The City of Berkley is the first in the nation to ban natural gas lines in new homes. This is an important move in the pushback against methane natural gas. Emissions are 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide which is extremely damaging as the climate emergency escalates.
Removing the threat of natural gas from homes means no fear of gas leaks that are a health hazard and can lead to deadly pipeline explosions and fires.
California has long been a leader in environmental protection, so it is without surprise that they are the first to ban gas in homes.
In June, the Physicians for Social Responsibility called for a halt to natural gas fracking.
"Being employed leads to better health outcomes; there’s no question about that...But we have to call out the trade-offs, the tremendous sacrifices that are made to the health of these communities by putting dirty energy infrastructure near their homes.”
Councilwoman Kate Harrison, quoted in the San Francisco Chronicle said the ban requires all new single-family homes, town homes and small apartment buildings to have electric infrastructure. After its passage, Harrison thanked the community and her colleagues “for making Berkeley the first city in California and the United States to prohibit natural gas infrastructure in new buildings.”
“It’s an enormous issue,” Harrison told The Chronicle. “We need to really tackle this. When we think about pollution and climate-change issues, we tend to think about factories and cars, but all buildings are producing greenhouse gas.”
Stephanie Scherr, Editor
Activist Echoes Blog
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