<
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/dec/21/new-home-builder-contractor-fossil-fuel-utilities-natural-gas>
"Dozens of US gas utilities, serving more than 35 million customers, offer
builders and contractors incentives to keep fossil fuels in buildings, the
Guardian has found.
Washington state’s NW Natural offers builders $2,000 for each new single-family
home they equip with gas appliances, while Texas’s Corpus Christi Gas offers
$1,000. And in Minnesota, CenterPoint Energy participates in a program that
offers paid vacations to builders who outfit homes with gas.
Meanwhile, gas utility trade groups are training members to sell builders on
the continued use of the planet-heating fossil fuel, including through
trainings at conferences and webinars. “Stress the lifestyle benefits that come
with a natural gas home,” one instructor said in a recording of a training
session heard by the
Guardian.
The initiatives are part of gas interests’ decades-long effort to capture
builders, contractors and real estate agents – trusted figures to homebuyers
and developers – according to an investigation by the
Guardian. It’s part of
a larger influence campaign that dates back to collaborations with esteemed
chefs like Jacques Pépin, newly unearthed archival documents show.
The longstanding relationship between gas interests and the building sector
could be a major impediment to decarbonizing buildings, which account for
roughly one-third of US greenhouse gas emissions.
“For decades, the gas utility industry has been deeply aware of the
significance of the role of builders, contractors and developers in their
bottom line,” said Karlee Weinmann, research and communications manager for the
pro-electrification organization Energy and Policy Institute, which provided
research and documents to the
Guardian. “It is very effective for them to
capture the middleman, so they don’t have to deal with convincing consumers.”
Methane gas – called “natural gas” by industry interests – is used for space
and water heating, cooking and drying clothes in roughly 60% of American homes.
It is also 80 times more planet-warming than carbon dioxide in the short term,
and its use in the home has been linked to childhood asthma and an array of
other health issues."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
