Read the full article by Lori Valigra (Bangor Daily News)
“Mike Belliveau’s 20-year-old refrigerator no longer kept food cold enough, so he headed to a big-box retailer last summer to replace it.
Belliveau, who has worked in the consumer safety field for two decades, wanted a model with improved environmental and safety features. The salesperson readily guided him to the energy-efficient fridges. But when Belliveau asked if there were any without F-gases — the fluorinated gases used commonly as refrigerants that contain forever chemicals — his question drew a blank stare from the salesperson.
‘He asked me, “What’s that?”‘ said Belliveau, director of Bend the Curve, a nonprofit that is advocating for safer petrochemicals and sustainable plastics.
It is not yet possible to buy a heat pump without forever chemical refrigerants, but there are safer alternatives for other appliances already on the market, including some refrigerators and small air conditioners. Those appliances, which generally run on hydrocarbon gases such as isobutane or propane, also contribute less to global warming. That is good news for Mainers like Belliveau interested in minimizing their carbon footprint and contributing to the state’s goal of reducing greenhouse gases by 80 percent by 2050.”…