by Carmi Orenstein, editor, the Networker, and program director, CHPNY

I’m delighted to share information on the launch of a series of in-person community gatherings in which my colleagues at Concerned Health Professionals of New York (CHPNY) and I play a part. We are the health voice in a coalition effort to educate, connect, and involve people across New York State in a transition we see as urgent: ridding our homes of gas appliances and “decarbonizing” (or electrifying) buildings.

We know that systemic change is required to move New York (and everywhere else) off of the harmful but deeply entrenched fracked gas energy system. CHPNY has thoroughly documented the risks and harms of fracking, even as it became the primary method for extracting gas in the United States. Though New York banned the practice over a decade ago, the state still heavily relies on fracked gas piped in from elsewhere—mostly Pennsylvania—to generate 47 percent of its electricity. In addition, three out of every five households still heat with so-called natural gas. And, at 60 percent of households or higher, gas stove use (versus electric) in New York is far above the national average of 38 percent (gas stove use in California, Nevada, Illinois, and New Jersey also clock in well above 38 percent).

We have many new, hard-won laws in New York that push along the transition to fully electric (rather than fossil-fuel) powered buildings, with some important pieces of legislation still pending. As for the grid from which a building’s electricity comes, our Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act requires the state’s electricity system to have a 70 percent renewable-sourced grid in 2030, and become greenhouse gas-free by 2040.

CHPNY, a program of SEHN, has consistently supplied a public health-focused, science-based rationale for decarbonizing buildings and other policies that will protect communities and decrease the amount of methane—a powerful greenhouse gas—put out by our energy systems into the atmosphere. We have documented the risks and harms that household gas-powered appliances, especially gas stoves, present.

Conversations about what kind of energy is used in the home can resonate with people differently than what may be more abstract conversations about wider energy systems. That is, decisions about things like cooking, and financial expenditures, can be deeply personal. How does CHPNY strike the right balance between pushing for fundamental, systemic change, and helping and expecting regular people to act via their own choices? (Personal action can, of course, be taken not only as a “consumer” but as an informed and engaged citizen.)

If there is one public and environmental health challenge that clearly illustrates a continuum of needed actions, from policy change to personal behaviors, it’s the challenge presented by the humdrum household gas appliance. On the policy side, we need federal and state programs that disincentivize ongoing residential gas use and new gas hookups. In terms of personal actions (in advance of fully realized policies), some percentage of households do have the ability and resources to immediately switch to electric appliances. (Incidentally, in New York and many—but not all—states, households may even choose the energy sources of their purchased electricity.)

In between, we have, city/community-level initiatives to accelerate building decarbonization far in advance of the Climate Act’s imperative, and efforts to gather and engage community members in the whys and hows to support doing so. My city, Ithaca, New York, provides an example of an ambitious city-level initiative, with its plan to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. This requires moving our 6,000 buildings off natural gas. Rebecca Evans, director of sustainability for the City of Ithaca, noted the crucial role of public engagement, in the days before the plan was passed (“When we were organizing to get the Green New Deal passed back in 2018, we had tons of people showing up all the time”) and continuing forward (harder now, but she hopes to re-boost public participation). Public involvement is a key piece of any innovative policy, and necessary whenever we expect climate-informed, environmentally-protective individual behaviors.

In that spirit, CHPNY has joined with Better Buildings New York, a coalition committed to equitable decarbonization of homes and buildings in New York State, together with local community partners, in a Spring and Fall 2024 roadshow of in-person gatherings. The five events we’ve held so far, titled “The Risk Right Under Your Nose,” featured up-to-the-minute scientific findings on the unique risks that gas stoves present to our indoor air, and community opportunities to act on that knowledge. CHPNY members developed and delivered the research-based presentation on the pollutants emitted from gas stoves, often surprising even well-informed participants with facts on the magnitude of this hazard, especially to low-income communities and communities of color (due to interacting factors such as small home sizes and lack of appropriate ventilation). Several new, damning studies were published even while these initial programs were taking place. With no agency responsible for regulating indoor air pollution and currently no mandatory warning on gas stoves for sale (warning label legislation is pending in at least three states), we consider it essential to bring this information to communities. Better Buildings New York presented us a new opportunity to do so, in old-fashioned, face-to-face gatherings.

Dr. Bart Schoenfeld, Concerned Health Professionals of New York

My public health training and experience leads me to insist on pairing bad news with opportunities to do something about it. That’s the model of these programs. In each location—Albany, Rochester, Binghamton, Syracuse, and Ithaca, New York so far—we also featured allies such as representatives from New York’s Regional Clean Energy Hubs and local leaders from the Climate Reality Project. They presented information about current and upcoming opportunities for incentives, rebates, and other ways to tap into energy efficiency and home decarbonization steps. Elected representatives came to some of the events, sharing their efforts vis-à-vis policy, and becoming more educated themselves. All participants interested in becoming more politically active in moving forward relevant policy could easily connect with opportunities to do so.

We look forward to the autumn programs as we continue to work in coalition, showing up to get science and health risk information out to communities and decision-makers. In turn, we continue to learn from participants about their experiences and challenges as they try to do the right thing for their health and the broader environment. (Raffling off two induction cooktops at each event didn’t hurt!) Watch our social media for dates and locations of the continued programs.

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The Risk Right Under Your Nose: Shifting To All-Electric Appliances through Coalition Work