Letters to the Editor: City Hall’s fecklessness on banning gas to fight climate change

To the editor: My husband and I have been remodeling a house and constructing an auxiliary dwelling unit in Frogtown. These homes will have solar hot water, mini-split heat pumps and electric ranges. This is the future for our children. (“Bay Area cities have banned gas to fight climate change. But not Los Angeles,” Feb. 4)

As for the Los Angeles City Council members who have “no position” on banning gas in new construction, I am reminded of Jim Hightower of Texas, who said, “There’s nothing in the middle of the road but yellow stripes and dead armadillos.”

We don’t need either on our City Council, which has so far failed to join 42 other California cities and counties that have banned or discouraged the use of gas hookups in new construction. The ability of our children to have a future requires our leaders to show courage.

Marian Gordon, Los Angeles

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To the editor: There is a significant conflict of interest to consider in the potential decision to restrict all future new construction to Los Angeles Department of Water and Power electrical service and eliminate natural gas hookups.

The conflict of interest is that the city of Los Angeles owns the DWP and receives millions of dollars each year from that relationship. How can the City Council eliminate the DWP’s only energy competition?

The irony of this is that half of the electric energy supplied by the DWP is produced through the burning of natural gas or coal. We all know what will happen to rates when energy choices are eliminated.

Bruce Gurnick, Porter Ranch