It's a surprise to almost everyone: The Bay Area - one of the richest in the country - has some of the worst air quality, causing thousands of premature deaths every year, and sickening tens of thousands of us.
The Bay Area Air District is in charge of ensuring clean air for all of us. One of the bigger sources of air and climate pollution is also a surprise - the gas water heaters in our houses. Each of these belches out literally tonnes of CO2 every year, and a nasty stew of toxic chemicals. Along with home furnaces, water heaters emit more NOx pollution than all the cars on our roads or all our refineries and power stations.
Gas water heaters can be replaced by super-efficient electric heat pumps. They often cost more to install initially but more than pay for themselves by lower utility bills over time. The Air District wants to phase out gas water heaters over the next 15 years by stopping most new sales in 2027 (there are exemptions for low-income and high-cost cases).
Fossil fuel interests are rising in opposition to these new standards and are lobbying the board, including with some devious and possibly illegal tactics. However, these tactics have worked elsewhere, so if you care about the chance to breathe cleaner air, live longer, and reduce our contribution to the climate crisis, then please explore this site, and add you voice to the many that are supporting the Air District in this innovative new program
Not surprisingly, fossil fuel interests and their allies in the realtor associations and other big business groups are now spending big money to oppose these clean air standards. They already blocked similar standards in LA by flooding the board with tens of thousands of AI-generated fake emails, and were recently exposed to be doing something similar in the Bay Area.
Concerned? See here to find out how you can contact the Air District board to help them do the right thing. Learn more about the climate and health effects of gas water heater pollution. See the FAQ page to address concerns that have been raised and resolved. Contact Bay Area Clean Air if you want to become more involved.
Getting rid of polluting gas water heaters is the single biggest thing we can do to clean up the air that we breathe, and to combat the climate crisis. Please spend a little while to make the world a better place, today!.