Building Electrification Resources - SF BAY Physicians for Social Responsibility

Building Electrification: Health, Equity, Climate

RESOURCES AND ORGANIZATIONS

The resources below and the downloadable list are constantly evolving as we learn about new resources. There are many wonderful organizations working on building decarbonization and related issues. If you would like to suggest a resource to be added here, please email info@sfbaypsr.org.

THANK YOU SF Bay PSR Interns Alma Hernandez for work on resources and community survey; Lilah Blalock for the infographics series; and Jasmine Campos for the Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet! Thank you to the team at National PSR and the Energy Foundation for all their support!

SF Bay PSR Talking Points: Building Electrification Public Testimony Key Points
Resource List: Download a list of 100 plus building electrification & health harms of gas appliances resources.

HEALTH

VIEW: SF Bay PSR: Health Harms of Gas Stoves Infographic Series
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The fossil fuel (“natural” gas) that we burn in our buildings is a major source of air pollution that harms our health and the climate. A new study shows that globally 5 million people are being killed every year by air pollution caused by fossil fuel use. All-electric homes are healthier, safer, more efficient, and help to reduce global warming.

SHORT EXPLAINERS (Please feel free to repost, print, and share widely these short explainers!)

PSR National: PSR Gas Stove Pollution Fact Sheet (Thank you SF Bay PSR Intern Jasmine Campos!)
PSR National: PSR Contaminación por Estufas de Gas Fact Sheet

SF Bay PSR: Health Harms of Gas Stoves Patient Brochure (Thank you Andrea Eckstein Gara!)
SF Bay PSR: Estufas de Gas: Impactos en la Salud de Niños (Thank you Peninsula Clean Energy for the translation!)

PSR National: 2-minute animated explainer movies:

PBS NEWS HOUR: Cooking Without Gas

FOR HEALTH PROFESSIONALS

RMI: All Electrical Homes: A Health Professional’s Guide, a Toolkit, (Thank you RMI!)

STUDIES, REPORTS, ARTICLES

PSR Los Angeles: The Health Implications of Indoor Air Pollution, Electrification, and Decarbonization
PSR National: Find BE Resources from National and other PSR Chapters here
PSR, Mothers Out Front, RMI, Sierra Club: REPORT: Gas Stoves: Health and Air Quality Impacts and Solutions
UC Berkeley School of Public Health: Leaks from gas stoves can create toxic levels of hazardous air pollutants
PSE Full Report: Measuring Air Quality Impacts of Gas Stove Leaks (They found 10 toxic pollutants include benzene which is a carcinogen.)
Stanford Report: Gas stoves raise benzene to levels higher than in secondhand smoke

PRESS RELEASE: Removing gas stoves from homes could prevent 20% of childhood asthma in California
Study: Over 12% of US and 20% of California’s childhood asthma cases can be attributed to gas stove use, a breaking new study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health from RMI, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the University of Sydney.

Even when gas heaters, furnaces, and stoves are off, they are leaking pollution into homes.
Yale Climate Connections: Tiny leaks, big impacts: New research points to urban indoor methane leaks: Researchers in Boston find buildings’ indoor sources might emit much more methane than most experts have thought

American Lung Association (ALA): State of the Air Report Card: California
Guardian: Air pollution from fossil fuels ‘kills 5 million people a year’ and the study is here.

Bay Area Clean Air Coalition, SF Bay PSR is a proud member: see great info here.

EQUITY, ENERGY DEMOCRACY, ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE

VIEW: SF Bay PSR: Financial Strategies Infographic Series
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Lower-income, underserved, and communities of color are most impacted by the health harms and inequities of air pollution and gas use in homes. We must ensure that all our communities receive the health and safety benefits of electrification and are not adversely impacted by the transition to all-electric buildings.

SHORT EXPLAINERS

PSR National: 2-minute animated explainer movie (English & Español): Health Harms of Gas Stoves – Environmental Justice
Regenerate California: What is a just transition to electrification?

INFO FOR RENTERS AND LOWER-INCOME FAMILIES

BayREN: SF Bay Area home electrification rebates and financing
San Francisco Environment: Electrification Strategies for Renters
California: Low-Income Energy Assistance Program

See more home electrification resources below.

EQUITY AND JUSTICE

Building Energy, Equity & Power (BEEP): Listening Sessions Report to the California Air Resources Board (CARB)
Local Clean Energy Alliance Resources
PODER: Climate Equity & Community Engagement in Building Electrification Toolkit
Emerald Cities Collaborative Resources: a national nonprofits working on a just transition to a green economy
350 Bay Area: Decarbonize Buildings Policy Activism
PSR Los Angeles: Air & Climate Justice Programs
Greenlining Institute: Equitable Building Electrification: A Framework for Powering Resilient Communities
East Bay Clean Power Alliance
BOOK: Energy Democracy: Advancing Equity in Clean Energy Solutions
UCLA: California Building Decarbonization Workforce Needs and Recommendations
UC Berkeley: BUILDING toward DECARBONIZATION: Policy Solutions to Accelerate Building Electrification in High-Priority Communities
Build It Green: Renter Protections in Equitable Building Decarbonization
ACEEE Report: Despite Progress, Low-Income Households Underserved by Utilities’ Efficiency Programs

CLIMATE BENEFITS

VIEW: SF Bay PSR: Climate Benefits of Switching to Electric Infographics
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After industry and transportation, buildings that use fossil fuels (“natural” gas) are top emitters of greenhouse gases that are harming our climate and creating dangerous extreme weather events, including heatwaves which are the most deadly. In the SF Bay Area, gas water heaters and furnaces create more NOx air pollution than our passenger cars.

