Switch to electric is key to a healthy future
Re: “Unreliable electricity makes gas necessary” (July 20).
As a Bay Area high school student, I care about the future my generation will inherit. That is why I was disappointed that Marcia Friss ignored one of the biggest issues: clean air. Air pollution is not abstract. It affects the air we breathe, the number of unhealthy, smog-filled days that keep us indoors and our long-term health. The Bay Area Air District estimates that reducing pollution from gas furnaces and water heaters could prevent up to 85 premature deaths and 15,000 asthma attacks each year in our region.
Affordability concerns are valid, but rebates, exemptions and flexible implementation can address them. California has also invested heavily in battery storage, helping make the electric grid more reliable. These concerns should encourage better, more efficient implementation, not abandonment of the rules.
Air quality must be a priority, not an afterthought. We all deserve clean air and a healthy future.
– Abhinaya Manickavasagan, Santa Clara, 350 Silicon Valley
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