I was lucky to watch a webinar today produced by Acterra, a Palo-Alto nonprofit working to fight climate change, and Peninsula Clean Energy, Menlo Park’s clean energy provider. We are fortunate to receive clean electric energy, produced by PCE’s large solar farm in Los Banos, CA. I’m deeply grateful to the mayors of San Mateo County cities and the leaders of the County for their wisdom and foresight in bringing clean, electric energy to residents and to PCE for carefully planning to continue supplying abundant clean energy to Menlo Park in the future.
Wei-Tai Kwok, a homeowner in Lafayette, CA, shared his story of transitioning all of his appliances from gas to electricity—in only 45 days—and watching PG&E cart his old gas meter away. This webinar advised viewers about the benefits of heat-pump water heaters (HPWH), as well as choosing and installing them in a home. We learned that 25% of California greenhouse gas emissions come from heating water and that, while HPWHs cost more than gas versions initially, they operate more efficiently and save homeowners money in the long term. Yes, a homeowner may need to work with a plumber and electrician to install a HPWH and may need a service panel upgrade, but if that homeowner were to buy a HPWH in mid-September, s/he would get at least $3,000 in rebates. We’ll see many more rebates and incentives for installing electric appliances in coming months and years.
We can do this over the next few years. We can ensure that all residents throughout our community can go electric.
The climate crisis is not pausing…it’s doing quite the opposite as we can see, smell and read…every day. Each day that we don’t take a step to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we are further destroying our livable planet. We’re leaving a damaged, depleted, dying world with severely disrupted ecosystems to our kids and grandkids. Humans are headed for extinction. What could be more important than preventing extinction of our species? We each have a responsibility to act now…where we live…in every way we can.
