EcoWatch
Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k Subscribe Subscribe
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
      • Top Companies By State
        • California Solar Companies
        • Texas Solar Companies
        • New York Solar Companies
        • Florida Solar Companies
        • See All States
      • Top Incentives By State
        • California Solar Incentives
        • Texas Solar Incentives
        • New York Solar Incentives
        • Florida Solar Incentives
        • See All States
      • Solar Panel Costs By State
        • Solar Panel Costs in California
        • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
        • Solar Panel Costs in New York
        • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
        • See All States
      • Value of Solar by State
        • Is Solar Worth It In California?
        • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
        • Is Solar Worth It New York?
        • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
        • See All States
      • Company Reviews
        • Tesla Solar Review
        • Sunrun Solar Review
        • SunPower Solar Review
        • Vivint Solar Review
        • See All Companies
      • Common Solar Questions
        • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
        • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
        • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
        • Can You Finance Solar?
        • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
        • Payback On Solar Panels?
      • Solar Resources
        • Interactive Solar Calculator
        • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
        • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
        • Tesla Solar Roof Review
        • Cheapest Solar Panels
      • Companies Compared
        • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
        • SunRun vs SunPower
        • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
        • SunPower vs ADT Solar
EcoWatch
  • Climate
  • Energy
  • Policy
  • Renewables
  • Culture
  • Science
  • Go Solar Today
    • Go Solar Today
    • Top Companies By State
      • California Solar Companies
      • Texas Solar Companies
      • New York Solar Companies
      • Florida Solar Companies
      • See All States
    • Top Incentives By State
      • California Solar Incentives
      • Texas Solar Incentives
      • New York Solar Incentives
      • Florida Solar Incentives
      • See All States
    • Solar Panel Costs By State
      • Solar Panel Costs in California
      • Solar Panel Costs in Texas
      • Solar Panel Costs in New York
      • Solar Panel Costs in Florida
      • See All States
    • Value of Solar by State
      • Is Solar Worth It In California?
      • Is Solar Worth It in Texas?
      • Is Solar Worth It New York?
      • Is Solar Worth It In Florida?
      • See All States
    • Company Reviews
      • Tesla Solar Review
      • Sunrun Solar Review
      • SunPower Solar Review
      • Vivint Solar Review
      • See All Companies
    • Common Solar Questions
      • Can You Get Free Solar Panels?
      • Does Solar Increase Home Value?
      • What’re The Best Solar Batteries?
      • Can You Finance Solar?
      • Where To Buy Solar Panels?
      • Payback On Solar Panels?
    • Solar Resources
      • Interactive Solar Calculator
      • Federal Solar Tax Credit 2023
      • Best Solar Panels For Most Homes
      • Tesla Solar Roof Review
      • Cheapest Solar Panels
    • Companies Compared
      • SunPower vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs Tesla Solar
      • SunRun vs SunPower
      • SunPower vs Momentum Solar
      • SunPower vs ADT Solar

The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    EcoWatch
    • About EcoWatch
    • Contact EcoWatch
    • Terms of Use
    • Privacy Policy
    • Learn About Solar Energy
    Facebook 573k Twitter 238k Instagram 37k
    Home Energy

    Should the U.S. Ban Gas Stoves?

    By: Olivia Rosane
    Updated: January 12, 2023
    Edited by Chris McDermott
    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon
    Close-up of a hold holding a pot of food on a lit gas stove
    A gas stove. Erano Bundoc / EyeEm / Getty Images
    Why you can trust us

    Founded in 2005 as an Ohio-based environmental newspaper, EcoWatch is a digital platform dedicated to publishing quality, science-based content on environmental issues, causes, and solutions.

    Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

    Should gas stoves have a place in the homes of the future?

    It’s a question that set off a national firestorm Monday when Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) member Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg that the commission was considering a ban on new gas stoves over pollution and health concerns.

    “Any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” he said, as HuffPost reported.

    The suggestion led to an immediate backlash, especially from Republican politicians. 

    “I’ll NEVER give up my gas stove,” Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-Texas) tweeted the next day. “If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!

    I’ll NEVER give up my gas stove. If the maniacs in the White House come for my stove, they can pry it from my cold dead hands. COME AND TAKE IT!!

    — Ronny Jackson (@RonnyJacksonTX) January 10, 2023

    He then urged his followers to sign a petition warning that President Joe Biden and the Democrats wanted to “BAN gas stoves in EVERY home! INCLUDING YOURS,” as The Washington Post reported. 

    The language surrounding the outrage is misleading. First of all, any ban on gas stoves would not take away the stoves currently used by 40 million U.S. residents. Instead, it would target the installation of future stoves.

    Secondly, both CPSC and President Biden have since clarified that a ban is not being considered. 

    “I want to set the record straight,” CSPC chair Alexander Hoehn-Saric tweeted Wednesday. “Contrary to recent media reports, I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the @USCPSC has no proceeding to do so.”

    I want to set the record straight.

    Contrary to recent media reports, I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the @USCPSC has no proceeding to do so. Read my full statement: pic.twitter.com/bYS1GLEpXP

    — Alex Hoehn-Saric (@HoehnSaricCPSC) January 11, 2023

    White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also said that Biden did not back a ban, as the Independent reported. 

    “The president does not support banning gas stoves and the Consumer Product Safety Commission, which is independent, is not banning gas stoves,” Jean-Pierre said. “So I just want to be very clear on that.”

    More From EcoWatch
    • Sustainable Home Improvements You Can Make Now
    • The Best Solar Panels for Homes
    • Inflation Reduction Act Rebate and Credit Guide

    However, there are many valid concerns about the appliances. For one thing, renewable energy advocates argue that electric appliances are more climate friendly than gas because they can be run on clean energy as the grid decarbonizes, whereas gas-based appliances will always rely on fossil fuels. Further, a Stanford University study published last year found that gas stoves themselves were an even bigger contributor to the climate crisis than previously thought because they emit methane even when not in use. 

