This initiative is intended to reignite the politically explosive subject that everyone else would love to put to rest before it all blows up again.
Berkeley’s city officials, not to be deterred by their clear defeat in the courts last year, have unveiled a new plan to reduce the usage of natural gas: this time, they would levy fees on major buildings that use the fuel.
As if there would not be enough to think about, on November 5, the people of the city will have the opportunity to vote on a ballot issue that would impose taxes on building owners with 15,000 square feet or more of space, based on how much natural gas they use annually.
To get their measure on the ballot, proponents of the new tax collected more than 4,500 signatures from community members. The goal of the levy is to impose a $2.96 cost on large building owners for each 100 cubic feet (or 100,000 BTUs) of natural gas used. The figure is derived from the city’s own social cost of carbon calculation, which uses a formula to calculate the harm that excessive greenhouse gas emissions do to society.
