By Jenny Beth Martin for Real Clear Politics
First they announced they were coming for our natural gas stoves; Later, after a firestorm of opposition erupted, he denied it. Don’t believe in denial. They’re definitely coming for our gas stoves — just as they’ve come for our dishwashers, our shower heads, our toilets, and our gasoline-powered cars.
The latest blowup occurred last week, when Consumer Product Safety Commission Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr. told Bloomberg News that his agency was considering proposing a ban on gas stoves.
“It’s a hidden danger,” Trumka said. “Any option is on the table. Products that cannot be made safely may be banned.
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Trumka said the “safety” concern is that gas stoves are unsafe because they stay hot for a while after being turned off (and, therefore, can cause burns) — a problem unique to electric range tops — but they can create indoor air pollution, which can cause asthma, especially in children.
The Environmental Protection Agency doesn’t see it that way. “Gas stoves (and gas fireplace inserts) do not require EPA certification,” the EPA states. “Whether designed to burn natural gas or propane, they burn very cleanly, emitting very little pollution.”
Or the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood found “no evidence of an association between the use of gas as a cooking fuel and asthma symptoms or asthma diagnosis.”
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If the CPSC really doesn’t care about the pollution aspect of cooking with natural gas — and it doesn’t — what is the agency’s real problem? Simple: natural gas itself, because natural gas is a fossil fuel, and if you decide to switch everything to electricity you cannot allow the continued use of fossil fuels.
Yes, that’s right, the bureaucracy of the CPSC, known for exploding mannequins annually before the Fourth of July to warn the public about the dangers of improper use of fireworks, has entered its bid to join the green army.
The move against gas stoves is the latest Biden administration move against natural gas. A month ago, the Department of Energy proposed banning federal buildings from using fossil fuels.
Yet the feds are late to the game on the natural-gas-for-electricity front. Across the nation, more than 100 progressive municipalities and states have taken steps to “require or encourage the displacement of fossil fuels for all-electric homes and buildings,” according to the Rocky Mountain Institute, a progressive think tank pushing the green energy agenda.
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For example, the New York City Council decided in 2021 to ban natural gas hookups in new buildings shorter than seven stories by the end of 2023; Larger buildings will be given an additional four years to come into compliance. California’s Air Resources Board unanimously approved a proposal last September to ban the sale of all new natural gas furnaces and water-heating appliances by the end of the decade.
https://thepoliticalinsider.com/dont-look-now-but-biden-may-end-up-being-the-greatest-president-ever/In November, Montgomery County, Maryland, became the first county on the East Coast to have nearly all new construction. To ban fossil fuels, the ban will go into effect by 2026. And New York Gov. Cathy Hochul last week called for “the nation’s most aggressive ban on fossil fuels in new buildings,” according to Energy Wire, urging her state lawmakers to phase out the sale of fossil fuel heating equipment in commercial buildings by 2030 and existing residential buildings by 2035. The governor proposed that new residential and commercial buildings should be fully electric by 2025 and 2030, respectively.
Gas-stove grabbers are using a carrot-and-stick approach — subsidies (in the form of tax credits, notably the federal tax rebate of up to $840 for the purchase of a new electric range, found in the absurdly named Inflation Reduction Act. ) combined with coercion (regulations, restrictions and whole (in the form of bans) combined, prompting less decisive/more easily swayed gas-stove lovers to give up and switch to gas-stove lovers.
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According to Trumka, the CPSC plans to ask for public comment on the “dangers” posed by gas stoves later this year. This is our chance to tell Biden and his bureaucrats what we think of his plan to take away our gas stoves, a chance to follow the advice of Ronald Reagan, who famously argued about gas stoves. – “When you cannot see the light, make them feel the heat.”
Syndicated with permission from RealClearWire.
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