Gas Power: Throwing the Baby out with the Bath Water

The old saying "Don't throw the baby out with the bath water" seems appropriate for the latest climate edict out of Sacramento courtesy of Assemblyman Marc Berman from the "leafy suburb" of Menlo Park.  Newsom signed AB1346 that outlaws the sale (but not the use) of "off-road" gasoline engines by 2024; or later if the California air police deem it necessary.  The Wall Street Journal offers some helpful points to understanding this latest maneuver

As an Assembly bill analysis notes, “for commercial uses, there is very little market for zero-emission equipment as today’s technology is relatively expensive and requires multiple batteries and/or frequent recharging and replacement” and “may be inadequate even if money is no object, particularly when used in rural areas without convenient access to recharging.”  No market? No matter. Sacramento will dictate a new one by banning the old one.

Banning sales of new small-combustion engines in tools “could have a few unintended consequences,” the analysis added. For instance, it could “lead to prolonged use of older, dirtier engines,” and the “purchase of non-compliant engines out of state for use in California.”  Home Depot stores in Tijuana and Reno no doubt will appreciate the sales boost.

Even better is this hidden gem

You won’t read this in other newspapers, but many Democrats who represent working-class communities are starting to worry that the state’s environmental policies are driving up the cost of living for minority communities.  Notably, about one in five Democrats in the Assembly and a third in the Senate from mostly lower- and middle-income districts abstained or voted against the bill.

"Abstaining" is the classic legislative ploy to avoid responsibility.  No one can say you voted against it.  There are plenty of people, including some long time readers of the Voice, who will applaud the move against gas leaf blowers.  I'm ok with that too; except for the $30 million of taxpayer money that is allocated to subsidizing the shift.  The "baby in the bathwater" is the fact that the bill includes gas-powered generators!  Talk about an absolutely idiotic ban.  Generators are flying off the shelves due to unreliable electricity.  Generac, the largest vendor in the U.S., has an enormous backlog -- its company stock is up more than 400% since January 2020.

I don't own a generator.  I've been meaning to buy one for years, but my move to solar that went quite well now has me planning a battery back-up as Phase 2 of the project.  I'm fortunate that I can afford the project with a little planning.  For most people, an $800-1,300 generator with no installation costs is a reasonable choice--or was.

Comments

[Joe]

The SacBee did a piece about PG&E planned outages that got around to quantifying the number of people who rely on commercial power for medical equipment:

The RAND Corporation estimated in 2019 that there were at least 176,483 people in California dependent on electricity for their medical treatment.

Only about a quarter of older adults who use essential electricity-dependent medical equipment had access to an alternative power source in the event of an outage, a 2019 National Poll on Healthy Aging survey found.
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A lot of these folks are in outer suburban and rural areas and outlawing standard, gas-powered generators may be life-threatening.......

[Paloma Ave]

Woke progressive, libertards, including councilmembers Beach, Brownrigg, and Ortiz, in Burlingame, and council members in Menlo Park and Belmont, need to be CALLED OUT, for being ANTI-CHOICE!

Natural-gas, which is a legal way of powering some appliances, is now now being categorized, as the ANTI-CHRIST!

I hate the idea of a legal product being categorized as wrong, by a bunch of political opportunist, who may be seeking higher office.

If enforcing bans on natural-gas appliances in new construction is such a great idea, why haven't you converted all of your natural-gas appliances to electric?

Since you have not, I will take every opportunity to reveal that you are ANTI-CHOICE for the rest of us, but not yourselves!

The gauntlet has been thrown down.

[MBGA]

Pointing out that they are hypocrites has two flaws.
1) liberals are beyond that concept. You can not shame them because they either don't know what the word means, or libs will not buy into your logic saying the issue is too nuanced for you to understand.

2) They actually have a plan that isn't going to be discussed much, yet. It's okay that existing buildings (their homes) do not comply with the latest environmental rules they have been putting in place for new construction. The plan is that as older homes are sold they will be required to do the upgrades in order to sell the home. So you can keep your fireplace, and your gas water heater for now, but ten years from now when you want to move out of the state you will have to the conversion.

This will create more construction jobs, great for the base, and be an exit tax on the homeowners that thought they could take their home appreciation wealth out of the house, and out of the state.

[Adam Smith]

It seems to me that this is a good time to remind everyone in town as to what day is their day for leaf blowing and mowing. The city hasn't reminded in a long time if ever and I see more and more off-day work happening.

[Paloma Ave]

I do not believe there is a restriction on which days a lawn can be mowed.

[Joe]

Paloma, you can revisit the history here:

https://www.burlingamevoice.com/2012/01/leaf-blowers-part-2.html

No restrictions on homeowners who do their own yards (I even know one or two!), but commercial gardeners are on a schedule.

