I think it’s safe to say that most people in Colorado are concerned about the environment, conservation and being good stewards of our resources in general. We care about each other, and we want the best for our kids.

That said, as we all move forward in this new energy economy that everyone is touting, we need to recognize a few hard truths. We do not currently have the technology or the infrastructure to magically convert to wind and solar power overnight. Batteries are actually bad for the environment – not only from the perspective of waste and disposal, but also many components are made from rare earth metals that are mined in places with no environmental or work safety laws of any kind. And charging those batteries still relies on traditional sources of power. Also, natural gas is a clean-burning fuel that is plentiful in our country, and we desperately need it to continue to power our homes and businesses long into the future.

With that in mind, I want to bring attention to a bill currently going through the Colorado Legislature that would ban all natural gas usage in new construction and major renovations (no definition of what a major renovation would be). Proponents of House Bill 22-1362 say they are trying to conform to the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), a strict building standard that would, by design, make accessing natural gas more difficult and expensive.

Also read: COUNTERPOINT | Let’s live up to our climate commitments

Our elected representatives are trying to pass this bill under the radar, and it has already passed out of the House Energy and Environment Committee with little public engagement. Has anyone asked why we are trying to conform to an international standard that may or may not actually be good for Americans? Europe has similar laws in place, and they are dealing with the consequences now, with natural gas prices more than three times what we see in the United States today.

We should always strive toward excellence, conservation and finding the best policy solutions to the challenges we face as a state and as a country. In a time when the residents of Louisville are facing hard decisions as they struggle to rebuild following the Marshall Fire, many of those fire victims could not afford to rebuild their houses under a new city code that enforces this IECC mandate. The victims appealed, and the City of Louisville backed down, allowing those residents to rebuild under the previous code. Do we really want to spread this bad policy to the entire state?

A recent Colorado Women’s Alliance poll of Colorado female voters showed that women identified the rising cost of housing as one of their top policy concerns. This bill does nothing but add to that cost – estimates for those Louisville residents showed that following the new code would cost in the tens of thousands of dollars more. We are living in a time of out of control inflation and record high housing costs in the Denver Metro area. Coloradans can’t afford more government programs that add to those already high costs.

For those of you who want to continue to cook on a gas stove, use a natural gas furnace or water heater, or flip a switch to turn on your gas fireplace when it is cold in the winter, please contact your legislator today and tell them to vote no on HB 1362.

Jaime Gardner is the executive director of the Colorado Consumer Coalition, and a member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Women‘s Alliance.