The Trend to Turn Off the Gas.
In the ever-expanding war over climate change, the city of Berkeley CA has become a central point of contention. In 2019 the city council passed broad-ranging laws that banned virtually all installation of natural gas piping in new residential and commercial buildings beginning in 2020. Instead, new construction would be wired for electric only.
This action was triggered by the publication of a story in Environmental Science & Technology. Based on an extraordinarily small sample of 87 homes tested in California & Colorado. The report showed that nearly all the homes with gas and propane stoves were frequently emitting benzene at rates well above healthy benchmarks set by the World Health Organization and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Benzene is a known carcinogen that is designated as a hazardous substance in accordance with Section 311(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act Amendments of 1972 (Clean Water Act). It is also one of the most ubiquitous hydrocarbons we’re in contact with. More on this later…
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Action and Reaction
The reaction arrived almost immediately in the form of the California Restaurant Association (CRA). They filed a preemptive suit in Federal court claiming that any such action carried out by a local government violated Federal law, Sec. 6297 of the Energy Policy & Conservation Act (EPCA). This law states that only the federal government can classify “the energy efficiency, energy use, or water use” as outlined in EPCA legislation. The preemptive suit claimed that by outlawing the installation of piping for natural gas, the city of Berkeley was de facto classifying as hazardous that which it had no legal authority to do.
In July 2021, a Federal judge for the Northern District of California dismissed the preemptive challenge brought by the CRA against the city of Berkely CA. The legal battle continued. In April 2023 a federal judge then reversed that decision, allowing the CRA’s challenge to the law to stand. Now it was time to reverse the reversal. So, on Monday, 11/20/23, in a decision that was widely reported on, a three-judge majority of The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit upheld the earlier action preventing the ban to become law. As of now, the city of Berkely cannot turn off 
the gas. As it always does in America, the battle will continue.
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State Legislatures Join the Fray
Berkley was the first significant local community in California to successfully pass such laws, but dozens of municipalities including Seattle, San Francisco, and New York had joined the groundswell movement advocating for similar restrictions. This, movement – separate from the war in the courts – has subsequently caused to this date twenty states with Republican majorities in their legislatures to hurriedly write preemptive laws against banning natural gas laws written by local governments.
A Culinary Destination
It’s difficult to overstate the impact of a ban on natural gas, and not just in the restaurant business. 88% of California households are fed and powered by Natural Gas. It is promoted as the cleaner and more cost-effective alternative to oil and especially coal. Banning cooking with natural gas in restaurants could have a significant impact on the reputation of California as being a culinary destination, as so claimed by the CRA.

It's Complicated
Something else this kerfuffle highlights is the near-intractable proposition of eliminating much of the hydrocarbons from our daily lives. According to Vaclav Smil, retired Distinguished Professor Emeritus in the Faculty of Environment at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada – a leading scholar, scientist, and policy analyst of energy and the environment –  almost 90% of all primary energy sources in the world are still currently derived from coal, oil, and natural gas. We seem to be making headway, though that number has reportedly been reduced to roughly 72%. Not only do politics complicate decarbonization, but the economies and infrastructure we’ve built have become almost wholly dependent on hydrocarbons. If anything differentiates the modern world from the pre-industrialized is the harnessing of the power and product derived from hydrocarbons.
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Modern Firestarters
Now for the good, uncontroversial news: All the 100% Natural Biomass and odorless Hydrocarbon Firestarters imported by A+A Price Sales & Marketing emit benzine when burned, but at levels and percentages that are well within the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) air quality standards.
A+A Price Sales & Marketing proudly imports eco-friendly 100% natural biomass firestarters that are proven safer, cleaner, and result in better tasting grilled food than using lighter fluid. In addition to our commitment to cleaner air, we only source our biomass wood firestartes from Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) approved timber. We support all sensible initiatives that address the mitigation and especially the adaptation to climate change.