Thank your HoCo Councilmembers and County Executive for

passing the "Clean New Buildings Act!"

The Howard County Council has passed the "Clean New Buildings Climate Act," CB5-2023! This bill requires a report documenting changes necessary to require electrification of new buildings. Furnaces, gas stoves, and other fossil gas appliances in our homes and buildings create climate pollution, health-harming air pollution, and fill our homes with many of the same pollutants as come from tailpipes. This policy is an important step toward requiring new homes and buildings to be cleaner and safer, which is a win for everyone.

Thank your Councilmembers for their leadership!

The email below will be sent to all 5 Howard County Councilmembers and County Executive Calvin Ball.
Feel free to personalize one or all of your letters and be sure to...

FILL IN YOUR CONTACT INFO AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

Councilmember

Liz

Walsh

Howard County Council

Dear Councilmember Walsh,

As a resident of Howard  County, I thank you for taking action on cleaning up the carbon-polluting building sector by passing the Clean New Buildings Climate Act (CB5-2023) and ensuring that new buildings only use electric heat pumps and other appliances.

Howard County can be part of the solution to our climate crisis. According to the county greenhouse gas inventory, 11% of the county’s carbon emissions come directly from burning methane gas or propane in furnaces and appliances in buildings. The county’s draft Climate Action Plan says that, without action, carbon emissions are projected to rise because of population growth. Construction of new homes and buildings follows population growth and, without action, building emissions will continue to increase. Moreover, the warming effect is long-lasting: A new gas boiler, furnace, or hot water heater installed in the next few years will continue to emit greenhouse gases for decades.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, electrification of new buildings will benefit Howard County residents’ pocketbooks and health. Economic research indicates that most all-electric buildings cost less to build, and more importantly, that homeowners’ and renters’ ongoing energy costs for energy-efficient electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters are substantially less. And accumulating evidence also shows that indoor gas combustion is a significant public health risk. Both the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association have passed resolutions warning against gas stoves and cooktops.  A peer-reviewed study published in December 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that "12.7% of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use."  Howard County residents deserve better.

Jurisdictions across the country are enacting all-electric new construction codes - including nearby Montgomery County and Washington, DC.

Now we too will be a climate leader in our state.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~Address line 1}
{user_data~City}
{user_data~Zip Code}

Councilmember

Opel

Jones

Howard County Council

Dear Councilmember Jones,

As a resident of Howard  County, I thank you for taking action on cleaning up the carbon-polluting building sector by passing the Clean New Buildings Climate Act (CB5-2023) and ensuring that new buildings only use electric heat pumps and other appliances.

Howard County can be part of the solution to our climate crisis. According to the county greenhouse gas inventory, 11% of the county’s carbon emissions come directly from burning methane gas or propane in furnaces and appliances in buildings. The county’s draft Climate Action Plan says that, without action, carbon emissions are projected to rise because of population growth. Construction of new homes and buildings follows population growth and, without action, building emissions will continue to increase. Moreover, the warming effect is long-lasting: A new gas boiler, furnace, or hot water heater installed in the next few years will continue to emit greenhouse gases for decades.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, electrification of new buildings will benefit Howard County residents’ pocketbooks and health. Economic research indicates that most all-electric buildings cost less to build, and more importantly, that homeowners’ and renters’ ongoing energy costs for energy-efficient electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters are substantially less. And accumulating evidence also shows that indoor gas combustion is a significant public health risk. Both the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association have passed resolutions warning against gas stoves and cooktops.  A peer-reviewed study published in December 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that "12.7% of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use."  Howard County residents deserve better.

Jurisdictions across the country are enacting all-electric new construction codes - including nearby Montgomery County and Washington, DC.

Now we too will be a climate leader in our state.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~Address line 1}
{user_data~City}
{user_data~Zip Code}

Councilmember

Christiana

Rigby

Howard County Council

Dear Councilmember Rigby,

As a resident of Howard  County, I thank you for taking action on cleaning up the carbon-polluting building sector by passing the Clean New Buildings Climate Act (CB5-2023) and ensuring that new buildings only use electric heat pumps and other appliances.

Howard County can be part of the solution to our climate crisis. According to the county greenhouse gas inventory, 11% of the county’s carbon emissions come directly from burning methane gas or propane in furnaces and appliances in buildings. The county’s draft Climate Action Plan says that, without action, carbon emissions are projected to rise because of population growth. Construction of new homes and buildings follows population growth and, without action, building emissions will continue to increase. Moreover, the warming effect is long-lasting: A new gas boiler, furnace, or hot water heater installed in the next few years will continue to emit greenhouse gases for decades.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, electrification of new buildings will benefit Howard County residents’ pocketbooks and health. Economic research indicates that most all-electric buildings cost less to build, and more importantly, that homeowners’ and renters’ ongoing energy costs for energy-efficient electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters are substantially less. And accumulating evidence also shows that indoor gas combustion is a significant public health risk. Both the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association have passed resolutions warning against gas stoves and cooktops.  A peer-reviewed study published in December 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that "12.7% of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use."  Howard County residents deserve better.

Jurisdictions across the country are enacting all-electric new construction codes - including nearby Montgomery County and Washington, DC.

Now we too will be a climate leader in our state.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~Address line 1}
{user_data~City}
{user_data~Zip Code}

Councilmember

Deb

Jung

Howard County Council

Dear Councilmember Jung,

As a resident of Howard  County, I thank you for taking action on cleaning up the carbon-polluting building sector by passing the Clean New Buildings Climate Act (CB5-2023) and ensuring that new buildings only use electric heat pumps and other appliances.

Howard County can be part of the solution to our climate crisis. According to the county greenhouse gas inventory, 11% of the county’s carbon emissions come directly from burning methane gas or propane in furnaces and appliances in buildings. The county’s draft Climate Action Plan says that, without action, carbon emissions are projected to rise because of population growth. Construction of new homes and buildings follows population growth and, without action, building emissions will continue to increase. Moreover, the warming effect is long-lasting: A new gas boiler, furnace, or hot water heater installed in the next few years will continue to emit greenhouse gases for decades.

In addition to reducing greenhouse gases, electrification of new buildings will benefit Howard County residents’ pocketbooks and health. Economic research indicates that most all-electric buildings cost less to build, and more importantly, that homeowners’ and renters’ ongoing energy costs for energy-efficient electric heat pumps and heat pump water heaters are substantially less. And accumulating evidence also shows that indoor gas combustion is a significant public health risk. Both the American Medical Association and the American Public Health Association have passed resolutions warning against gas stoves and cooktops.  A peer-reviewed study published in December 2022 in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that "12.7% of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use."  Howard County residents deserve better.

Jurisdictions across the country are enacting all-electric new construction codes - including nearby Montgomery County and Washington, DC.

Now we too will be a climate leader in our state.

Sincerely,

{user_data~First name} {user_data~Last name}
{user_data~Address line 1}
{user_data~City}
{user_data~Zip Code}

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