ALRS Student Publishes Opinion Piece
ALRS student, Karina Martinez, published an opinion piece on Tucson.com regarding the increased rates from Southwest Gas, an article she worked on with a recent ALRS graduate, Ida Sami. Karina is a Tucson-based mother, Ph.D candidate at University of Arizona studying energy justice and climate justice and a member of EcoMadres, a national community of parents and caregivers acting together to protect the health of Latino families from air pollution and climate change:
"The 2022 “State of Air” from the American Lung Association reports that 40% of Americans are living in places with unhealthy levels of particle pollution or ozone. More than two-thirds of this nation’s Latinos live in areas that fail to meet federal air quality standards. In Arizona, 132,725 children suffer from asthma and Latino children are 60% more at risk than their white counterparts of having asthma attacks exacerbated by air pollution. This is because Latinos often live, work, and play in frontline communities disproportionately exposed to harmful air pollution, climate change, and toxic chemicals. Protecting public health means keeping everyone’s air clean and safe to breathe.
Families like mine strongly oppose Southwest Gas’ request for yet another rate increase. As parents, we are committed to protecting the health of our families from air pollution and climate change. We seek lasting change that ensures a livable climate for our children and grandchildren. This means moving away from fossil fuels swiftly, including natural gas. A rate increase only props up a dying, polluting industry.
Natural gas, made up primarily of methane, has a global warming potential as much as 87 times greater than carbon dioxide. It also poses dangers in our homes and neighborhoods. Natural gas comes into Arizona, across the state and into our neighborhoods via pipelines that leak methane into the atmosphere; and when those pipelines become damaged and/or rupture, fires and deadly explosions can result, putting our communities’ health and lives at risk.
Using gas stoves can pose significant health risks, even when used as intended. Gas stoves emit a variety of pollutants, including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and formaldehyde, which can contribute to respiratory illnesses such as asthma. Children are particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of poor air quality due to their smaller and still-developing lungs and airways, as well as their faster breathing rate, which leads them to inhale more polluted air. In addition, children’s bodies are still growing and developing, making them more susceptible to the harmful effects of pollutants.
Over the years, Southwest Gas and the natural gas industry have invested millions of dollars in marketing efforts that promote natural gas as a clean energy source and position gas stoves and other appliances as superior to their electric counterparts. This has likely contributed to the high demand for natural gas and the high cost of gas appliances, while also potentially diverting resources that could have been used to keep rates low for consumers.
It is important to consider the issue of energy justice when discussing rate increases for natural gas, as these increases can disproportionately impact low-income and marginalized communities. Southwest Gas has sought two large rate increases in two years — this latest at a time where 1 in 5 people living in the U.S. are already struggling to pay their high energy bills. The federal government predicts that households that heat with natural gas (48% of U.S. households) will face bills 28.5% higher than last year. This will disproportionately affect Latino families, who already face challenges such as lower access to healthcare coverage and higher levels of pollution-related health risks. The issue of energy justice highlights the need to ensure that all individuals and communities have access to reliable and affordable energy, regardless of their socio-economic status or geographic location.
Yet, Southwest Gas wants another 7.6% increase. The company will continue to bear the cost of extending lines to new natural gas or fossil fuel developments to its customers. This should be a simple decision for the Arizona Corporation Commission. As the agency’s office that advocates for consumers concluded, given all that Arizonans face today, this increase “is simply too much.” The Arizona Corporation Commission should forcefully reject this outlandish rate increase."
Source: https://tucson.com/opinion/local/local-opinion-protect-our-families-rej…