Gas stoves live to light another day
Even some Democrats realize that the Biden administration’s war on gas stoves is unpopular:
…[O]ver two dozen Democrats in the House of Representatives joined Republicans to approve an amendment preventing the Department of Energy from implementing strict new regulations on gas stoves that most stoves on the market today would not be able to meet.
People love their gas stoves, which have a number of cooking advantages (full disclosure: nevertheless, I have an electric stove.) The arguments against gas stoves seem remarkably weak in the face of that love.
I will add that the energy-efficient dishwashers sold today are terrible; they seem to take forever to go through their cycle, making a nasty sound as they churn away. And low-flow showerheads and toilets? Don’t get me started.
As far as I know they are still trying that here in CO. The Fed backing down does not mean the states and local gov’t can’t ban them.
A number of years ago I finally convinced my Wife that cooking with gas was safe, and good. Now she loves our NG stove top.
Biden’s going after air conditioners next.
The Left never quits. They will be back.
I suspect that the reason why they were going after NG stoves now was so that there would be fewer complaints when they stop all NG production. If no one’s using natural gas, no one will complain when the wells stop pumping it.
So secondary goal stymied, but the primary goal remains.
Here in California, some cities (Berzerkly was the first, IIRC) have banned natural gas lines in all new house construction.
It is freaking insane to assume a bureaucracy in a tiny region on the east coast of the United States is capable of creating one size fits all energy and environmental policies for a landmass as vast and diverse as the United States.
The States absolutely have to push back against all of this.
His argument is that gas stove use is ‘linked’ to ‘13% of child asthma’ cases. A grand total of 6.5% of all minors have asthma, so we have his mealy mouthed contention that the use of gas is ‘linked’ to the allergy problems of 0.85% of the youths in the country. By the way, 70% of the households in this country have no minor children living in them. IOW, it is a potential problem for fewer than 0.5% of the households in the country, any one of whom could avoid renting or purchasing a dwelling with a gas stove, replace the stove, or make use of a hot plate and other appliances in lieu of the stove. The people pushing this have only a pro forma concern for public health. They just like harassing others.
It is freaking insane to assume a bureaucracy in a tiny region on the east coast of the United States is capable of creating one size fits all energy and environmental policies for a landmass as vast and diverse as the United States.
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Don’t know about ‘insane’, but quite unnecessary. Even if you took them at face value, it’s a nuisance problem for a small minority of households. Note, federal health and safety regulation is only appropriate in regard to cross-border trade in merchandise and services, or vending services to travelers. Since the issue they identify affects fewer than 1% of all households, it actually is indicative of a hidden agenda to be attempting to prevent cross-border trade in a manufactured article. Any issue could be addressed by a provision in a state building code or public health advisory.
Art Deco…stop with the facts and reasoning. It only just riles them up further as they have no answer.
For the first time in over 50 years I’m finally getting my gas cooktop. I grew up with a natural gas stove, but since leaving home have had to make do with electric. I do all the cooking and pride myself as being a fairly decent one. I insisted for our new house on a gas cooktop (will be propane as we are building in a rural area). I had to convince my wife as she has never had one and her mother (60 years ago!) told her they were dangerous. Sigh… The good news is that my daughter when she bought her townhouse 2 years ago had her first experience with a gas stove. She told her mother she will never go back to electric as she loves the control. There’s a reason the old saying “now you’re cooking with gas!” means you are doing things right.
Cornhead nails it.
“The Left never quits. They will be back.”
True. In every sphere and on every issue.
On the Nashville shooter post there was some speculation about the Presbyterian denomination of the church that ran the school and whether the choice of denomination may have been about certain sexual doctrine. The doctrinal splits in the Pres church were mostly due to the fact that the liberals prioritize politics over all else and are relentless until they achieve victory.
A pet cause of the left (e.g. gay ordination) would go to the General Assembly for a vote. The conservatives would treat the issue with respect and honor the proponents as if they were truly motivated by a desire to be faithful to His will. Lots and lots of debate and study and prayer. Finally, a vote. The measure fails.
And every two years it would come back. Worse than the energizer bunny. And conservatives would keep treating it in good faith and fully engage in the exhausting process. Again, it would end in a no vote. And come back again and again and again at every General Assembly.
All kinds of legit church work got sidetracked for decades. Good people got burned out. Eventually, it becomes clear to even the most obtuse that the process was never in good faith. And they realize it will never end until the Left wins. So, they just give up and go to form their own denomination.
After enough opponents flee, the left gets their way. There aren’t enough left in the old mainline denomination to defeat the measure.
For the left, politics trumps traditional religion because it IS their religion. And they never quit pushing. Ever.
Just ask the baker in Colorado. Within weeks of winning at the Supreme Court, the assholes started the whole process against him again. They have no shame, no moral character, no respect for law, the constitution, or common decency.
Congress has allowed the federal agencies to run amok; these agencies pass laws (or their equivalent) without any congressional approval.
In this regard, congress has literally abrogated their Constitutional obligation to be the law making branch of govt.
Of course, this is just fine with members of Congress because it allows them to do less work – they just allow the govt agencies to do the work.
As for the dishwashers; there are three ways to wash dishes.
By hand, by machine, or by having to do both.
The latest dishwasher regulations pretty much require that the latter method be used (because today’s dishwashers do a shitty job cleaning and drying dishes/pots/pans, etc).
It used to be that dishwashers pretty much (mostly, that is) obviated the need to do much by hand; not any more.
