The Federal Government Is Considering A NATION WIDE Ban On Gas Stoves. Yes...Gas Stoves.

Source - A U.S. Consumer Product Safety commissioner told Bloomberg gas stove usage is a "hidden hazard."

"Any option is on the table. Products that can't be made safe can be banned," agency commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. said in a Bloomberg interview. The report said the agency plans "to take action" to address the indoor pollution caused by stoves. CNN has reached out to the CPSC for comment.

The CPSC has been considering action on gas stoves for months. Trumka recommended in October that the CPSC seek public comment on the hazards associated with gas stoves. The pollutants have been linked to asthma and worsening respiratory conditions.

Stop. Right. Now....Enough. Is this where we're going as a country? Really? Banning gas stoves? That's what we're spending our time and resources on? I know we're not supposed get political on the blog, but a blind man could see that America has more pressing issues right now. Depending on who you ask those issues may include The Border, Ukraine, homelessness, inflation, crime, the entire political system as a whole...you get the idea. Which is why this proposed ban seems so strange to begin with. 

Here's the CPSC's argument...

A December 2022 study in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found that indoor gas stove usage is associated with an increased risk of current asthma among children. The study found that almost 13% of current childhood asthma in the US is attributable to gas stove use.

I can live with those numbers. I'd also like to check the BMI of that 13% to see if there are any other "contributing factors." The good news is, if the ban were to move forward it would be a lengthy process. They still have data to collect and "perspectives from the public" which I'm sure will go swimmingly. Basically it all comes down to gas stoves emitting what is now considered a harmful amount greenhouse emissions. 

Here's what the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers had to say about that..

In a statement to CNN Business, the Association of Home Appliance Manufacturers said an improvement in ventilation is the solution to preventing indoor air pollution while cooking.

"A ban on gas cooking appliances would remove an affordable and preferred technology used in more than 40% of home across the country," Jill Notini, industry spokesperson, said in a statement. " A ban of gas cooking would fail to address the overall concern of indoor air quality while cooking, because all forms of cooking, regardless of heat source, generate air pollutants, especially at high temperatures."

And round and round we go! Chances are this stalls in the courts forever, but I wanted to point it out nonetheless. 2023 is off to a HOT start.