Matt Dean of The Heartland Institute warns hard-working Americans will pay the price for efforts to ban gas stoves.
In recent years, global warming zealots have sought to ban gasoline-powered cars, gasoline-powered lawn tools, and a whole host of practical, fossil-fuel-dependent products Americans have come to rely on to make their lives better.
Now the climate change brigade has set its sights on gas stoves.
Believe it or not, President Joe Biden’s consumer watchdog bureau is threatening to haul away your gas stove by next Christmas.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission website focuses on the 152,000 toy injuries in 2021 and the 2,400 deaths resulting from home fires. But rather than use a pre-holiday online forum to talk about dangerous toys or sparky space heaters, the CPSC chose to warn people about the dangers of climate change and fossil fuels, starting with your gas stove.
We are now heading into the teeth of an undeniable recession, after two years of historic inflation. But the situationally unaware fabulists cannot be deterred from disconnecting you from things you can burn, starting with gas.
A recent study from Pecan Street found that it could cost nearly $100 billion to transfer the United States from natural gas in just the initial phases of necessary power panel upgrades for homes. Industry representatives estimate that the average family would spend an extra $1,000 per year in energy costs in addition to the unfathomably large up-front money to convert their homes from gas-powered stoves to so-called green energy sources.
Richard Trumka, a commissioner on the Consumer Product Safety Commission, warned Americans about the long-term environmental and health impacts from gas cooking stoves in a recent online message to the Public Interest Research Group. Mr. Trumka asked viewers to “spread the word about this hidden hazard before you gather with family and friends for the holidays.”
The climate action group Mothers Out Front recently asked CPSC to “consider the full range of options at CPSC’s disposal, including mandating lower level CO detectors and requiring warnings on gas stoves, all the way to requiring replacements.” Mr. Trumka seems to have taken that to heart.
Mr. Trumka solicited input on upcoming regulation, saying, “We need to be talking about regulating gas stoves, whether that’s drastically improving emissions or banning gas stoves entirely.” He added, “I think we ought to keep that possibility of a ban in mind because it’s a powerful tool in our tool belt and it’s a real possibility here.” Mr. Trumka warned that new regulation could be “on the books by this time next year.”
The American Medical Association has also adopted resolutions highlighting the potential health hazards of indoor air pollution caused by gas stoves. Lisa Patel, deputy executive director of the Medical Society Consortium on Climate, explained, “So all of these things are really linked in terms of health.”
“And that’s why I look at getting rid of gas stoves as being an important individual action to improve a person’s immediate health, but then a long term action that we can take to improve community health and global health to stop the process of climate change,” said Ms. Patel.
Through codes, statutes and ordinances such as the ban on new gas hookups in New York City, progressive groups are beginning to dismantle our cheapest energy sources to dump expensive power demands on an already overloaded electrical grid. Those who can least afford to pay are once again going to get stuck with the bill while the elitists pushing these ridiculous policies will assuredly find a way to make sure they are able to keep their luxurious gas ranges.
If there is one certainty in life (aside from death and taxes), it is that when it comes to climate change-inspired bans, you can be assured that those in power will not bear the brunt of the misery that these unnecessary bans inevitably bring.
On the other hand, hard-working Americans will always pay the price.
Matt Dean (mdean@heartland.org) is senior fellow for health care policy outreach at The Heartland Institute. This commentary was provided to the News-Press by The Center Square, a nonprofit dedicated to journalism.
