You couldn’t imagine a more picture-perfect anti-science, dishonest, elitist signal than talk of banning gas stoves. Yet it’s not just Team Biden: It looks like Gov. Kathy Hochul is seeking to pass a ban of her own this year.
On the federal level, the supposed reason the Consumer Product Safety Commission is looking to outlaw stoves now used in more than 40% of US homes is a claim that they cause asthma in kids.
Except they don’t. The science is clear on this. There is “no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and either asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis,” per a multi-year study tracking more than 500,000 kids around the world.
That the banners can cite another study or two that suggest a link is just more proof that liars use statistics. Especially when the main “study” comes from the radical green Rocky Mountain Institute. And it’s pretty clear that Hochul’s ban is entirely about her anti-carbon agenda.
Yet the ban makes no sense from a science-based green perspective, since the electric stoves that would replace gas ones would be overwhelmingly powered by fossil fuels anyway (including, gasp, coal and oil).
So it’s more “emissions theater” at the expense of regular folks. Gas stoves are far superior to normal electric stoves, and the cheapest induction stoves cost about twice as much as basic gas stoves (and also require special pots and pans to work).
After news of the possible ban broke, the feds were quick to insist that the gas-stove ban isn’t coming anytime soon. Believe that if you will — but the crusaders won’t stop.
The same dim thinking already has green pols warring on gas heat, with bans on new gas hookups in place in New York and elsewhere around the country. No matter that it can drive up heating costs alone as much as $1,420 a year — again, for no environmental gain until the nation stops relying overwhelmingly on carbon fuels for its electricity.
Heating or cooking, these bans are only “green” in sentiment, not science — not to mention the huge social injustice. Adding a bogus “health” excuse only adds to the profound deception. How about Hochul and the feds focus on actual solutions for real problems?