Month: July 2019

For decades, small-scale biogas systems have collected methane from landfills, sewage plants, and farms. Now, in Europe and the U.S., the growth of this renewable form of natural gas is taking off as businesses capture large amounts of methane from manure, food waste, and other sources.

The Berkeley, California, City Council is getting headlines for its decision last week to ban supposedly gendered language from its city code. “Manhole” and “manpower” are now out in favor of “maintenance hole” and “human effort.” Somewhere George Orwell is crying, but the city’s progressive lords were even more destructive when they also moved to ban natural gas from nearly all new buildings.

As the state of California hurtles toward adopting a building decarbonization policy that mandates electricity as the sole source of power, it is increasingly important that we pay attention to this issue and make our voices heard before the state heedlessly makes a decision that will have severe unintended consequences.

FRESNO – This summer has seen unseasonably inexpensive utility rates thanks to mild temperatures but every Valley resident knows that higher electric bills are inevitable. That isn’t true for the winter months, when heaters are fueled by natural gas, a less expensive power source that has become renewable through new technology, some of which is being utilized right here in the Valley. The price difference for temperature control between winter and summer could become a thing of the past unless Valley leaders can prevent the State from turning off access to non-electrical power such as natural gas.