United States To Permanently Ban Gas Stoves?
Gas stoves have been found to emit harmful chemicals like methane, benzene, and nitrogen dioxide, which can be harmful to both the environment and a person's health; as a result, restrictive legislation is beginning to be explored but is already being heavily politicized.
As the debate over electric vehicles and the big governmental push for society to transition to them continues to rage, another electric versus gas-related debate has spawned. The debate centers around gas stoves and whether or not they should be banned in the United States. Scientific evidence has re-emerged to suggest that gas stoves emit harmful chemicals that could negatively impact an individual’s cognitive performance and overall health.
The news that gas stoves can be potentially harmful to a person’s health is actually not news at all. Wired reported that scientists have collected evidence in the past that revealed the toxicities associated with gas stoves. Eric Lebel, who is a senior scientist at PSE Healthy Energy and who has done extensive research related to the chemicals emitted from gas stoves has previously outlined the potential negative effects of utilizing a gas stove.
Some of Lebel’s concerning findings include that gas stoves constantly emit the environment-harming gas methane and when they are in operation produce nitrogen dioxide, according to Wired. Additional studies have found that prolonged exposure to nitrogen dioxide can create an increased risk of asthma in children.
For instance, a study published by RMI in December of 2022 found that 12.7% of asthma cases in children have been linked to gas stoves in homes. Also, gas stoves have been found to release benzene, which Lebel found can have the same effect as a person living with a heavy cigarette smoker. “It’s not just a climate or a health concern. But it’s both at the same time,” said Lebel.
Based on scientific evidence, it’s clear why gas stoves are causing experts concerns, especially concerns related to public health. This is why government agencies are beginning to explore potentially banning the appliances in homes. What’s unfortunate though is that, politicians are using the gas stove debacle to further perpetuate an already stark political divide in the United States.
It’s important to realize that the politicization of a public health issue can be extremely detrimental to society, not only because of its propensity to further divide individuals but also because of the potential for misinformation and disinformation to be spread. This is especially, true in the globalized society in which we now all live.
Contentious debates related to gas stoves are already surfacing on social media outlets like Twitter amongst influential politicians on both sides of the political spectrum. As an example, Texas Congressmen Randy Jackson posted on his Twitter that his gas stove would have to be pried from his “cold dead hands” before he would stop using it.
Those on Randy Jackson’s side when it comes to gas stoves can relax for now. Any legislation related to restricting or banning gas stoves is quite a long way off. Unfortunately, similar to the ongoing contentions related to electric vehicles, that gives loaded opinions about gas stoves a lot of time to ruminate. The great gas stove debate has just begun, in what could very well shape up to be yet another topic that will add to the already abundant political polarization in the United States.
