Capitol Voice May 2020

A new study by researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles, has illuminated one of the often overlooked contributors to air pollution: gas-fueled household appliances.

The report, “Effects of Residential Gas Appliances on Indoor and Outdoor Air Quality and Public Health in California,” produced by a UCLA team led by Dr. Yifang Zhu, was commissioned by Sierra Club.

It compiled existing research into the effects of air pollution--indoors and outdoors--of gas appliances commonly used in households. The report also provided an estimate of the costs of that air pollution.

California has some of the worst air pollution levels in the country. The emissions from gas-fired appliances from inside our homes is a major contributor to this problem. Today, 90% of California households rely on gas for at least one purpose, The gas appliance-related emissions of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) --a key component of smog and certain kinds of particulate pollution--are more than two times the NOx emissions from all of California’s gas power plants.

The pollution from household gas appliances contributes to the climate crisis and also presents public health effects. Gas appliances, such as water heaters, furnaces, stoves and ovens, emit dangerous levels of air pollution, including carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter. The air pollution from these gas appliances has been linked to chronic health effects such as respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, and premature death.

Even with the best ventilation available, the pollution problem from gas appliances persists, and leaks out of our homes into our communities.

The best solution to cut the pollution and its health risks is to transition to zero-emission all-electric appliances. The UCLA researchers found that replacing residential gas appliances with zero-emission electric alternatives in California would result annually in at least 350 fewer deaths and produce at least $3.5 billion in health benefits.

The new study’s findings come at a time when people must spend more time at home to avoid COVID-19 infection, highlighting the need for air regulators to protect the public from hazardous indoor air pollution. Statewide policies to reduce emissions in the transportation and electric sectors exist, but agencies have not sufficiently regulated the buildings sector to reduce air pollution in line with climate and air quality targets.

Sierra Club and our allies are pressing state air regulators to establish air quality guidelines and emission standards for gas appliances as well as collaborate with partner agencies to ensure building standards and energy policies work to reduce air pollution. You can sign a petition to urge action here.

California’s state legislators are returning to work in Sacramento after more than 6 weeks of stay-at-home measures that forced them back to their districts in response to COVID-19.

On May 4, Assembly members began returning to their offices in the Capitol building and new committee hearing schedules began. The Senate will return on May 11.

The legislature will make up the lost time in Sacramento during the summer. Legislators will return to their districts for only one week this summer, rather than the usual four or five. Legislators from even the coolest parts of the state will have to endure the height of Sacramento’s notorious summer heat with little break.

But even with their return, things are not back to the old normal. Legislative committees are held mostly virtually. In-person testimony is discouraged and anyone who shows up to testify in person rather than over the internet or telephone is required to maintain a physical distance of at least six feet from others in the hearing room.

Additionally, legislators are donning facemasks in the hearings. The Sacramento County public health director has recommended that legislators returning to the Capitol, and the single staff they may allow in their Capitol offices, be tested for the coronavirus to reduce chances of transmission.

The number of bills that will be heard by the legislature over the next several weeks will be much less than the usual count. Committees will meet only once to hear bills in the house of origin.

What does all of this mean for the environment?

Mainly, that most of the roughly 600 bills introduced in January that addressed or were expected to address environmental issues will not be heard. Many will be reintroduced in 2021. The few bills that will be heard are likely to be relatively noncontroversial.

Most of the legislature’s focus will be on the state budget, where environmental programs that depend on the state’s general fund are particularly vulnerable to cuts.A relatively bare-bones budget, referred to as a “workload” budget designed to just keep state offices and services running, is expected to be developed and passed by June 15.

Then, through the rest of the summer until the legislature adjourns on the last day in August, the budget is expected to be adjusted to accommodate new information. That new information will include tax receipts which won’t roll in until July. All forecasts point to dismal returns, given the international economic collapse related to coronavirus.

You can find listings of committee hearings, and links to webcasts of the hearings, at each house’s homepage. That would be http://www.assembly.ca.gov for the Assembly, and http://www.senate.ca.gov for the Senate.