As Planet Earth just concluded yet another “hottest summer” in recorded history, Santa Barbara county supervisors fell to feuding over an as-yet-unwritten ordinance that will encourage — but not mandate — newly built homes and large remodels to utilize electrical energy instead of natural gas. Such bills, known by shorthand as “REACH” legislation, are motivated by concern over climate change and global warming. Nothing is as touchy and contentious, it turns out, as telling someone whether they have to cook with gas or electricity.
Proponents of this legislation — the three South County supervisors — note that natural gas leaves a much larger carbon footprint in its wake and that over time, it’s cheaper and healthier to use electricity for cooking and heating.
But opponents counter that the short-term, up-front costs for new electrical appliances can be significantly higher. Electricity — the two North County supervisors opposing the measure argued — is notoriously unreliable.