Overheated: The Battle Over Gas Stoves

Eggs cook in a cast iron pan on a gas-burning stove. (Photo Illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images.)

On Monday, Richard Trumka Jr., a commissioner at the Consumer Product Safety Commission, told Bloomberg that gas stoves were a “hidden hazard” and that “products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”

His statement was seen as an indication that the CPSC was considering a ban on gas stoves, perhaps because Trumka also said, “Any option is on the table.” But in a tweet on Wednesday, CSPC Chair Alex Hoehn-Saric walked that back, saying “I am not looking to ban gas stoves” and added that the commission “has no proceeding to do so.” Even more remarkable: A few hours later, the White House issued a statement saying that President Joe Biden doesn’t support a ban on gas stoves. 

The pilot light for the ban on stoves appears to be out for now, but there is no doubt that some of America’s biggest climate-focused NGOs are working actively at the local, state, and federal levels to prohibit the use of gas appliances in the name of climate change. More on that in a moment. 

First, the claims about health risks from gas stoves should be taken with a commercial-kitchen-sized grain of sea salt. Although some media outlets are claiming the science about health risks is definitive, a closer look at the literature shows that’s not the case. 

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