    For another, a growing body of research shows that gas stoves emit dangerous levels of indoor air pollution. That same Stanford University study found that using a gas stove without a hood or proper ventilation could expose you to nitrogen dioxide pollution at levels deemed unsafe by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency outdoors. Another study published in Environmental Research and Public Health this month found that 12.7 percent of U.S. childhood asthma cases could be attributed to the use of a gas stove in the home. 

    Because of these and related concerns, the CPSC did say in mid-December it would weigh regulating air pollution from gas stoves, as The Washington Post reported. 

    “CPSC is researching gas emissions in stoves and exploring new ways to address health risks,” Hoehn-Saric said in his clarifying statement. “CPSC also is actively engaged in strengthening voluntary safety standards for gas stoves. And later this spring, we will be asking the public to provide us with information about gas stove emissions and potential solutions for reducing any associated risks. This is part of our product safety mission — learning about hazards and working to make products safer.”

    Some municipalities and states have or are proposing to take things further. Cities including Seattle, New York and Los Angeles have limited new gas hookups in certain new buildings, The Washington Post reported. On Tuesday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul called for phasing out gas from new small buildings by 2025 and new large buildings from 2028. 

    Given the health and environmental drawbacks, why does gas arouse such a passionate defense? There is an idea that gas stoves are better for cooking, but some of this has been promoted by the natural gas industry. A 2021 investigation from Mother Jones looked at how the industry had spent since the 1930s to boost gas cooking, enlisting everyone from Marlene Dietrich in 1964 to Instagram influencers today. It has also backed laws in seven states to prohibit cleaner building codes that would rule out gas. Consumer Reports concluded that smooth electric stove tops actually heat faster and simmer better than gas ones on average. Gas ovens bake better, but electric ovens broil better, they found further. 

    However, one of the main arguments in favor of gas is that it is easier to control the temperature of the burner quickly by turning the flame up or down, and around 90 percent of professional chefs still use gas stoves, according to The Washington Post. That said, a new type of stove called an induction stove — which heats using the magnetic field between the burners and a pot of the right metal — is gaining culinary support. 

    “You can do so much more on induction than gas,” Evan Hennessey, who co-owns the restaurant Stages in Dover, New Hampshire, told The Washington Post. “The precision cooking allows us to do way more, without compromising the air quality in the kitchen for our guests or our staff.”

    Bans aren’t the only way the government can encourage a shift from gas to electric, however. Currently, the Inflation Reduction Act offers rebates of up to $840 for an electric cooking appliance and up to $500 to help with the conversion from gas to electric, as Consumer Reports noted.

    Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

      By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

      Olivia Rosane

      Olivia Rosane is a freelance writer and reporter with a decade’s worth of experience. She has been contributing to EcoWatch daily since 2018 and has also covered environmental themes for Treehugger, The Trouble, YES! Magazine and Real Life. She holds a Ph.D. in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a master’s in Art and Politics from Goldsmiths, University of London.
      Facebook icon Twitter icon Pinterest icon Email icon

      Read More

      Biden’s EPA Protects Alaska’s Bristol Bay From Controversial Pebble Mine
      The watershed of Bristol Bay, Alaska, is home to the
      By Olivia Rosane
      Study Using AI Warns We Are 10 to 15 Years From Breaching 1.5°C Paris Agreement Goal
      A new study using artificial intelligence (AI) to forecast global
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
      These Artists Are Turning Their London Street Into a Solar Power Station
      The climate crisis, the energy crisis in Europe and rising
      By Cristen Hemingway Jaynes

      Subscribe to get exclusive updates in our daily newsletter!

        By signing up, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy & to receive electronic communications from EcoWatch Media Group, which may include marketing promotions, advertisements and sponsored content.

        Latest Articles

        • Biden’s EPA Protects Alaska’s Bristol Bay From Controversial Pebble Mine
          by Olivia Rosane
          January 31, 2023
        • Study Using AI Warns We Are 10 to 15 Years From Breaching 1.5°C Paris Agreement Goal
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          January 31, 2023
        • These Artists Are Turning Their London Street Into a Solar Power Station
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          January 31, 2023
        • Emirates Successfully Tests Flying Boeing 777 Plane on Sustainable Jet Fuel
          by Paige Bennett
          January 31, 2023
        • U.S. Lawmakers Want Climate Envoy Kerry to Push Back on Naming Oil CEO as Head of COP28
          by Olivia Rosane
          January 31, 2023
        • BP Says Ukraine War and IRA Could Spur Energy Transition
          by Olivia Rosane
          January 31, 2023
        • 99% of U.S. Coal Plants Cost More to Run Than Replace With New Renewables, Study Finds
          by Climate Nexus
          January 31, 2023
        • Rare Earth Minerals Are Abundant Enough to Fuel Green Energy Shift, Study Says
          by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
          January 30, 2023
        EcoWatch

        The best of EcoWatch right in your inbox. Sign up for our email newsletter!

          • Climate Climate
          • Animals Animals
          • Health + Wellness Health + Wellness
          • Insights + Opinion Insights + Opinion
          • Adventure Adventure
          • Oceans Oceans
          • Business Business
          • Solar Solar
          • About EcoWatch
          • Contact EcoWatch
          • EcoWatch Reviews
          • Terms of Use
          • Privacy Policy
          • Learn About Solar Energy
          • Learn About Deregulated Energy
          • EcoWatch UK
          Follow Us
          Facebook 573k
          Twitter 238k
          Instagram 37k
          Subscribe Subscribe

          Experts for a healthier planet and life.

          Mentioned by:
          Learn more