-gas-to-fight-climate-change
U.S. Cities Ban Natural Gas to Combat Climate Change; Gas Ranges on Chopping Block
The fight against climate change is coming to our kitchens – and our bathrooms and laundry rooms.
Cities across the United States are banning the use of natural gas in new construction; others are considering such a ban. That could mean the end of gas ranges, heating systems and clothes dryers in new homes.
Berkeley was first.
Officials in the Northern California city voted unanimously in July to ban natural gas in newly constructed buildings, becoming the first city in the country to do so, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
"We need to tackle climate change every way that we can and by doing this, we’re not asking people to change that much," Berkeley City Council member Kate Harrison said, according to KQED.
"It’s going to give us a better life. We’re going to have a cleaner environment. We’re going to have less health problems. We’re going to have less danger in our homes," said Harrison, who led the initiative.
So far, a dozen other California cities and one county have adopted a natural gas ban or building codes that encourage all-electric construction, according to the Sierra Club. They include San Jose, Santa Monica, San Luis Obispo, Palo Alto, Mountainview and Marin County.
San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles are developing goals to cut emissions from buildings, KQED reported. Overall, 50 cities and counties across California are considering policies to support all-electric new construction, the Sierra Club said.
Cities in Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state also are contemplating all-electric requirements, according to the Sierra Club.
In Brookline, Massachusetts, near Boston, a town official has proposed banning new gas pipelines and infrastructure in future major construction, according to WBUR.
"The most practical and cost effective way to achieve that goal is not to install new fossil fuel systems when we're building new buildings and when we are gut-renovating them," Town Meeting member Jesse Gray said.
Gray estimates a ban would cut the town's climate change emissions 15% over the next 30 years. His proposal will be voted on during the town meeting on Nov. 19.
Natural gas, which is mostly methane, releases carbon dioxide when it is burned. Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas causing climate change. Environmentalists also say there is growing evidence that unburned gas leaking from pipes and compressor stations harms the climate more than carbon dioxide, Reuters reported.
Officials and environmentalists pushing for the natural gas bans want buildings to use electricity generated by renewable sources, according to USA Today.
Thirty-three percent of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation come from natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
"There’s no pathway to stabilizing the climate without phasing gas out of our homes and buildings. This is a must-do for the climate and a livable planet," Rachel Golden of the Sierra Club’s building electrification campaign told USA Today.
Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association, said, "The idea that denying access to natural gas in new homes is necessary to meet emissions reduction goals is false. In fact, denying access to natural gas could make meeting emissions goals harder and more expensive."
Another industry group, the American Public Gas Association, hopes to boost support for natural gas among 25- to 44-year-old homeowners with ads showing people enjoying hot showers, cooking on gas stoves and relaxing by a fire pit, Reuters reported.
"We are trying to get ahead of it," said Stuart Saulters, the association's director of Government Affairs. "We think there is a chance this can domino."
U.S. Cities Ban Natural Gas to Combat Climate Change; Gas Ranges on Chopping Block
The fight against climate change is coming to our kitchens – and our bathrooms and laundry rooms.
Cities across the United States are banning the use of natural gas in new construction; others are considering such a ban. That could mean the end of gas ranges, heating systems and clothes dryers in new homes.
Berkeley was first.
Officials in the Northern California city voted unanimously in July to ban natural gas in newly constructed buildings, becoming the first city in the country to do so, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
"We need to tackle climate change every way that we can and by doing this, we’re not asking people to change that much," Berkeley City Council member Kate Harrison said, according to KQED.
"It’s going to give us a better life. We’re going to have a cleaner environment. We’re going to have less health problems. We’re going to have less danger in our homes," said Harrison, who led the initiative.
So far, a dozen other California cities and one county have adopted a natural gas ban or building codes that encourage all-electric construction, according to the Sierra Club. They include San Jose, Santa Monica, San Luis Obispo, Palo Alto, Mountainview and Marin County.
San Francisco, Sacramento and Los Angeles are developing goals to cut emissions from buildings, KQED reported. Overall, 50 cities and counties across California are considering policies to support all-electric new construction, the Sierra Club said.
Cities in Massachusetts, Oregon and Washington state also are contemplating all-electric requirements, according to the Sierra Club.
In Brookline, Massachusetts, near Boston, a town official has proposed banning new gas pipelines and infrastructure in future major construction, according to WBUR.
"The most practical and cost effective way to achieve that goal is not to install new fossil fuel systems when we're building new buildings and when we are gut-renovating them," Town Meeting member Jesse Gray said.
Gray estimates a ban would cut the town's climate change emissions 15% over the next 30 years. His proposal will be voted on during the town meeting on Nov. 19.
Natural gas, which is mostly methane, releases carbon dioxide when it is burned. Carbon dioxide is the primary greenhouse gas causing climate change. Environmentalists also say there is growing evidence that unburned gas leaking from pipes and compressor stations harms the climate more than carbon dioxide, Reuters reported.
Officials and environmentalists pushing for the natural gas bans want buildings to use electricity generated by renewable sources, according to USA Today.
Thirty-three percent of carbon dioxide emissions from electricity generation come from natural gas, according to the U.S. Energy Information Agency.
"There’s no pathway to stabilizing the climate without phasing gas out of our homes and buildings. This is a must-do for the climate and a livable planet," Rachel Golden of the Sierra Club’s building electrification campaign told USA Today.
Karen Harbert, president and CEO of the American Gas Association, said, "The idea that denying access to natural gas in new homes is necessary to meet emissions reduction goals is false. In fact, denying access to natural gas could make meeting emissions goals harder and more expensive."
Another industry group, the American Public Gas Association, hopes to boost support for natural gas among 25- to 44-year-old homeowners with ads showing people enjoying hot showers, cooking on gas stoves and relaxing by a fire pit, Reuters reported.
"We are trying to get ahead of it," said Stuart Saulters, the association's director of Government Affairs. "We think there is a chance this can domino."
