Gas stoves and gas powered cars emit harmful pollutants. For now, it’s your call to breathe in those harmful pollutants.
But just speaking for myself, I’m trying to avoid getting asthma, COPD, cancer, etc. and I’d also prefer NOT to be wheeling around oxygen tanks in a hospital when I’m old(er).
And we’ll all be paying those higher insurance premiums, because humans just don’t seem to want to take their health seriously (e.g., 42% of adults are obese).
We looked into it but would have had to get our own gas tank on our property if we wanted gas for any appliances. We opted instead to use electricity, solar and photovoltaic. We store our gas lawnmower beside our electric one (my H mostly uses his newer electric mower) in the open air patio that has lots of ventilation.
We are fine with and used to our electric appliances. Only H has experience with the gas stove and water heater he had from childhood until we married over 30 years ago.
I’ve seen some cool photos about new ways that they’re making wind turbines. They take up less space and look like intriguing art.
Strangely enough, I never heard of stories about gas stoves being harmful to one’s health until after the recent movement to ban them started. I figure if gas stoves were really that dangerous, we would have heard about it long before that. This comes off to me like the media jumping on a bandwagon and doing the bidding of government officials who who want to ban gas stoves. It’s manipulating science for political ends.
I live in California, and my house has a gas furnace, gas water heater, and gas stove. I very much resent the way our governor has mandated that I have to spend thousands of dollars retrofitting the electrical system in my house to be able to replace these with an electric furnace, water heater and stove, not to mention the EV that I’m eventually going to be forced to buy. I also have very little faith that the electrical grid in California, which is already tottering, will be improved enough to be able to handle the increased load. BTW, I’m in a program where I pay $3-$5 extra every month to have all my electricity generated through solar and wind, so it’s not like I’m a “Drill, baby, drill” type. I just don’t like being forced to pay so much simply so the governor can look like a hero to his progressive base.
I guess it depends on what you’re reading. I heard about the indoor air quality decrease due to gas stoves a while ago. In fact, sometime in the past 2? years there was a big study that showed the decrease in indoor air quality for homes with gas stoves compared to homes with electric stoves. And there was another study within the past few years that showed a significant decrease in air quality in homes, I think it was in the Boston area, that were connected to gas lines because of inevitable and extensive leaks in the line and appliances.
I think the reason we’re hearing more about it in the media now is because these studies are piling up and there is pressure on lawmakers to do something about it. As lawmakers consider options, it becomes a news story.
I read about indoor pollution from gas stoves long before the current political stuff about gas stoves came up. Basically, burning gas is not as clean as the gas industry would like you to believe (though cleaner than burning coal or oil). At the very least, you want to run the hood fan while the gas stove is on, even if you have no other reason to run the hood fan.
I wouldn’t put indoor air pollution from burning natural gas at home high on the priority list from either the personal health perspective or the global climate change perspective. There’re much greater contributors to the increases in respiratory diseases and climate changes than these home gas burning devices that have been used for more than a century. We don’t have unlimited resources to solve every problem immediately. We need to prioritize and use our limited resources for maximum impact. Banning home gas burning devices at this time is more than foolish.
I cook breakfast, lunch, dinner, tea, coffee, etc. most days and nights at home. And I always run the hood fan and crack a window or two when at the stove for at least a decade or more.
IMO, it doesn’t take a genius to see the smoke and vapors rising from the cookware and think “I don’t want that crap in my lungs.”
We should all know about the pollution when the gas stove is in use, but how about when you’re not using it?
Gas stoves are substantial health hazard to me. At the saying goes, “charity begins at home.” I don’t want to endanger myself or my family’s health.
Benzene and it’s cousins as well as polycyclic compounds are plentiful in gasoline… just saying.
The link says all NG appliances and NG leaks in California emit as much of this crap as 60,000 cars. That is a tiny portion of more than 1.5 million ICE cars in California!
When I mentioned the issue of indoor pollution due to gas stoves, my husband said not to ever be near a campfire then. 
I have never liked gas stoves. I love my electric flat top stove. That thing is so easy to clean. I would never have another kind. I cook a lot. I’m not a gourmet cook or anything, but we definitely cook at home way more than we eat out. I just give that sucker one wipe after dinner like cleaning a counter top and she’s good. Had a housemate once who was making some kind of dairy based soup that boiled over when we had a stove with burners (can’t remember if it was electric or gas) and that dairy stuff got all down under the burners and was a real pain to clean. Smelled so nasty.
Like what, besides other pollution, often from fossil fuels?
And they aren’t banned, except in new construction, right? If folks who have them already want to keep breathing in the fumes, you definitely can.
Contributors to respiratory diseases? Smoking - of any kind. Viral infections. Lack of immunizations… just to name a few.
Not to say that pollution is not a contributing factor, but I think we are tilting at the wrong windmills here.
Household chemicals, for example. The vapors from these chemicals are more harmful to your long-term health. BTW, these chemicals are most often made from petroleum products.
The most harmful (health-wise) byproduct from burning natural gas is carbon monoxide due to incomplete combustion, which obviously in large quantity can be deadly but is a simple chemical that we know very well how it’d interact with our bodies. The chemicals in those household chemical products are often manmade and much more complex molecularly. Their long-term effects on our health are subtler and potentially more harmful.
Natural gas prices have increased dramatically in California recently (I haven’t really looked into why but I recently gave a small electric space heater to an older neighbor whose gas bill went through the roof, but told her that I don’t think it will be much cheaper). A lot of the older homes in our neighborhood that have natural gas heating are rekindling their old fire-places for cheaper heat. Our whole neighborhood smells like a campfire. Pretty sure wood burning is a lot more detrimental to the environment than natural gas. As for gas stoves, I cook a lot and love my gas burners. I’m pretty sure the newer electric stoves are pretty good for cooking but the older ones that I used to cook on just don’t compare. I will not be changing my stove anytime soon.
I’m pretty sure word is out on those, especially smoking, and it has been banned in many places plus is illegal for kids to buy them (not that it stops them, but there are laws).
Agreed, and there are natural options for many. They might require more elbow grease, but they work.
We’ve changed quite a bit around our house now that I think about it.
And I’m still ok with places that have opted to ban new natural gas stoves.
When there’s a better way for planet and human health, seems odd to me to not want to use it for future.
We have come a long way, but you would be surprised how many closeted smokers are out there, and pot and vapes are very popular despite campaigns to educate about their risks.
Also, natural or GRAS which maybe Ok upon skin contact does not mean safe for inhalation; I try to avoid aerosols of any kind. Febreeze? No thanks.
Gosh almighty, yes! I just got our PG&E bill, which was ASTRONOMICAL. That was after last month’s which was also ASTRONOMICAL, but less than this time.
I am used to a year-end “true up” from PG&E…but two bills in a row with these enormous costs are worrying, to be sure.
We have a gas stove, a gas water heater and two gas furnaces.
How high is “ASTRONOMICAL”?
It should not be a surprise to see high gas bills in the winter.
$600 and now $800. The former was kinda’ expected. But not the latter.
Yes, it’s been cold in NorCal, but not like elsewhere. We keep our thermostats quite low.