Don’t Use Methane at the New Y

The community eagerly awaits the construction of the new YMCA facility at 24th and Hilyard. However, many in the city are concerned with the plan to install a methane gas domestic water heating boiler system when clean electricity systems are available.

Eighty-seven percent of fossil gas is made up of methane which is 84 percent more potent than carbon dioxide in a 20-year period and it has caused 30 percent of global heating. Methane gas contributes to asthma in children when burned indoors on cooktops and other appliances, which is a concern of parents whose children use the day care facilities.

The City of Eugene Climate Action Plan and the Governor’s Executive Order 20-04 require greenhouse gas reduction goals by 2030, and yet $25 million of public state funds will be providing a 25 to 40-year methane gas system in the new YMCA.

I urge you to voice your concerns to the CEO of the YMCA opposing the use of methane gas in the new facility. Be a good ancestor and don’t let the new YMCA contribute to climate change.

Jim Neu

350.Eug Volunteer

Eugene