Reading the comments from 9 1/2 years ago was interesting regarding gas vs electric (and some other stuff).

[Paloma Ave]

I enjoyed reading the article and comments.

Even one from holy before "she" became holly!

[[email protected]]

Thank you Paloma. Hopefully I will come up with a "Crack Pot" comment soon.

[Paloma Ave]

I just know you will!

[resident]

How are the Lyon Hoag people with all electric appliances making their coffee this morning? Asking for a friend or two.

[Joe]

I'm just getting back into town from visiting the snow (4-10" last night in Tahoe, so it looks like fire season may be over). It looks like a big part of the city is without power from about 8:30 pm LAST NIGHT! 20+ hours and counting. Tell me again why we need all electric houses and e-generators and EVs?

[Paloma Ave]

So that political opportunist have something to brag about during their next run for another elected office.

[Joanne]

Thank God I have a GAS stove and was able to heat up my coffee yesterday morning and take a warm shower (GAS). The last time our power was out this long was during the Loma Prieta earthquake in '89 but this time it was out even longer!!
Heard some apartment residents on Lorton could not get their cars out of their underground garages (electric gates). So before politicians push the all electric mantra let's give this some thought and have a backup plan for this scenario??

[Handle Bard]

There is just so much overreach up and down the line. I hope the Lyon Hoag people remember this when it comes time to vote for their city councilperson. Maybe they can show the rest of us the way.

[Paloma Ave]

An ongoing push to ban natural gas appliances in California cites a university and environmental group report that used misleading science to help their argument, according to an industry report.

The California Restaurant Association (CRA) released the results of a study that refutes much of an April 2020 report from the Sierra Club and UCLA’s Fielding School of Public Health regarding the dangers of residential gas.

It contended that concentrations of nitrogen dioxide during cooking with natural gas can exceed the levels set by state and national air quality standards.

Conducted by Catalyst Environmental Solutions, the Oct. 13 study contends the previous analysis inflated the risk of using gas stoves and other appliances through “incorrect and misleading comparisons” of emissions and current indoor pollution standards.

The report pointed out “several significant flaws in the UCLA Report that undermine its use in decision-making on the topic of the health effects of natural gas stoves and ovens.”

In addition to misleading comparisons between natural gas and emissions standards, the UCLA report neglected air quality issues from the food being cooked, unanticipated consequences of replacing natural gas and made other assumptions, the Catalyst Environmental Solutions report said.

“In order to make informed decisions, policymakers and regulators must have the most accurate information available to them,” said Dan Tormey, president of Catalyst Environmental Solutions and chief author of the report. “The UCLA study mischaracterizes emissions from gas stoves while advocating for an expensive and burdensome transition to all-electric.”

Shortly after the university released the report, the California Energy Commission announced proposed incentives for new construction to exclude natural gas infrastructure. Critics of the proposal said the change would make new construction more expensive, exasperating the state’s chronic housing shortage. The changes, if approved, would take effect Jan. 1, 2023.

In addition to state incentives, dozens of cities in California are banning gas hookups and other natural gas infrastructure in new construction. The city of Berkeley was one of the first to enact such a ban, something the CRA unsuccessfully challenged.

Fifty cities in California have followed Berkeley’s lead in banning gas infrastructure in any new construction, according to the Sierra Club.

California restaurants, which suffered under more than a year of COVID-19 closure orders, warn the ongoing bans on gas stoves and other appliances would hobble their industry.

“California chefs rely on gas stoves to grill vegetables, sear meats and create meals of all kinds inspired by cuisines from all over the world,” said Jot Condie, president of the California Restaurant Association. “We are concerned that misleading health claims could lead to the loss of flame cooking, which would dramatically impact restaurants and the work of chefs and cooks, all of whom have endured enough during COVID-19. The CRA believes policy and regulatory decisions should be based on accurate and sound science.”

[Rob Adams]

During the recent power outage of Sunday night, my wife and I enjoyed a lovely candlelight dinner with great food and wine. The candles supplied the light, but it was our GAS STOVETOP that allowed for us to cook the food. Had it not been the rainiest day in history, I would have attempted to grill (using that old friend, Propane). I'm all for conserving and doing the right thing. Our lawns are dead and no big appliances run between 4-9PM. But gee, shouldn't we have choices when we know the likelihood off outages is increasing and not decreasing? Will future generations rely 100% on doordash when the storms hit, thus putting minimum wage people at risk to deliver in poor driving conditions? I struggle with the far left and far right approaches to just about everything, including this example.

[Peter Garrison]

Rob Adams for Mayor