Alma Figueroa got worried when she found out her gas company wants to try a debated method to fight climate change: mixing hydrogen with natural gas for her stove and other home devices.
Figueroa, who deals with asthma and recently got news that her lung cancer has returned, is afraid of the potential health dangers. Figueroa, a 60-year-old from Orange Cove in California’s Central Valley, said she refuses to let anyone use her as a guinea pig.
The neverending quest of so called “green energy”
The state regulators told utility companies to run test programs, so Southern California Gas Co. plans to mix hydrogen into the town’s gas pipes. Backers view this as a crucial way for California to cut down on emissions, since it lowers dependence on gas and puts cleaner energy into the pipes we already have. Ironical, how the state with the most consumer’s rights laws in the US can have a change of heart and start experimenting in low-income neighbourhoods without the residents consent.
This is one piece of a bigger push across the state to set up safety standards for mixing hydrogen. However, critics argue it creates dangers we don’t need, while the people in Orange Cove—who are mostly Latino and low-income—say these things are moving forward without keeping them in the loop or asking what they think. Similar projects in places like Colorado and Oregon have sparked worries too.
While excitement for using hydrogen took off under President Biden, it took a serious blow when the Trump administration cut billions in funding for hydrogen tech and other green energy plans, including scrapping a $1.2 billion hydrogen hub right here in California.
The plan for Orange Cove is just one of five proposals in the state designed to check how gas pipes and home appliances handle different levels of hydrogen. Hawaii has actually been mixing gases like this for decades.
Hydrogen blending, the next step in gas powering?
Methane makes up the bulk of natural gas, and it’s a powerful greenhouse gas driving severe weather globally, often hitting poor and minority communities the hardest. Advocates believe green hydrogen offers a path to lower pollution.
To make it, they use wind or solar power to run a machine that breaks water apart into oxygen and hydrogen, creating a carbon-free gas that generates electricity and fills in the gaps when renewable energy isn’t available.
A utility provider in Minneapolis calculated that a 5% green hydrogen mix would cut carbon emissions by roughly 1,200 tons a year, which is like taking 254 gas cars off the streets. According to Janice Lin from the Green Hydrogen Coalition, running tests on these mixtures is crucial.
But is it really ethical to subject a population of thousands of people to experiments that will closely affect their health and well-being just to get rid of the carbon footprint of 25% of the parking lot at a Walmart Supercenter?
She pointed out that the U.S. has a huge web of gas pipes—around 3 million miles per the Energy Department—that could transport clean hydrogen and help us depend less on natural gas.
The infrastructure problem: why changing the gas bland puts the population at risk
Studies show that burning a hydrogen mix in old appliances that weren’t built for it can release more nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants known to aggravate asthma and cause other breathing problems. It can also wear down specific materials and escape through leaks more easily, raising the chance of explosions since hydrogen catches fire so fast.
Ryan Sinclair, an environmental microbiologist at Loma Linda University, pointed out that homes with aging appliances are more exposed to these dangers—in older setups, a 5% blend can push nitrogen oxide emissions up by an average of 8%.
The only way for locals to opt out is to swap their gas units for electric ones, and Sinclair fears that low-income families in Orange Cove can’t afford to replace or keep up with their older equipment. In real life, authorities should ponder more carefully the health risks before anyone starts mixing hydrogen.