<
https://theconversation.com/why-gas-stoves-matter-to-the-climate-and-the-gas-industry-keeping-them-means-homes-will-use-gas-for-heating-too-197866>
"Gas stoves are a leading source of hazardous indoor air pollution, but they
emit only a tiny share of the greenhouse gases that warm the climate. Why,
then, have they assumed such a heated role in climate politics?
This debate reignited on Jan. 9, 2023, when Richard Trumka Jr., a member of the
U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, told
Bloomberg News that the agency
planned to consider regulating gas stoves due to concerns about their health
effects. “Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” he noted.
Politicians reacted with overheated outrage, putting gas stove ownership on a
par with the right to bear arms and religious freedom. CPSC Chair Alexander
Hoehn-Saric tried to douse the uproar, stating that he was “not looking to ban
gas stoves” and that his agency “has no proceeding to do so.” Neither does the
Biden administration support a ban, a White House spokesperson said.
Nevertheless, congressional Republicans raced to the barricades, introducing
bills with titles like the Guard America’s Stoves (GAS) Act and the Stop Trying
to Obsessively Vilify Energy (STOVE) Act.
This skirmish may seem like a tempest in a teapot, but it reveals important
contours of the battlefield on which climate politics are waged. As I explain
in my book, “Confronting Climate Gridlock: How Diplomacy, Technology, and
Policy Can Unlock a Clean Energy Future,” gas stoves matter to climate and to
the gas industry because they serve as gateway appliances to the dominant
residential uses of natural gas: heating and hot water."
Via Kenny Chaffin.
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
