2020 saw two major trends in fossil fuel usage in Berkeley. On one hand, CM Kate Harrison led the Council to ban fossil fuel systems in new construction. On the other hand, she was in the vanguard supporting a surge in propane usage by suppressing enforcement against illegal RV camping on the the city streets.
In a coincidental tribute to her pro-propane stance, the eponymous Harrison Street in West Berkeley remains one of the densest RV settlements, with vehicles lining the street on either side. The street is so constricted by vehicles that, like the CM herself, it is effectively one-way.
With four RV fires, one of which set two adjacent homes ablaze, in 2020, Harrison’s embrace of propane is directly at odds with her goal of increasing safety and saving the planet by banning natural gas. She straddles both sides of this fence like a colossus.
What’s next on the agenda for property owners with incumbent natural gas systems? Kate-watchers expect her to put forth a biogas mandate persondate in 2021 driving up the cost of the fuel sharply.
Biogas captures methane from cow manure lagoons at factory farms and adds it to natural gas, with the goal of reducing overall natural gas usage. The state approved its use by Southern California Edison and San Diego Gas & Electric this month.
The Bunion suspects it’s only a matter of time before Harrison directs the steam of cow crap into Berkeley, which will of course spike fuel costs for all residents in yet another in a long line of “only in Berkeley” sin taxes. What price virtue?
Kate-watch odds makers haven’t ruled out the possibility of an initiative to capture methane from the fecal lagoon once known as Aquatic Park. RV dwellers who dump raw sewage into storm drains will receive credits to offset their propane usage.
Fecal lagoons? In Berkeley? Moooooo