PSR & SF Bay PSR: Gas Stove Pollution: A Fact Sheet
Menlo Spark: Ten Truths about Natural Gas
PSR National: Building Pollution Report: The Outdoor Pollution is Coming from Inside the House
RMI: The Impact of Fossil Fuels in Buildings
Union of Concerned Scientists: Environmental Impacts of “Natural” Gas
Greenlining: Equitable Building Electrification: A Framework for Powering Resilient Communities
Environmental Science and Technology: Methane and NOx Emissions from Natural Gas Stoves, Cooktops, and Ovens in Residential Homes
California Air Resources Board (CARB): AB 32. Climate Change Scoping Plan
EPA: Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions
United Nations: Is “natural” gas really the bridge fuel the world needs? NO.
United Nations: Causes and Effects of Climate Change

YOUR HOME

Reduce the harms of gas by using healthier, efficient, electric home appliances whenever you can, such as portable induction cooktops, electric tea kettles, insta-pots, air friers, heaters, and smaller heat-pump/HVACs called mini-splits, that can heat or cool one room. When you are ready to install a new induction cooktop or heat-pump/HVAC, or to completely electrify your home, the resources below will help. There are many rebates and financial incentives available and the costs will continue to decrease as market demand for electric appliances grows.

HOW TO ELECTRIFY

SF Enviro, CleanPower SF, and BayREN: 2023 webinar on electrifying your car and home

BayREN: SF Bay Area home electrification rebates and financing
California: Low-Income Energy Assistance Program
San Francisco Environment: Electrifying Your Home
San Francisco Environment: Electrification Strategies for Renters
Menlo Spark: Resources for Fossil Free Homes
Fossil Free Buildings: Resources
The Switch Is On: Home Resources
Rewiring America: Electrify Everything in Your Home

WHAT IS COMMUNITY CHOICE ENERGY?

Community choice energy programs are administered by local governments with a mission to provide competitive alternatives to for-profit, investor-owned utilities such as PG&E. Community Choice providers offer cleaner, renewable power made mostly from wind, solar, and hydroelectric sources, not from burning fossil fuels. Community Choice programs are a great way to accrue benefits locally — rather than to the shareholders of a monopoly, for-profit utility. Choosing a local power provider is an easy, economical way to reduce your home or business carbon footprint and help create a healthier environment. Reach out to your local CCE below!

Clean Power San Francisco
Silicon Valley Clean Energy
Ava Community Energy (formerly East Bay Community Energy)
Peninsula Clean Energy
Marin Community Energy
San Jose Clean Energy

California Building Decarbonization Coalition: Resources

Scientific American: California is Closing the Door to Gas in New Homes

Earth Justice, SF Bay PSR, Climate Health Now: Amicus brief filed in the 9th Circuit supporting Berkeley’s ordinance on new gas hookups, and spelling out the public health dangers of gas appliance use. Filed by Earth Justice with help from SF Bay PSR and Climate Health Now.

California Environmental Justice Alliance on California’s 2022 Climate Action (Scoping) Plan

California Air Resources Board (CARB): Building Decarbonization

California Energy Commission (CEC): Equitable Building Decarbonization Program

California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC): Building Decarbonization

American Lung Association (ALA): State of the Air Report Card: California

HYDROGEN, NOT IN OUR HOMES

Click here to see our Hydrogen Blending for Homes Harms Our Climate & Health webpage!

SF BAY PSR EVENTS

WATCH HERE our 2023 event, Extreme Heat: The Deadliest Climate-Related Health Hazard: How can we advocate for health and equity protections? broadcast on May 18, 2023. The expert panel of speakers covered heat-related health issues; what we need to do locally following the recent Air District vote to phase out gas furnaces and ensure an equitable and just transition to heat-cooling pumps and protected electricity access; and what we can all do on the state-level to advocate for policies and regulations that ensure equal access to cooling and health protections, and a just transition to renewable energy and electrification. Speakers included: Jessica Tovar of Local Clean Energy Alliance; Dr. Robin Cooper of SF Bay PSR and Climate Psychiatry Alliance; Edgar Barraza, Michael Ricon of PSR-LA; and Dr. Rupa Basu of the CA EPA.

WATCH HERE our 2022 event, Building Electrification: Climate, Health, Equity, broadcast on April 27, 2022, a two-hour special on the health harms of gas appliances and the benefits of electric homes to health and the environment, featuring Emma Hines of RMI; Jessica Guadalupe Tovar of Local Clean Energy Alliance; Krystal Pollitt of Environmental Health Sciences at Yale; and Zach Williams of PSR National

WATCH HERE our 2021 event, Electrification of Buildings: Climate, Health, Justice, broadcast on April 28, 2021, featuring Diane Bailey of Menlo Spark; Brady Seals of RMI’s Carbon-Free Buildings program; and Antonio Díaz of PODER—People Organizing to Demand Economic and Environmental Right.