I recently watched my daughter picking through our recycling and, adding a few items, and moving some items into the compostable bin. This was not a scene from my childhood, but things change.
I am proud of how seriously my daughters take their future and how they connect the choices they make to the health of the planet they will inherit. There are dozens of choices we make every day that affect our planet and the climate crisis, and I see concerned residents of all types pushing for the big changes that we need to come sooner than later.
One of the important choices that we are making as a society is eliminating fossil fuels from daily consumption in our cars, trains and homes. We recognize the impact that our addiction to oil has caused on our climate, leading to higher temperatures and dangerous forest fire conditions. However, many of us continue to use fossil fuels in our homes. Gas is an easy way to heat our homes and our water. But I see stark changes in attitudes from my friends and neighbors. With nearly half of our fossil fuel emissions coming from existing buildings, we cannot afford to wait. The time for change is now.
There was a time when I thought electric cars were a luxury and most people could not afford them and wouldn’t want to drive them because they were inconvenient. That time is over. Everyone I know believes their next car will be electric, and many of my friends already drive electric cars.
So, what about our homes? Do we need gas? No, we don’t need it. The future will look different than the current infrastructure on which we rely. The future will not include fossil fuels in our transportation system, our office buildings or our homes. The cost is coming down dramatically and is already comparable for many appliances. The convenience is also comparable. The choice is ours.
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Oftentimes, local regulations can help expand consumer choice and drive increased demand in the marketplace for cleaner options. City leaders across California are adopting “Reach Codes” that limit natural gas (a fossil fuel) and provide electric vehicle charging infrastructure in new construction. A growing number of city councils in California have approved ordinances that restrict natural gas. This follows a trend that many early adopters have already chosen for their homes. Some California cities have eliminated natural gas from new buildings. This is possible because the market has changed and there are already many solutions for heating buildings (including our homes) with electricity. There are many new water heater options, comparable in price, being added to the market each year. Several of my neighbors have added other electric appliances including electric stoves. The newest electric stoves are high-end luxury items preferred by professional chefs. Some day in the near future, the choices for cars will all be electric. And some day in the near future, the choices for stoves will all be electric as well.
The future is already here. Homes that run on clean electricity are all around us. Look down the street and you see electric cars already filling many driveways. Look at your neighbor’s roof and you likely see solar panels. Look at your electric bill and you see that Peninsula Clean Energy has made sure that we are purchasing clean electricity and investing in new sources of additional clean power to add to the grid.
I have heard the criticism that similar regulations are an unfunded mandate. I agree that unfunded mandates are a burden on residents; however, recent federal legislation has added billions of dollars in rebates, California ordinances have included important hardship exemptions and the potential for clean appliance financing on our Peninsula Clean Energy bills makes implementation of reach codes on existing buildings indisputably feasible without financial strain or burdensome inconvenience.
Watching my daughter pick through our recyclables and compostables is an important reminder of other consumer choices we have right now. We can all help make greener choices to build a sustainable future. My next vehicle will be electric. When the appliances in my home need replacing, they will be electric too. Our reach codes can help reinforce these critical choices for the future of our planet, our climate and the world we will pass on to our children.
Joe Goethals is a San Mateo dad, lifelong resident and member of the City Council.
Thank you! Having local government take the lead on issues like these is great, especially when the incentives and tools for success are also available at a county, state and national level. I know how much grassroots work has gone into getting us to this moment so I'm seeing all the best parts of democracy at work. We do, as I'm sure people will point out in much greater detail, need to go gangbusters on updating our infrastructure for storing and delivering clean energy, funding for which was included in recent national and state legislation.
Thank you Joe for another bout of misinformation. Please explain how we are are to feasibly heat our homes with electricity instead of gas. You are a member of the cabal that has no business misleading your constituents.
Thank you so much for this. It is critical that the public understand these things as it can be daunting and unfamiliar to so many. You are a true climate champion! #grateful
Mr Goethals, we constantly hear about this push for going all electrical to be green, but you know what we don’t hear about? How all this magic electricity is going to be provided. Look at our recent heat wave when folks were asked to conserve and not charge their electric cars during certain hours. Now look at the CA ISO site and see where all this magic electricity was coming from. Natural gas, especially during non-daylight hours. As soon as you can reconcile the mismatch between talking about all electric and providing the requisite electricity, then talk to us about taxpayer giveaways that in the end, won’t make a whit of difference in consuming fossil fuels.
It sounds good in theory. However, we could barely keep our power grid from maxing out during this past heat wave. Add a heatwavet to electric cars, appliances, etc. It's not going to hold up unless politicians decide to increase the infrastructure. Why aren't they talking about new and improved power grids to support all of this?
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(9) comments
Thank you Council Member Goethals for your leadership!!
Robert - as in "leading us over the cliff"?
Thank you! Having local government take the lead on issues like these is great, especially when the incentives and tools for success are also available at a county, state and national level. I know how much grassroots work has gone into getting us to this moment so I'm seeing all the best parts of democracy at work. We do, as I'm sure people will point out in much greater detail, need to go gangbusters on updating our infrastructure for storing and delivering clean energy, funding for which was included in recent national and state legislation.
Thank you Joe for another bout of misinformation. Please explain how we are are to feasibly heat our homes with electricity instead of gas. You are a member of the cabal that has no business misleading your constituents.
Thank you so much for this. It is critical that the public understand these things as it can be daunting and unfamiliar to so many. You are a true climate champion! #grateful
Dear ellynjd - don't be overjoyed. Joe is even more confused and uninformed as you apparently are. Platitudes do not generate and deliver electricity.
Mr Goethals, we constantly hear about this push for going all electrical to be green, but you know what we don’t hear about? How all this magic electricity is going to be provided. Look at our recent heat wave when folks were asked to conserve and not charge their electric cars during certain hours. Now look at the CA ISO site and see where all this magic electricity was coming from. Natural gas, especially during non-daylight hours. As soon as you can reconcile the mismatch between talking about all electric and providing the requisite electricity, then talk to us about taxpayer giveaways that in the end, won’t make a whit of difference in consuming fossil fuels.
It sounds good in theory. However, we could barely keep our power grid from maxing out during this past heat wave. Add a heatwavet to electric cars, appliances, etc. It's not going to hold up unless politicians decide to increase the infrastructure. Why aren't they talking about new and improved power grids to support all of this?
Mr. Goethals,
You have a promising future in politics. You know how to package trash with the best of them. Only a minority will smell the sink. Good luck.
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Keep the discussion civilized. Absolutely NO personal attacks or insults directed toward writers, nor others who make comments.
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Be truthful. Don't knowingly lie about anyone or anything.
Be proactive. Use the 'Report' link on each comment to let us know of abusive posts.
PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CAPS LOCK.
Anyone violating these rules will be issued a warning. After the warning, comment privileges can be revoked.