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Attachment 2 <br />j�1 Sustainability <br />r/ Newsletter <br />7100 <br />SUISTAINABILITY <br />Contact Us: <br />Noelle Bakken <br />2660 Civic Center Dr. <br />Roseville, MN 55113 <br />651-792-7057 <br />Email Us <br />Find us Online! <br />6646666*6664 <br />Inside this <br />issue: <br />Sustainability Tip <br />Plastic Free Challenge <br />Metro Transit Micro <br />Service <br />Upcoming Events, <br />Opportunities, and <br />Resources <br />Good Climate News <br />JAN/FEB 2025 <br />Sustainability Tip — <br />What's the deal with <br />electrification? <br />Plastic Free Challenge <br />Public Works & <br />Engineering Division <br />Metro Transit Micro Good Climate News <br />Service <br />Sustainability Tip — What is "Electrification?" <br />If you follow sustainability topics in the news or elsewhere online, you may have heard <br />about the importance of "electrification" - often either with electrifying transportation, or in <br />various uses at home. What is electrification, and why is it important? <br />The answer has two parts: first, it means to use electricity to power something that <br />usually uses a fossil fuel -derived gas. Fossil gas refers to gasoline or diesel in vehicles <br />and lawn care equipment, and natural gas for home heating and cooking. (Natural gas is <br />increasingly being called "fossil gas" —because it too is fossil fuel -derived.) Second, the <br />reason to use electricity over fossil gas is because we can produce electricity from <br />renewable sources, like solar or wind —avoiding the need to mine, frack, or drill for <br />more fossil fuels. <br />Electric vehicles get a lot of attention because there are obvious air quality benefits to <br />using them —no tailpipe exhaust! However, the upsides to reducing or eliminating natural/ <br />fossil gas in and around the home can be less obvious. Here are a few facts to know <br />about fossil gas and appliances that use it: <br />• Natural gas is methane, which is a greenhouse gas that 28 times more potent than <br />carbon dioxide —meaning it is much, much better at trapping heat in the atmosphere, <br />which leads to climate change. <br />• Gas appliances like cooktops and furnaces release particulate matter and nitrogen <br />dioxide that reduces indoor air quality, and can increase risk of or worsen <br />symptoms of asthma, particularly in children and older adults. <br />• Children have higher breathing rates than adults and are at higher risk in <br />areas of poor air quality, which is also why transitioning to electric school <br />buses is extremely important! <br />• Leaks and cracks in aging gas appliances like water heaters and clothes dryers can <br />also distribute fossil gas emissions throughout a home, and contribute to poor outdoor <br />air quality when vented outside. <br />• Space heating and cooling uses a lot of energy —decarbonizing this process will make <br />a very meaningful impact to mitigate climate change! <br />• Don't forget about yard equipment— Gas -powered landscaping tools are run by <br />motors that lack catalytic converters, which are installed on automobiles to help <br />neutralize some of their pollution. A California Air Resources Board study found that <br />using a gas leaf blower for one hour emitted the equivalent amount of air pollution as <br />driving a Toyota Camry 1,100 miles. Check out Xcel Energy's electric eguioment <br />rebates to save money! <br />Page 15 of 43 <br />