What the Frack?! There’s fracked gas in my kitchen!!

Send a letter to Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon! Demand an update to BC’s building code to get toxic fracked gas out of our homes.

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Dear Minister Kahlon,  Using fracked methane gas to power our homes is not good for our health and it is making the climate crisis worse.   Fracking is an environmentally destructive process that leaches toxic chemicals into water aquifers and the air. It pollutes British Columbians’ drinking water and impacts the health of the people who live and work near fracking operations. Doctors in B.C. say that our northern communities are suffering from higher rates of cancer, birth defects, leukemia, and respiratory illnesses that are linked to industry’s fracking operations in the Peace River region – they are calling for a province wide moratorium on fracking!  Using fracked gas appliances in our homes exposes us to the same dangerous chemicals that are making British Columbians in northern B.C. sick. Researchers have found that gas stoves leak more benzene than secondhand cigarette smoke and that 1 in 8 cases of childhood asthma can be linked to gas stove’s toxic fumes. Benzene is a carcinogen that the World Health Organization says is not safe in any amount, yet recent studies show that the gas used in Vancouver homes contains up to 50 times more benzene than the gas used in other cities in North America.  Fracked gas is not only toxic to our health, but it is a super pollutant that is destroying our climate. Fracked methane is a fossil fuel – it’s fossil gas – and when it gets released unburned into the atmosphere it warms our planet 84 times faster than carbon dioxide. It leaks at every step of its use, from the wellhead to the flare stack to the inside of our homes. In fact, scientists have found that gas stoves leak into our homes even when they are turned off.   Meanwhile, burning fossil gas to heat our homes is responsible for 12% of our province’s overall carbon emissions.   Phasing out its use in B.C. is the easiest and cheapest way we can reduce our provinces’ greenhouse gas emissions immediately.   We have easy solutions available to help us get off fossil gas. We can adopt electric heat pumps and induction stovetops. We can use clean energy to power our homes. In B.C., making the switch to get off toxic fracked gas should be easy. But recent cuts to the Clean BC plan have made it harder to get electric heat pump rebates, while FortisBC has been allowed to incentivize continued gas hook ups by providing massive rebates for gas powered “dual fuel” heat pumps that keep British Columbians hooked on their toxic fracked gas.   Electric heat pumps don’t just help British Columbians reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, but they make us more resilient to our changing climate by keeping us cool and safe during extreme heat events. Over 600 people in B.C., mostly low income elders, died during the 2021 heat dome and if we don’t change our building code to adopt electric heat pumps more people who can’t afford to make the switch off gas will continue to disproportionately be impacted by extreme heat.   The BC NDP is supposed to be the party that cares about social justice. Making sure everyone has access to electric heat pumps is an equity, health and safety issue. Please update the building code today to put an end to fossil gas hook ups and ensure that all new buildings come equipped with electric heat pumps. It is the easiest and cheapest way British Columbians can  reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, adapt to our changing climate, and keep our loved ones safe.   British Columbians deserve to live in safer homes that don’t harm us or pollute our planet.   Please update the B.C. building code today and put an end to toxic fracked gas in our homes.

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What the Frack?! There’s fracked gas in my kitchen!!

British Columbians deserve safer homes! FortisBC claims its gas is “natural” and safe but it’s not - it’s fracked and it’s toxic.

Fracked “natural” gas is primarily methane, a fossil fuel and a super pollutant. Methane warms our planet 84 times faster than carbon dioxide and is responsible for ⅓ of global warming.

Using fossil fuels like fracked methane to cook and power our homes not only accelerates the climate crisis but it exposes us to dangerous chemicals that can make our loved ones sick.

Experts say fracked gas contains harmful pollutants that poison the air we breathe. A recent study shows that the gas FortisBC pumps into Vancouver homes contains 50 times more benzene than other North American cities, a carcinogen the World Health Organization says is not safe in any amount.

B.C. Doctors say that gas appliances are a hidden danger for kids and adults. Scientists say that 1 in 8 cases of childhood asthma is linked to gas stove use. These stoves leak gas even when they are turned off.

Making sure that our homes are powered with electric heat pumps, not dirty fracked gas, is the easiest way we can reduce pollution and keep our families safe.

But instead, the B.C. government is gutting its Clean BC program and getting rid of electric heat pump rebates while FortisBC ramps up gas hookups in new buildings.

British Columbians deserve safe and climate resilient homes. Send a letter to Housing Minister Ravi Kahlon! Demand an update to B.C.’s building code to get toxic fracked gas OUT!