Leave the Gas Stoves Alone

Eggs are high, rent is high, cost of living is high, utilities are high, and now potentially gas stoves will go away?! 2023 may be just as much of a mess as 2019-2022 were.

First and foremost, we know you read that excerpt and thought, "Is someone going to come into my home and take my gas stove away?" and the answer is no. If you already have gas appliances, you're good. For now, at least. If you choose to change from a gas stove to an electric one, apparently there is an $840 rebate you can collect for doing so.

Anyway, the previously mentioned gas stove (really gas appliance) ban would be for new appliances only. The US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) are behind this slightly concerning proposal for a few reasons. The first one would be that gas appliances are not considered to be "made safe" and have proven to have a harmful effect on both human health and the environment. It's a bit annoying as it does make sense - otherwise gas wouldn't be odorized to help identify leaks and we wouldn't need carbon monoxide alarms.

When will this take effect? It looks like not any time soon. The CPSC has yet to gather data concerning the potential hazards associated with gas stoves and following data gathering will need to analyze and propose a feasible solution for any hazards noted. To be clear, this would only impact new appliances and not existing gas stoves.

While there are some obvious hazards (ie: leaks) there may be some less obvious hazards that require public input. An interesting fact in all this is that the CPSC is trying to use equity and the stats that show minorities experience the most negative impact from gas appliances. The statistics listed do not show the type of housing, which could easily skew the statistics. Think of it this way: rental units are managed by a landlord and not the tenant. A bad landlord servicing 100 units is going to drown out 20 homeowners who have the means to maintain their equipment. It isn't a fair comparison to look at individuals alone or type of housing alone; those values should be published separately to get a better understanding of what is really happening. Is it the appliances or negligence of a housing provider?

The other statistic that is being used in these articles is that 40% of American homes rely on gas stoves. Again, a statistic that will likely need to be broken down or verified some way other than via a series of gas bills or assumptions made concerning purchasing habits. You may be wondering why you have been hearing about this proposal that the CPSC has made without much context and the answer is simple: politics. US senators and representatives have caught wind of the proposal and are urging that something be done about the harm that gas stoves are having on the American people. In their reports is where you are likely to see statistics about minority and low-income communities, but again, those statistics have not been clearly broken down so whether or not those numbers hold any sort of significance or statistical power is unclear.

Some politicians have urged the CPSC to evaluate the "disparate health outcomes that occur from the coupling of gas stoves with material realities to which the most vulnerable Americans are subjected, as well as evaluate the health impacts of gas leaks due to gas stove connections." Which is probably the context in which you have heard about this "gas stove ban" and why there is so much confusion around it.

Will something be done about gas stoves and the production of new gas appliances? Only time (and hopefully a well-designed and detailed study) will tell. For now, this is nothing to worry about so enjoy cooking on your gas stove if you have one.

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