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Dear Editor:
Now that the heating season is starting, and the news from the Glasgow Climate Conference is: reduce fossil fuel pollution, it's a time to consider alternatives to heating with fossil gas. It's a difficult problem. However, with rising global average temperatures there are less than fifteen years before reaching the dangerous 1.5 degrees C mark.
Heating with electric heat pumps can help, but is it enough? Other northern grey and snow locations in Europe have developed district heating systems, now with solar thermal collectors and heat storage. Instead of fossil gas pipelines to burners in each house, district heating systems have insulated hot water pipelines to each house for room heating and hot water. Current European R&D includes two-way heat grids where houses with solar thermal collectors can sell surplus heat to the heat grid. Fossil gas explosions are not a concern.
Mineral Point had a district heating system c1930s heating buildings on High Street. Hot water-steam insulated pipes delivered heat for hot water and space heating to each building from a central boiler. There probably was somebody shoveling coal into a basement central boiler.
There does not now appear to be any solar district heating U.S. R&D. Reduction of heating with fossil gas will require increased R&D and bigger incentives for solar heating systems.

Joel H. Goodman
Dodgeville