Brookline, Massachusetts, is latest battleground Vote on measure could be bellwether for support in East Houston — Lawmakers in a Boston suburb are set to vote to ban natural gas in new buildings, marking the Bay State’s first foray into a climate change policy that has unsettled the industry since it was pioneered in Berkeley, California, earlier this year. The 240-seat Town Meeting in Brookline, Massachusetts, will consider the amendment to its bylaws during a Tuesday session. The proposed article would prohibit fossil fuel piping in new buildings or major renovations, effectively requiring electric appliances, heat and hot water systems in new construction. The amendment’s co-sponsors say the measure is necessary to achieve the town’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050. “Every new building constructed with fossil fuel infrastructure makes this goal harder to achieve, by lighting a new fire that will burn, on and off, for […]