The Dumbest Reactions to the Non-Existent Gas Stove Ban

A swift turnaround from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission gave the media whiplash earlier this week. On Monday, a commissioner from the watchdog company, Richard Trumka Jr., indicated CPSC was contemplating new restrictions on fuel stoves over mounting well being considerations.

Then, after an overwrought backlash primarily from the political proper, the federal regulator backed off. “I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the CPSC has no proceeding to do so,” Alexander Hoehn-Saric, CPSC’s chair, wrote in a tweeted statement. Trumka, too, clarified that any CPSC motion wouldn’t affect current stoves, simply new merchandise.

But the injury was performed. Overnight, fuel stoves turned image of attainable authorities overreach. (Mostly) Republican politicians took to Twitter to voice their outrage and opposition to the thought of the feds dictating something about family home equipment. And these reactions, diatribes, and posts are nonetheless coming—regardless of the CPSC saying it, once more, just isn’t planning to ban fuel stoves.

Why the talk?

About 40 million U.S. households at present have fuel stoves. However, scientists have lengthy warned that gas-fueled home equipment can create unhealthy ranges of indoor air air pollution—leaking nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane, and benzene into peoples’ houses. Research has linked fuel stoves to heart disease and cancer. And one latest research estimated that greater than one-fifth of all childhood bronchial asthma instances are brought on by fuel stoves.

In addition to the well being downsides, the home equipment are additionally fairly terrible for the setting. If you haven’t guessed already, the “gas” in fuel stoves means “natural gas,” i.e. methane—the greenhouse fuel more than 25 times stronger than carbon dioxide. The home equipment have an estimated annual local weather affect equal to that of 500,000 gas-powered vehicles, in response to one 2022 study. And in response, Berkeley, California, New York City, and dozens of different municipalities have handed legislations to limit fuel hook-ups in future buildings.

But as a result of fuel stoves run on fossil gasoline, the fossil gasoline trade has worked hard to make sure the appliances remain standard, going so far as paying influencers and trade teams to sing their praises, in addition to pouring cash into political campaigns and lobbying efforts.

Although many legislators have framed their opposition to “banning” fuel stoves as one primarily based in perception in private freedom and the necessity for U.S. vitality independence, keep in mind that fossil gasoline corporations spend tens of millions of {dollars} yearly on election campaigns.

Here are a few of the most notable, stupidest, and outright strangest of the (typically fossil-funded) responses to the fuel range ban that wasn’t.