Recently, a neighbor told me that fossil fuel front groups have been making calls in the valley to spread misinformation about the Ashland Youth’s Pollution Impact Fee. These fossil fuel groups, whose main priority is profit, spread misinformation about the safety, cost, and use of methane gas in Oregon.

The truth is, using gas to power our homes is becoming increasingly more expensive — not just for our energy bills, but for the health of our communities and our climate. As more facts emerge about the benefits of efficient electric appliances, which improve air quality, save residents money, and are better for the climate, the gas industry has been desperately turning to these tactics to protect its bottom line.

Just as Bob Dylan sang “The Times They Are A-Changing,” so must we now embrace that phrase with regards to how we heat our homes, cook our food, and heat our water. It’s time for a pivot, and starting by upgrading building standards in new homes is a smart place to start — the Pollution Fee won’t impact existing homes but will incentivize developers to build new homes with safer, healthier appliances that will save residents money in the long run. We’ve done this throughout history: Each time there was a major change in technology and knowledge of unintended consequences from old ways, citizens pivoted from the old to the new and benefited.

In the 1850s when the availability of metal stoves became common, it changed homes from cooking over an open fire to cooking with stoves and ovens. Firewood was the fuel, but heating homes and cooking became slightly less difficult and a whole lot more convenient. During this time, cutting down trees for firewood was the common way to cook and heat cabins.

The 20th century brought oil furnaces for heating and gas stoves and ovens for cooking. Oregonians pivoted and benefitted from the convenience and labor-saving new technology. However, air quality suffered in densely populated areas due to smoke inversion layers and pulmonary-related illnesses increased.

The Clean Air Act of the 1970s regulated wood stove smoke and folks pivoted to oil and methane gas for heat and to use for cooking. New home construction in Medford promoted all electric homes.

By the early 2000s the hydroelectric output for the Oregon electrical grid was increased to add fossil-fuel derived electricity. The development of widespread methane gas lines tied Oregonians to that fossil fuel infrastructure for heating and cooking. But the reliance on fracked gas has had disastrous impacts on our climate and health — especially for communities located at fracking sites or along pipeline routes.

The next pivot is here, Southern Oregonians — the negative cumulative impacts of using fossil fuels for heating and cooking are now widely known and scientifically proven. It’s time to upgrade our building practices to the latest technology; electric appliances that are three to four times more efficient than gas will reduce Ashland’s climate impact, save on energy bills, and allow us to breathe clean air inside our homes.

Join me at the Ashland City Council meeting on Feb. 18 to advocate that the city approve the youth-proposed ordinance to enact a Pollution Fee on new homes that choose the old gas appliances instead of the newer safer technology.