Good news! As a Santa Barbara area resident, you can do one simple thing today to help prevent climate change, reduce housing costs and improve public health:
Contact the Santa Barbara City Council and ask them to pass a building electrification reach code to be discussed at their January 12, 2021 City Council meeting.
What is a building reach code? Cities can choose to go further than state requirements in setting new building and construction standards to make new buildings more sustainable. 40 cities in California have already passed all-electric building codes so as not to build out more unnecessary, polluting and dangerous gas infastructure. Instead of using gas stoves and heating, these homes use electricity for heating and cooking. They are healthier, safer and more affordable. That's why California architects are strongly encouraging adoption of such reach codes.
Unfortunately, the gas company is fighting this move away from gas so the Santa Barbara City Council needs to hear from residents who support sustainabile building standards. Use this form to email the City Council and tell them you support climate action and a building electrification reach code.
We also encourage you to register to attend the virtual City Council meeting on January 12. The meeting starts at 2:00pm, but the building code update is item #18 on the agenda so won't come up until evening. You can click the "raise hand" icon in the webinar when they get to the item if you wish to comment in support.
(If you represent a business or non-profit, let us know if you’d also like to sign our organization sign-on letter.)
Why this is so important:
1. Climate action is urgent. After a year of record wildfires that burned 4 million acres in California and sent smoke plumes across the nation, the devastation of climate change and the need for action has never been more urgent. Buildings are a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, so we need to stop building NEW fossil fuel-reliant buildings and use renewable energy instead. 40 cites in California have passed building reach codes like this, but Santa Barbara is particularly important, because we need to show that central and southern California are serious about climate action if we are to win statewide and meet our GHG reduction goals
2. Public health is urgent. The combustion of gas inside our homes produces harmful indoor air pollution, specifically nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, and ultrafine particles. These pollutants trigger childhood asthma and make us more susceptible to respiratory diseases like COVID. In short, our gas stoves are bad for our health, particularly in small apartments with poor ventilation. We can build new buildings with safer and better induction cooktops that don’t poison us or risk starting fires. We can also heat and cool new homes with efficient electric heat pumps, which will keep people cool and safe during extreme heat events.
3. Reducing housing costs is urgent. The good news is that it is less expensive to build new buildings without gas connections. It saves on construction costs so increases housing affordability, which we desperately need. Efficient all-electric appliances also lower utility bills for residents. Consider also how inexpensive and resilient an all-electric home combined with solar and battery backup can be. This is one of those happy cases where we can act to save the planet and save money at the same time.
4. Standing up to fossil fuel misinformation and lies is urgent. Interestingly, PG&E which sells both electricity and gas in most of the state north of us, SUPPORTS building electrification reach codes. However, in our area SoCalGas, which only sells gas (mostly fracked and transported from distant states), has been fighting dirty. SoCalGas is suing California over its climate efforts and funding front groups that are lying to Santa Barbara residents. They claim, falsely, that a ban on gas would increase costs, ignoring the fact that when you factor in lower construction and on-going utility costs, efficient electric appliances are MUCH CHEAPER than gas options even if the upfront cost for the appliances themselves are somewhat higher. And since the reach code only applies to NEW buildings, it has no impact on existing housing. There isn’t that much new building in Santa Barbara so a code that saves money and reduces pollution from new development should be an easy ask. And its a small start to something big, as large-scale electrification would create lots of jobs. However, because Santa Barbara is in SoCalGas territory, and because SoCalGas is one of the companies fighting most stridently to keep California addicted to fossil fuels, passing this reach code here is particularly important. It sends a message that we cannot be tricked out of demanding a sustainable future.
What can one individual do about a global problem like climate change? Supporting the Santa Barbara City Council in passing a building reach code is one of those times when your individual action matters, because an early 2021 city win in Santa Barbara is critical to our state and national efforts to reduce building emissions.
Thank you for caring and for taking action, Santa Barbara!
Pictured: Around a thousand Santa Barbara residents demand clean power at the SBCC stadium during 2017 People's Climate Reality. Don't let the gas company hold us back.