Posted on 07/22/2019 3:51:56 AM PDT by reaganaut1
The Berkeley, California, City Council is getting headlines for its decision last week to ban supposedly gendered language from its city code. “Manhole” and “manpower” are now out in favor of “maintenance hole” and “human effort.” Somewhere George Orwell is crying, but the city’s progressive lords were even more destructive when they also moved to ban natural gas from nearly all new buildings.
The ordinance is due for a second reading this week and already has unanimous council support. Beginning Jan. 1, with few exceptions the city will deny developers permission to build a home, town house or small apartment building with natural gas hook-ups for cooking, heating or hot water. The ordinance’s stated goal is “fossil free new buildings,” and Berkeley plans to expand the ban to bigger apartment buildings and commercial structures.
Berkeley claims in its ordinance that “all-electric heating technologies are cost-competitive substitutes to their natural gas counterparts.” If that’s true in California it is only because the state’s climate regulations have increased the cost of fossil fuels. Electric heaters are generally less expensive than gas furnaces, but in most places gas is less expensive than electricity. Residential natural gas prices have risen 16% in California over the last five years while falling 8% on average nationwide.
Electricity prices statewide have also increased 20% since 2014 due in part to increased reliance on solar and wind and are set to rise even higher as the state weans itself from fossil fuels. Berkeley doesn’t want to wait until state regulators ban new natural gas hook-ups, as environmentalists demand faster progress toward carbon neutrality.
This being Berkeley, the natural-gas ban also contains a social-justice rationale. “Asthma and its relationship to natural gas present profound questions about equity,” the ordinance says
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
Yeah. Nice clean natural gas. Buttwads all.
More for the rest of us.
For the first time in decades, I have a gas stove. I *love” it.
How do they think that electric stoves will save energy? Are they aware that electricity must be generated, and that during the generation process, about 90% of the energy is lost (IIRC; been a long time since I took physics)? Do they really think that they will be able to meet the state’s energy needs with bird-killing wind farms? Or is the plan to force everyone on all electric everything and then to heavily ration electricity through rolling blackouts, eventually allowing access to power only for limited hours, perhaps from midnight to 6 am or something equally drastic.
California used to be so beautiful, but seeing the depth of insanity that has taken over is like watching a relative sink into drug addiction.
This could accelerate the building boom in Oakland.
The university will stop serving beans.. And sauerkraut has been banned from all restaurants. Pickled eggs & beer are also off the menu.
A very large percentage of their electrical power is generated by Natural Gas fired turbines. In a high seismic region, it is smart to have redundancy in the types of energy available at the lowest resolution. If you lose all electrical power, it might be smart to have some gas for heating and cooking.
A stronger argument might be made that using AC power alters the EM spectrum of the planet more than carbon dioxide emissions. Environmentalists are harming the planet!
Well, it is Bezerkley ........
Do any of the Baby Boomers here remember the 1960’s hippie response to what they viewed as oppressive laws against recreational drug use - “Hey man, it’s natural!”.
“Asthma and its relationship to natural gas present profound questions about equity,” the ordinance says
First time I ever heard that.
No one is forcing them to use natural gas. It is cheaper, cleaner and better on so many fronts, but these geniuses think that electricity is a natural resource that can be generated out of thin air. California’s electric bill will quadruple in the next two years because of the lawsuits related to the fires and because they think they are going “clean”. When they can no longer afford their electric bills, then they can deal with that.
Next step is to ban electricity. They can burn dung indoors for their cookfires.
Watch them go after propane canisters next. Goodbye gas grills.
Fortunately it does not get very cold in bezerkley. Alll they need do is build more transmission lines through the wildfire country!
Too bad all the liberals & politicians in Calif. couldn’t be rounded up & immediately be put into an energy situation that they are now trying to box everyone else into.
I find it so funny that NYC just had a black out and California has had major electrical rolling blackouts that they think adding multi millions of electric cars would not do serious damage to the grids. Do they ever think long term????
Electricity starting at 22 cents/kw while as low as 7 cents in other states.
all-electric heating technologies are cost-competitive substitutes to their natural gas counterparts.
Until they receive their electric bill that same scan was played when nuclear power plants were the rage and we know how that turned out.$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Refrain from emitting noxious rectal vapors until past the city limits.
I lost power in the extreme heat yesterday.
Fortunately; I had the foresight to buy a large generator a few years ago. Had that baby up and running in no time.
The engine burns unnatural gas; just like my car.
Luckily; the power came back in a few hours. Someone had smacked a pole and took out a section of line with it.
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