By Ted Millar, Milton
Kudos to Gov. Kathy Hochul for continuing New York’s leadership on climate. She included important commitments in her State of the State speech delivered Jan. 5.
I’m particularly heartened that she signaled her support for the proposed All-Electric Building Act, which would ban fossil fuel hookups in new construction. Nobody needs an oil-fired furnace or gas boiler these days; heat pumps powered by electricity are safer, cleaner and more efficient ways to heat your home – and cool it, too. And we don’t need methane (i.e. “natural gas”) to power our appliances, either: electric induction stoves, on-demand electric water heaters, and ventless heat-pump clothes dryers are already available.
The more we convert to electric appliances, in tandem with electricity generated by wind and solar, the more we can cut the need for fossil fuels, and the more we mitigate the climate crisis. I hope that Gov. Hochul will also commit funding to subsidize homeowners who want to replace their fossil fuel appliances with electric ones. Sign me up!