'Berkeley of the East' seeks to ban fossil fuels as part of sweeping climate plan

Takoma Park in Maryland has come up with a climate plan that calls for banning fossil fuels. (City of Takoma Park)

A small Maryland enclave known as the “Berkeley of the East” has devised a bold climate plan that would ban gas stoves, leaf blowers and water heaters, according to a report.

Liberal Takoma Park’s action plan, which would also close gas pipelines and force gas stations to relocate, is designed to eliminate fossil fuels to help save the planet, The Washington Post reports.

The town of 17,000 just outside Washington, D.C., first burnished its liberal credentials nearly four decades ago by declaring itself a “nuclear-free zone.”

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The non-binding plan is expected to be adopted by Takoma Park’s City Council on March 4. But the Post reports that even in a city where, as one resident put it, “the political spectrum spans Bernie to Warren,” there are detractors.

“The number of times the word ‘require’ is used in this is stunning,” said resident Maxine Hillary at a public hearing last week, according to the paper.

During her remarks, she criticized the fossil fuel ban as “insensitive and draconian.”

Hillary also took aim at the resolution’s call to make composting mandatory.

“Don’t tell me what to do with my table scraps,” she told lawmakers, according to the paper.

The Post reported that Takoma Park’s fossil fuel ban is part of a nationwide effort by local governments to address the lack of federal action on climate change.

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According to the paper, the city’s plan would require that all water heaters, space heaters and stoves that rely on gas be replaced with alternatives by 2030.

Gas-guzzling leaf blowers would be replaced with incentive programs and eventually outlawed, while gas stations would be asked to convert to electric charging stations or relocate outside city limits by 2045, the paper reported.

Vehicles that run on fossil fuels wouldn’t be banned, but electric vehicle use would be encouraged.

However, lawmakers agreed to drop the deadline for eliminating fossil fuels by 2045 under a revised plan, the paper reported.

Takoma Park officials said the cost to the average homeowner could reach $25,000, the Post reported.

Supporters include the Committee on the Environment, an advocacy group made up of Takoma Park residents.

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John Ackerly, who is a co-chair, was quoted by the Post as saying that he has been “shocked” by some friends and neighbors skeptical of the plan, with some expressing fears of an impending “LED police.”