The culture wars of gas stoves have begun

New way to show that your political affiliation can come out and it’s close to home. So close, you’ll find it in your kitchen.

The debate about gas stoves has re-ignited this week and has been driven in the US on ideological grounds: while researchers, regulators and Democratic politicians point to problematic gas appliance emissions, conservatives are asserting their right to cook the way they want. Things, well, heat up quickly, like on a gas stove: “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can rip it out of my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!” Congressman Ronnie Jackson of Texas said. Twitter. Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York clapped his hands: “Did you know that constant exposure to NO2 from gas stoves is associated with cognitive decline?[?]”

As with electric vehicles, U.S. President Joe Biden has been promoting new variants of electric vehicles, but some Republicans are calling them expensive and inconvenientThe stove is at the center of a culture war. People have strong feelings for the roaring flames of their gas stoves and enjoy the speed and precision of cooking. For Republicans, this is yet another issue to quibble about as they deconstruct Biden’s climate agenda and portray the government’s policies as over the top.

There is some new information fueling the debate. Scientists have long known that gas stoves emit toxic emissions that can harm Wednesday and people’s health. But there is one benefit to politicians arguing on Twitter; More and more people are discovering how their powerful gas stoves, ideal for searing steaks with hot cast iron cookware, can be detrimental to their health.

“We found that these stoves are not as clean as we thought,” says Eric Lebel, a senior fellow at PSE Healthy Energy, an energy, public health and environmental policy institute that has studied gas stove emissions. . “It’s not just the climate or a health issue. But it’s both at the same time.”

Lebel research discovered gas stoves emit methane, a significant greenhouse gas. These emissions occur even when the ovens are not in use. But with raging burners, gas stoves also release nitrogen dioxide, which can irritate the respiratory system.

Scientists are also beginning to directly link gas stove emissions to health problems. December 2022 studying The RMI Environmental Research Center found that 12.7% of childhood asthma in the US could be related to gas stoves. Australian researchers came to similar conclusions in 2018. studying, finding that 12.3 percent of childhood asthma cases could be related to stoves (this number dropped to 3.4 percent if kitchens had effective ventilation systems). But asthma is a complex disease influenced by genetics, allergies, infections, and exposure to pollutants other than stoves, such as air pollution and smoke.

Gas stoves can also leak benzene, a carcinogenic gas, another studying Lebel worked for the show. In small kitchens with poor ventilation and high-emission stoves, those levels can be comparable to living with a smoker, Lebel says.

Everything is on fire

The recent stove drama was sparked by statements by Richard Trumka, Jr. of the US Consumer Product Safety Commission, who called stoves a “hidden danger” and said: bloomberg This week, “every option is being considered,” including potential bans. He specified that these regulations will apply to new products. Biden does No support plans to ban gas stoves. The Chairman of the Commission issued statement attributing this to “research on gas emissions from stoves and exploring new ways to reduce health risks” rather than seeking to ban gas stoves.

But this is a trend that is already happening. Some US citiesincluding Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle, and New York have implemented various bans on gas appliances in new buildings, and New York Gov. Katie Hochul is backing an ambitious mission to turn all new buildings in the state into fully electric. But people are resisting, and there are a lot of gas stoves. More than a third of Americans there are gas stoves as well as more 30 percent Europeans. Restaurants worries about their ability to cook some dishes without the precision that roaring flames provide, as well as rising electricity bills as electricity costs more than gas.