What are people saying about going electric & reducing pollution?

Healthcare professionals

“It’s a truly sobering finding that pollution from burning gas in buildings in Washington contributes to more premature deaths in the state each year than air pollution from any other sector… With air pollution health issues disproportionately impacting communities of color in Washington… this is where there is real urgency for strong and equitable utility and public policies and investment.”

— Dr. Luis Manriquez, family physician & Kirby Weythman, Spokane Neighborhood Action Partners (Spokesman-Review)

“Gas stoves, furnaces, and water heaters also release pollutants that can harm health, which is both a professional and a personal concern for me as a parent of young children. We need state- and federal-level policy solutions that work for everyone – homeowners, renters, and business owners alike.”

— Dr. Mary Beth Bennett, Pediatrician (The Stranger)

“Not only are gas-burning appliances in buildings a surprisingly large contributor to climate pollution, burning gas indoors is also a major public health problem, a threat that also could be addressed by moving from gas to electric appliances.”

— Dr. Gordon Wheat, primary care physician (The Olympian)

Builders and architects

“It’s highly likely that in the next 10 or 15 years, these fossil-fuel heating systems are going to become stranded assets.”

— Ash Awad, chief market officer at McKinstry construction (Investigate West)

“Heat pumps make sense at a time when we need to cut carbon emissions. They run on electricity, and as our electric grid gets cleaner thanks to changes in state policy and falling costs of renewable energy, so will our appliances.”

— Michael Stevens, Dykeman Architects (Everett Herald)

“We are absolutely seeing more heat pumps sold. Awareness of them is increasing, people are more environmentally conscious.”

— Michael Grossman, Andgar (industrial company in Ferndale, WA) (Bellingham Herald)

“Buildings are one of the largest and fastest growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions and climate pollution.... Each generation of new buildings is a long-term investment that will last for decades.”

— Nathaniel Gunderson, Architectural designer (mynorthwest.com)

Government and community leaders

“All partisan politics aside, pragmatic reality will dictate shifts in everything from how we heat and cool our homes, to how much we can continue to rely on fossil-fueled vehicles. Heat pumps, thermal-pane windows, better home insulation and solar panels are all available right now…”

— Editorial Board of the Chinook Observer

"In Seattle, 35 percent of carbon emissions are from the building sector and they are rising. Constructing homes and buildings right the first time reduces the likelihood of costly retrofits in the future."

— Jessica Finn Coven, Seattle Office of Sustainability and Environment (KUOW)

"Buildings are one of our state's most significant and fastest growing sources of carbon pollution. We must do better — and we can do better."

— Michael Furze, Washington State Energy Office (KUOW)

"All of our new construction should already be zero-carbon construction. It's easy enough to do. We have the technology, and we have the capacity to do it."

— Rose Lathrop, program director at nonprofit Sustainable Connections (Public News Service)