Natural Gas causes health hazards
Natural gas releases carbon emissions, causes health hazards within homes and wreaks intense environmental destruction through fracking.
Geoff Reynolds’ letter to the Source claimed that in 2023, households using electricity contributed 63% of residential carbon emissions while only 29% came from gas. The link he cited, at the U.S. Energy Information Administration website, returned a File Not Found. I was unable to find his statistics using Google and Ecosia.
A few issues here. Even if Reynolds’ stats are correct, they reflect emissions from the whole U.S., not Oregon; much of our electricity is generated using relatively clean, renewable sources such as wind, solar and hydropower. (Yes, these do have other effects on the environment and habitat.)
According to the EIA, renewables produce about 62% of the state’s total electricity net generation. Compare that to the U.S. in general: about 21% renewable. Big difference!
Researchers at Stanford note that natural gas stoves release environmental pollutants indoors and outdoors, through leaks and incomplete combustion. “Methane leaking from stoves inside U.S. homes has the same climate impact as about 500,000 gasoline-powered cars and the stoves can expose people to respiratory disease-triggering pollutants.”
Health effects in the home are further documented by the American Lung Association and other sources. From Harvard: “…gas appliances like stoves and ovens can be a source of hazardous chemicals in our homes even when we’re not using them.”
—T. Lee Brown
Ask meaningful questions about Green Energy policies
Local groups such as 350 Deschutes (nonprofit promoting climate action) have the ear of Bend’s City council and are actively promoting such actions as “electrification.” Basically, this represents the position that all fossil fuels (i.e. CO2) need to be eliminated. Most people would agree, but the world has seen the realities and moved on. Coal usage in the world has significantly increased. China is building new coal plants every week. Mexico is using more coal to gasify for power production. Even Germany is using more coal. All now agree that natural gas is a sustainable resource to back up power systems when the solar and wind power is not sufficient. States such as West Virginia are developing massive infrastructure for natural gas distribution.
The Bend City Council seems to be going the other way to “save the planet.” Bend, for example, has established a fee (tax) for an energy audit before you can sell your home, although the data is readily available. Now they want to impose a fee (tax) for any new natural gas connections. All these actions will do nothing to fight climate change, but come at a cost. They will affect the future by exasperating power shortages and driving up the costs. The less affluent of us will bear the burden of higher costs (see California) and may not have natural gas availability when the electricity is off. California and Texas have shown us what happens when blackouts and rationing occur.
I am asking that our young people get more involved and ask meaningful questions about Green Energy policies, especially Bend’s City Council. You must follow this skeptically and closely, as technology and experience are evolving quickly. To get started, GOOGLE “what’s the hottest Earth’s ever been?” by Michon Scott and Rebecca Lindsey of the Smithsonian (or use earth’s average temperatures for the last 500 million years). The last ice age was about the coldest period in the last 500 million years. It is only going to get warmer. Mantras like “carbon free” or “carbon neutral” are meaningless when it is known now that elimination of all CO2 generated with the USA will NOT have any meaningful effect on climate change (from John Kerry, CATO Institute, and many others). The best use of our resources is to enhance the health of the Earth by securing reliable water sources, fighting pollution, saving our oceans, reducing deforestation and, in general, adapting to a warmer climate.
—Quentin Jauquet Stanko
Why aesthetics matter
Thank you for continuing this conversation. I don’t blame the city for having to adjust their budget for the Midtown Crossings because of tariffs, uncertain labor markets and ODOT’s requirements to not impact Highway 97’s traffic flow. These are unfortunate hurdles and the reality of construction projects. But to ask the City to go back to the drawing board is the opposite of fiscal responsibility or efficiency. It’s asking them to repeat work they’ve already done. In 2022, the City of Bend explored a plethora of different bridge designs. You can still see the results of their feasibility study on their project website. They hosted multiple public open houses where they presented early iterations, some of which included stairs (but that’s not ADA, bike, or stroller friendly), elevators (but those have mechanical maintenance costs and enclosed spaces are generally hard to keep safe and clean). They shared concepts with spiral ramps and switchbacks. In the end, the City listened to the community members who attended these meetings and came back with a straight bridge design that City Council agrees prioritizes safety, accessibility, functionality and aesthetics. Why do aesthetics matter? Because designing a welcoming and attractive bridge does more than just transport bikers and pedestrians from east to west. It will attract visitors to Bend’s Central District and connect downtown shoppers to the BCD’s up-and-coming Art District. It will reduce traffic for commuters and visitors alike because suddenly walking and riding to downtown will be easier and more appealing than driving. Most of all, investing in the beautification of public spaces boosts the economy. Art and enjoyment should not be confined to galleries and ticketed events. Art and beauty should be built into our everyday environment. Every building, sidewalk, park, parklet, bench and crosswalk is an opportunity to instill joy. And isn’t that exactly what we need right now?
—Meghan Teeter
Thank you, thank you, thank you
Considering the way we seem to be at odds with each other in the country at the present time, it was a pleasant surprise to see the reactions of local Bend folks when my wife of many, many years fainted at the “No Kings” rally. We had just crossed NW Riverside Boulevard when she fainted and fell backwards on the sidewalk. Before I could even react, a car stopped and the occupants came running over to help, pedestrians asked if they could help and a wonderful citizen called 911 all while I was trying to help my wife. It was amazing how quickly the EMTs arrived, immediately accessed the situation and took over with kindness and professional expertise. A quick trip to St. Charles ER where there were more good people to aid, diagnose and assist my wife back to a full recovery.
I somehow missed getting the names of the kind people that stopped to help, missed the names of the EMTs and the ER staff, so I hope that you get a chance to read this in the Bend Source. Thank you, thank you and thank you again. The residents of Bend are truly wonderful and caring examples of how we can all get along regardless of our differences.
With Gratitude,
—Tom Moses
Letter of the Week:
Tom, we’re happy to hear your wife is OK and agree, the people are the best part of Central Oregon. As letter of the week, you can stop by the Source on NW Georgia and Bond for a gift card to Palate coffee. —Managing Editor, Nic Moye
This article appears in the Source November 20, 2025.
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T. Lee Brown: in 2020 Pacific Power reports that in Oregon, Coal made up 49.83%, Natural Gas 18.99%, Wind 12.07% and Hydro 5.89%, Solar 2.93% of “the companies diverse resource mix”. Hopefully the renewable portion has increased since then. https://www.pacificpower.net/content/dam/pcorp/documents/en/pacificpower/my-account/bill-inserts/PP_OR_Labeling_Insert_LG_BIZ_2022.pdf
From a letter above … “Methane leaking from stoves inside U.S. homes has the same climate impact as about 500,000 gasoline-powered cars and the stoves can expose people to respiratory disease-triggering pollutants.”
Unless you are looking at old cars (or diesels) then 500,000 gasoline-powered cars don’t really contribute much to pollution. Yes, stoves CAN expose to pollutants. But most of them don’t. Unless your doctor is a climate-change zealot s/he’ll tell you that the primary factor in respiratory issues (e.g., asthma) is genes.