Coordinated Campaign to Ban Gas Stoves

Two weeks ago, Bloomberg published an article stating that the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is considering a ban on natural gas stoves based on the comments of one commissioner. A firestorm ensued because, let’s face it, just about anybody who’s halfway competent in the kitchen knows gas stoves are far superior to electric. I almost didn’t buy my condo because it doesn’t have gas hookups and am still somewhat bitter about being forced to an electric stove.
 
Two days later, the Administration went into clean-up mode with the White House stating that President Biden doesn’t support a ban and the Chairman of the commission clarified that CPSC is not looking to ban gas stoves and has no proceeding to do so. Phew! Escaped that one. 

In reality, this issue isn’t going away. While the commission may have had to walk it back for now, many states and municipalities are considering bans on hook-ups and new appliances. More importantly, the doubt has been cast in people’s minds, so mission accomplished for the environmental left. A gullible press parroted biased studies as proof that gas stoves are harmful, no matter that the preponderance of evidence shows they are no more harmful than electric stoves. Ventilation is the key to mitigating the small amounts of emissions that arise from cooking, whatever the source.
 
I’d like to recognize the work of Steve Everley with FTI Consulting. He had clearly been ready for this and released a tweet thread with all the relevant facts about the science. You should read the whole thing, but here are a few of the main points:
 

• The best study available shows “no evidence of an association between the use of gas stoves as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis.”
• Peak NO2 emissions from gas stoves are 15 parts per billion (ppb), well below the 100 ppb standard, and are mitigated by ventilation.
• What you cook has more to do with emissions than what type of stove you use. For example, olive oil has 17 times higher PM 2.5 emissions than gas stoves.
• A UCLA paper linking gas stoves to asthma was commissioned by the Sierra Club yet still shows emissions below health standards, despite the headlines.
• Other studies that generated headlines claiming health hazards are actually more nuanced and all point to the need for kitchen ventilation. They also were funded by environmental groups trying to ban natural gas, including Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI).
• RMI has pushed nearly 100 cities and counties to ban new natural gas hookups, including Denver which is now considering a ban on all residences.

 
Once biased studies and their headlines get out, they exist in perpetuity, no matter how preposterous. CNN and other media outlets trumpeted the headlines uncritically. Remember the Cornell professor funded by environmental groups who released a study claiming that natural gas emitted more GHGs than coal? Despite his study being debunked by research teams at MIT, Carnegie Mellon, and others, his study lives on and is still quoted today by those claiming natural gas is dangerous.
 
It's also no coincidence when we see these narratives pushed in the media. The Alliance’s news service, Western Wire, was a pioneer in uncovering the source. Using open records requests filed by Energy Policy Advocates, Western Wire exposed how RMI and other groups collaborated with state officials on a campaign to ban natural gas for home heating and cooking. We outlined the role of RMI in these efforts.
 
Despite the mainstream media’s inability to deal critically with the issue, there are independent media sources that have gone deeper. This Substack article is of note for its depth. While it won’t be read by the average media consumer, such work and the base research from Western Wire help provide background to those reporters who still care about getting at the full story. Kudos to Steve for his excellent work.

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Author

Kathleen Sgamma, President