[Stoves] ***SPAM*** WaPo: The Climate 202: Gas stoves pose a big risk to the planet and your health, study says

[K McLean]

Gas stoves in kitchens pose a greater risk to the planet and your health
than previously thought
[image: A kitchen stove that is powered by natural gas. (Sean Gallup/Getty
Images)]

A kitchen stove that is powered by natural gas. (Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Research suggests that gas-burning stoves in kitchens across America may
pose a greater risk to the planet and public health than previously
thought, your Climate 202 host reports this morning
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.

Gas stoves release more methane, a potent greenhouse gas, than the
*Environmental
Protection Agency* estimates, according to the study published today in the
journal *Environmental Science and Technology*. The appliances also emit
significant amounts of nitrogen dioxide, an air pollutant that can trigger
asthma and other respiratory conditions.

*The findings come as scientists and climate advocates increasingly urge
homeowners to switch to all-electric stoves, water boilers and other
appliances, even as the natural gas industry fights in New York and across
the country to keep the blue flames of gas-burning stoves as a staple of
American homes.*

“If you have the financial ability to swap out a gas stovetop for an
electric induction cooktop, I do think it's a good idea,” said *Rob Jackson*,
a co-author of the study and professor at Stanford. “It's a good idea for
the planet and for air quality.”

*The American Gas Association*, a trade group that represents more than 200
companies, has defended the industry’s efforts to reduce its climate
impact, noting that annual methane emissions from natural gas distribution
systems have declined 69 percent since 1990 and that residential natural
gas use amounts to only a small portion of U.S. emissions.

“We are committed to going even further by investing nearly $30 billion
each year to modernize our system and $4.3 million every day to help our
customers and communities shrink their carbon footprint through energy
efficiency improvements,” *Karen Harbert*, the association’s president and
CEO, said in a statement.

Here's what to know about the paper and its implications for climate
science and policy:


Methane emissions and the EPA

The researchers measured emissions from stoves in 53 homes across seven
California counties. They used their findings to estimate that gas stoves
in the United States release more than 28,000 metric tons of methane
annually — a comparable climate impact to the emissions from about 500,000
gas-powered cars driven for a year.

*Tim Carroll*, a spokesman for the EPA, noted that the agency previously
has not included emissions from inside homes and buildings, known as
“post-meter” emissions, in its Greenhouse Gas Inventory
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an annual report on emissions from every sector of the U.S. economy. He
said the agency plans to update its approach this year.

“EPA looks forward to reviewing the new study,” Carroll said in an email.
“While post-meter leak emissions (including leak emissions from stoves) are
not currently included in the GHG Inventory, EPA plans to incorporate an
estimate for these post-meter emissions in the upcoming 2022 GHG Inventory.”
Environmental justice implications

The EPA does not regulate indoor air pollution because it lacks the
authority to do so under the *Clean Air Act*, which only covers sources of
outdoor air pollution such as automobiles, power plants and other
industrial facilities. But in 2018, the EPA set a one-hour outdoor exposure
limit of 100 parts per billion for nitrogen dioxide.

Notably, the study found that families who don’t use their range hoods or
who have poor ventilation can surpass the one-hour outdoor standard within
a few minutes of stove usage, particularly in cramped kitchens, which are
more common in poorer communities.

“It’s definitely an environmental justice issue because lower-income
households are more susceptible,” said* Eric Lebel*, a senior scientist at *PSE
Healthy Energy*, a research institute in Oakland, Calif., who worked on the
study as a graduate student at Stanford.
Gas ban battles

In recent years, cities around the country have sought to curb gas use in
new buildings, prompting pushback from the gas industry — a trend to watch
in 2022.
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   - New York City last month became the largest municipality in America
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to
   prohibit gas hookups in new buildings. And last week, New York *Gov.
   Kathy Hochul* (D) proposed the first-ever statewide gas ban
   <https://s2.washingtonpost.com/35d7b7f/61f294c29d2fda14d70c2591/596a7559ae7e8a0ef33ea145/18/41/61f294c29d2fda14d70c2591>
by
   2027, a move that climate activists cheered while calling for a faster
   timeline.
   - The gas industry has waged a campaign
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in
   statehouses across the country to preempt such bans, arguing that they deny
   consumers choice of a reliable fuel. Republican-controlled legislatures in
   states including Alabama, Kentucky and Texas have passed industry-backed
   bills to prevent cities from restricting fossil fuel use.
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