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The following commentary was written by Lisa Cunningham, architect and co-founder ZeroCarbonMA, and Dr. Wynne Armand, MD, Associate Director at MGH Center for the Environment and Health and Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School. Her opinion does not necessarily reflect the position of Mass General Brigham.
See our commentary guidelines for more information.
Ten years after our nation’s independence, Benjamin Franklin wrote to a close friend discussing the dangers of lead paint, which Franklin had experienced firsthand. Franklin predicted that despite the documented harmful effects of lead paint, it would be a long time before people heeded any safety precautions. Indeed, it took nearly 200 years, decades of scientific research, countless cases of lead poisoning, and persistent political advocacy to finally end the use of lead, both in gasoline and paint.
Just as we no longer allow lead paint in our homes, we must build healthier, more affordable homes without fossil fuels.
Yet, despite research spanning more than 50 years revealing the health risks of burning gas in our homes, out-of-state special interest groups are gearing up to overturn policies that allow communities to invest in healthy, pollution-free homes, keeping Massachusetts residents hooked on fossil fuels and building substandard homes that harm their health and drive up their energy bills.
Gas stoves emit toxic pollutants including nitrogen dioxide, particulate matter, and carbon monoxide, and have been attributed to 15% of childhood asthma in Massachusetts. This equipment is also a source of benzene, a carcinogen known to cause blood cell cancers. When in use, gas stoves can emit more benzene directly into our homes than secondhand smoke. Even when turned off, benzene continues to leak. Fossil fuel furnaces emit the same toxins, further contributing to ozone and other outdoor air pollution, which is linked to cardiovascular, respiratory, and neurological diseases, complications in pregnancy, and premature death.
Further, Massachusetts’s sprawling gas system, one of the oldest in the nation, is responsible for substantial gas leaks, resulting in deadly explosions and tree loss. Gas utilities are on track to spend over $34 billion to cover the cost of maintaining this system, which will cause gas bills to double in the next 10 years alone.
In order to meet our state and federal climate targets, we must continue to invest in policies and solutions that help people adopt healthier, more resilient and affordable homes that don’t rely on fossil fuels.
Encouragingly, Massachusetts is making strides. Thanks in part to Massachusetts’s new Opt-in Specialized Code, more than 10,000 multifamily Passive House units are in the pipeline. This extremely efficient building standard can lower energy use by up to 80% and dramatically reduce energy bills for residents. When factoring in state and federal incentives, it costs about the same to build homes to this super-efficient standard compared to conventional building practices.
In order to build an equitable, more affordable future, we must help our most vulnerable residents access these better building practices. Mayor Michelle Wu’s pledge to upgrade the city’s 10,000 public housing units with clean energy by 2030 is a strong start. Other notable projects include plans to install Boston’s first networked geothermal pilot for 129 units at the Franklin Field Apartments in Dorchester and a new 800-unit all-electric affordable housing complex built to Passive House standards in Newton.
It should come as no surprise that healthy building standards are popular in Massachusetts. The majority of residents support legislation that requires new construction to use the latest energy efficiency standards and highly efficient electric equipment such as heat pumps. Nine municipalities have adopted fossil fuel-free building standards, while communities representing nearly 30% of Massachusetts residents have adopted codes that require new buildings to be electric-ready. There are 19 million square feet of net-zero buildings in the state and 48 million square feet of net-zero ready buildings, the vast majority of which cost the same to build as conventional buildings.
Our families don’t have 200 years to wait. As we learn every day just how toxic gas is to our well-being and safety — not to mention the very future of our planet — the Massachusetts Legislature must stand up to special interest groups that threaten progress, and act with urgency to pass legislation to ensure healthy buildings and reduce our dependence on harmful fossil fuels.
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