Guest essay by Eric Worrall
Homes and businesses which currently use gas will be allowed to continue, for now. Some businesses may receive an exemption.
Berkeley became first US city to ban natural gas. Here’s what that may mean for the future
Susie Cagle in Oakland
Wed 24 Jul 2019 04.34 BSTThe California city on Tuesday voted to ban natural gas hook-ups in new buildings, in a historic move
Berkeley this week became the first city in the United States to ban natural, fossil gas hook-ups in new buildings.
The landmark ordinance was passed into law on Tuesday, after being approved unanimously by the city council the previous week amid resounding public support.
Although Berkeley may be pushing the vanguard, the city is hardly alone. Governments across the US and Europe are looking at strategies to phase out gas. In California alone, dozens of cities and counties are considering eliminating fossil fuel hook-ups to power stoves and heat homes in new buildings, while California state agencies pencil out new rules and regulations that would slash emissions.
Natural gas, it seems, has become the new climate crisis frontline.
Landmark move
Berkeley’s ordinance, which goes into effect on 1 January, will ban gas hook-ups in new multi-family construction, with some allowances for first-floor retail and certain types of large structures.
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“The Southern California Gas Company is just not coming to the table on this,” said Bartholomy. “They aren’t providing any vision to meet our climate targets.”
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Read more: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/23/berkeley-natural-gas-ban-environment
The new berkeley ordinance is available here (meeting minutes here).
The ordinance contains some rather intriguing claims, talking about the alleged toxicity of indoor cookers, stranded assets, and a claim that natural gas is useless during an electricity outage because modern gas appliances need electricity.
The report claims that gas is a serious hazard in an earthquake. That seems plausible, though I’m not an expert on earthquake damage – fallen power lines are also a potential hazard.
The ordinance includes a very well paid staff position to enforce the new ordinance, $237,341 per year for two years. Interestingly it looks like the two year term of the new position was a late amendment, an earlier draft suggested the new position is a permanent position.
Perhaps Berkeley are planning for the possibility of failure.
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Well at least they can keep themselves warm with their Mueller prayer candles:
https://www.rt.com/usa/464990-trump-slams-mueller-democrats/
Try this link:
https://images.app.goo.gl/uTrtAk5jb9yhtxjK8
I guess it just proves one of the old rules of life.
There is no limit to stupidity.
Surely the whole chain of idiot decisions made by layers of California government must be rich case study material. As the like to trumpet the briiliance of their initiatives there is no shortage of material.
WOW! Berkeley has taken action that will solve all of the Earths climate problems so we no longer need to spend any more time and money on the climate issue.
Everyone will buy a woodburner and suddenly all those trees you see in the picture will disappear.
‘…well paid staff position to enforce the new ordinance..’? Say what? So people issuing new building permits are getting a raise for 2 years?
The City of Berkeley signed up to the Climate Emergency protocol on 11 June. This protocol has been basically put together by international climate activist groups and their backers in conjunction with the United Nations.
The Climate Emergency protocol requires Municipal Council who sign up to enact new laws and use existing regulations and any available “emergency laws” to take unilateral action to counter the climate emergency.
The City of Berkeley announced a Climate Emergency mobilization in late June.
The banning of gas connections to new buildings is straight out of the Climate Emergency document titled :”Understanding Climate emergency & Local government”, essentially a handbook for local councils.
I predict a great future for diesel, for generators. Wood burning stove/heater would also make life more comfortable. Of course, pollution will increase.
So the Southern California Gas Company are not supporting this idea – how strange. A company that sells gas not supporting a plan to cut its sales. Similar to the survey where 9 out of 10 turkeys that expressed a preference would like to see in the New Year.
Only one city off natural gas: the present Netherlands governing coalition wants to force the whole country off natural gas, its main natural resource! Holland thrived on it once huge reserves. There is more but dumb Greens don’t want it.
Home owners are forced to go for ground – heat pumps, whatever they cost and whatever the noise they make. Where the electricity for that has to come from on a cold windless winter night they neither realize nor care.
CO2 is the enemy and the next few years are The End before “Armageddon”.
No nuclear power “off course”. Follow Greta Thunberg…
They are guaranteeing the degradation of gas infrastructure. The results will be explosive. Typical government: Cause the problem and then assert authority to fix it. To death.
my tankless water heater (lpg not ng) runs fine on UPS battery for a bit until I fire generator up.
Does this mean burning coal is back for these Berk-lees?
You would not want your children to attend such an imbecile Establishment at Berkely. Since Natural gas is the cleanest and lowest CO2 emitting (if you want that sort of stuff!) and most useful fuel, why ban it?. They probably think that burning wooden logs would be better for the environment. We could all go back to the Stone Age or before and have a really Good Time!!
“a claim that natural gas is useless during an electricity outage because modern gas appliances need electricity”
Well, maybe then you shouldn’t buy ridiculously overdesigned “modern” gas appliances. For example, a real gas stove is basically a set of tubes and nozzles, requires zero point zero watts of electricity, and cooks everything just fine.
I’m sure the geniuses who run Austin are glossy eyed over this and can’t wait to try to make it law here, too.
Fortunately for me, I don’t live in the city limits. Everything Austin does that make housing more expensive just make my home more valuable.
I’ve never been to this cesspool and never will unless forced by business or other extenuating circumstances. What a bunch of leftist-marxist-fools. Ick.
Same community that ordered its police to stand down while scum beat and pepper-sprayed people hoping to hear Milo Yiannopoulos speak – God, the irony-proof left – on the subject of suppression of speech on campus.
The Big One? Yes please, yesterday if possible.
In the 1950s GE promoted the all electric house. When electric rates started to go sky high, duped homeowners realized how much it cost to heat a house by electricity and many sued GE for false advertising.
If the city believes that the use of fossil fuels is bad then they should stop making use of all goods and serviced that make use of fossil fuels. They apparently are not doing that. The city needs to get rid of all the people who live and or work there and turn the city into a wilderness and nature preserve with zero human population.
Are they actually building anything new in Berkeley these days?
Berkeley the place where brains go to get washed for $30,000.