There are many things in human society that we don’t realize are harming us for a long time, and then once we realize it, they are such a common element of our lives that we have a hard time changing them. We’ve got some obvious examples of this, like smoking, burning coal and fossil gas to produce electricity, and burning oil/gasoline to power our cars. The common element in all of those is pretty obvious — burning stuff. Nonetheless, there’s another burning activity that’s part of many homes that was completely ignored for many years — burning gas to cook.
Rather recently, it’s been determined that, yes, cooking with gas does indeed cause severe health problems. We shouldn’t do it. But is that enough of a message for people who have been cooking on gas for years or probably even decades to stop it and get an induction stove? Probably not. So, some doctors are uniting to try to get the point across.
The organization Physicians for Social Responsibility recently posted the following on LinkedIn: “Gas stove pollution is like having a chain-smoking roommate in your kitchen. With each use, it releases harmful pollutants like nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde, just like constant puffs of smoke filling the air. Just as you wouldn’t tolerate a chain-smoker indoors, it’s crucial to address gas stove emissions to maintain a healthy living environment.”
Just as you wouldn’t tolerate a chain-smoker indoors, it’s crucial to address gas stove emissions to maintain a healthy living environment. #GasStoves pic.twitter.com/E9JD41usjv
— PSR Environment (@PSRenvironment) July 21, 2023
I think that link is excellent, useful, and maybe even critical. Anti-smoking campaigns have been extremely effective in the US in the past few decades, as have policies against smoking indoors. For many, the idea of having a chain smoker in our kitchen is nearly blasphemy, and almost impossible to consider. Yet, it’s easy to overlook common gas stoves as something much more benign and acceptable. They are not.
So, yes, if you still have one in your kitchen, boot the gas stove and go for a better-cooking, cleaner induction stove.
Featured image courtesy of Physicians for Social Responsibility
I don’t like paywalls. You don’t like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don’t like paywalls, and so we’ve decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It’s a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So …
