LETTER FROM NEW YORK
This is the new culture war in the United States, that of gas stoves. Here are the Republicans accusing the Democrats of wanting to ban the good old stoves, to the point that Joe Biden had to deny: “The president does not support the ban on gas stoves”, said Karine Jean-Pierre, spokeswoman for the White House. Some accuse the right of paranoia, but this is not completely unjustified: there is a crusade in the United States against gas stoves, used by 38% of Americans. In question, the limitation of greenhouse gases – even if American electricity is 60% of fossil origin – and the protection of health.
A study published on December 21, 2022 by theInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health set the stage, estimating that the impact of gas stoves on children’s asthma was equivalent to that of passive smoking. “12.7% of childhood asthma nationally is attributed to gas stove use, which is similar to childhood asthma caused by passive smoking,” write the authors of the study, who estimate that this figure reaches approximately 20% in California, Illinois (Chicago) and New York.
The controversy was ignited by two elected Democrats, Representative Don Beyer (Virginia) and Senator Cory Booker (New Jersey), who in December 2022 asked the Consumer Product Safety Commission to examine the risks to health posed by methane emissions from gas stoves. “It’s a hidden dangerreplied in January one of its members, Richard Trumka Jr, in an interview with the Bloomberg agency. All options are on the table. Products that cannot be secured may be prohibited. »
“God, weapons, gas stoves”
There was public outcry. The chairman of the commission, Alexander Hoehn-Saric, quickly issued a denial: “I am not looking to ban gas stoves and the commission has no procedure to do so”but nothing worked.
The Republicans have tabled a bill to ban the ban on gas stoves, and are having a blast. “God, weapons, gas stoves” (“God, Guns, Gas Stoves”), tweets Republican Representative from Ohio Jim Jordan. “The Biden administration is once again doing everything it can to appease Green New Deal fanatics”, tweeted Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Elected Democrats from fossil fuel-producing states are equally unhappy, like Joe Manchin, Senator from West Virginia: “This is a recipe for disaster. The feds don’t have to tell American families how to cook their dinner. »
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