TAMPA, Fla. — What's heating up social media lately? Natural gas stoves.
In recent days, there has been lots of discussion about the federal government looking into seriously regulating or maybe even banning new gas appliances, citing emissions and health concerns.
“Data on consumer preferences show that people prefer cooking with natural gas,” Richard Meyer with the American Gas Association said.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission has cited at least two issues. First, contending natural gas burners contribute to climate change. And secondly, children’s health.
A study from a decade ago suggests a gas stove in the house increased the child’s risk of asthma by 42 percent.
Another study released in December drew a more direct link between the nitrogen dioxide emitted by gas stoves and 13 percent of childhood asthma cases.
Dr. Nancy Silva, a Tampa Bay area pediatrician, said she’s personally never seen the correlation in her practice.
But in Florida, natural gas stoves aren’t nearly as popular as electric appliances. Nationwide, they’re in about 35 percent of homes. In states like California and New Jersey, it’s closer to 70 percent.
The industry contends the government would be unnecessarily overstepping.
“This is a very expensive proposition for very little environmental gain,” a representative for AGA said.
CPSC Commissioner Rich Trumka, whose comments first ignited the issue, took this matter to Twitter Monday.
“To be clear,” he wrote, “CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves. Regulations apply to new products.”
But with the controversy still fueling political pushback, the head of CPSC clarified Wednesday that they have no plans to ban gas stoves.
While some cities around the nation have already moved to regulate gas stoves on their own, 20 states, including Florida, have passed so-called preemption laws which prohibit cities from banning natural gas.
The Biden administration’s inflation reduction act still encourages people to switch from gas appliances to electric.
It includes a rebate of up to $840 for an electric stove and up $500 more to cover the cost of that conversion.