So, in the final analysis, the new “energy efficient” dishwashers are not energy efficient at all, once you add in the energy used by hand dish washing + the (shitty) machine dish washing energy expenditure.
As for gas stoves; those that are promoting the prohibition of them should be forced to use electric stoves, forced to drive themselves everywhere with an EV, forced to always fly commercial, forced to rely only on wind/solar to for electricity, forced to have only one home 2500 sq ft or less, etc.
Bill Gates was asked if he was a hypocrite because of his lifestyle and use of private planes. He responded by saying he donates millions of $$$ to enviro causes, therefore it’s OK to live a lavish lifestyle.
Well he can go F**k himself; he is basically saying that, by virtue of his wealth, he can pay indulgences to cleanse his greenie soul and live the life of a enviro-profligate billionaire.
Check out the size of his home on Lake Washington (geez, what about rising sea levels??); it’s about 20,000 Sq ft in size.
When the enviro folks like Gates, Obama, Kerry, et. al., begin actually living like they believe their climate, save the earth bullshit, then and only then, should anyone believe them.
The Second Amendment to the Constitution is more important today than anytime in US history.
I never thought I would be saying this, but I am now.
I have designed buildings for the past 50 years. Commercial, residential, multifamily, everything. 90% of upscale homes, those that cost upward of $1mil, have gas ranges in them. Fact is, gas ranges cost more, so you will see them less in less expensive homes. The exception to this is in very old homes, say, more than 50 years old, and in urban areas. Another fact, people that take cooking seriously, professional and otherwise, prefer the precision temperature and flexibility that can be utilized with gas cooking. Ban gas cooking appliances and you’ll see the quality of commercially produced meals decline drastically.
California perspective here–it’s about control. In earthquake country having a gas cooktop is ideal. As soon as it is safe, start cooking. And now you don’t even need an earthquake to experience the benefit of a gas cooktop. Our northern California families have been without electricity for many hours on end–summer, spring rain (of late). Gee–no ability to cook your family meal without the gas. I wish everyone could experience the nonsense that we are about to increase with more electric use (mandatory appliances/vehicles). Absurdity abounds.
We recently installed a new gas stove to replace an old electric one. It cost more (twice as much) to run a 3/4 gas line over the roof from the gas meter to the kitchen. Now we have ordered a new washing machine to replace an old one (7 years) that the repairman said is not worth fixing. I wish somebody would open a used appliance store so we could still buy those 1960 appliances that last forever.
As for asthma, it is a disease of cleanliness, like Polio. Kids raised on farms are rarely affected.
As for gas stoves; those that are promoting the prohibition of them should be forced to use electric stoves.
I’m waiting for the DoE to confiscate “Dr.” Jill’s gas stove.
well thats not going to happen that’s ruling class privilege (like the Capitol)
“For the first time in over 50 years I’m finally getting my gas cooktop.”
Two things on the agenda for the summer (for our house in MT): a gas (propane) range, and a whole house generator. Last two houses in AZ have had gas ranges. The boss has rediscovered how great they are. Her first husband, a classically trained professional chef, wouldn’t cook on anything else. 2nd one had electric and didn’t care. Then, her mother had a brain aneurism, and she replaced the gas appliances with electric for their safety. We are talking maybe 6 years back on gas, in those last two houses in AZ, and she loves it. So, I talked her into replacing the electric stove with a gas range/electric oven combo. And storing the electric stove in my new mega garage, JIC. Another reason for her not to burn it down (she claims that it is unsightly, a big rectangular building, contrasted to her quaint house – but I did paint it to match, and have promised some trees to better hide it).
Except when she forgets the basics. A couple months ago, she called me over to the range because of a clicking noise. Wouldn’t go away. The clicking noise means that the burner is being ignited. The trick is to turn the knob just a bit further, the clicking noise will go away, and you can adjust the flame. Gas Stoves 101.
as with everything else in california, it is criminal malfeasance, (they could only find 20 dems that were sane (or pass as such)
Rarely is a gas stove replaced with an electric.
Frequently, electric is replaced by gas, despite higher cost of appliance as well as
labor charge to run gas line.
I agree with Sharon W. Control and a means to that end is just getting rid of fossil fuels like natural gas. Ban stoves now, incrementally take away the need for natural gas, then mandate all electric homes (except for the grandfathered homes, that will be owned by section 8 area voters and the filthy rich). Thereafter, good luck staying warm and fed during the next hard freeze or regional disaster.
None of this necessary, so good to see legislators pushing back.
We built our house in 1993, when the toilets were being “improved” and I remember our builder telling me that he was able to score decent toilets for us, and boy, am I glad he had connections. He said they were the last ones he could find. We brought to the new house our 15 year-old Maytag washer and an older Frigidaire dryer. Both of them worked well for another 15 years. We’ve had 2 more newer washers since then and one new dryer. The dryer is fine but the front loader washer was terrible. I was used to clothes getting clean! Imagine that! Now, I have a top loader whose barrel is so deep that I have to stand tip-toe to get the clothes out and then, after an hour of processing, they aren’t clean. I have to use a pretreatment spray, extra detergent, and Arm and Hammer washing soda and occasionally Oxyclean or Clorox. Sorry for the rant.
The greens expanded their strategy, including direct action in blue states and cities. They figure if they can shove this stuff thru in the most populous states and cities, even if they lost the occasional SCOTUS opinion or have laws repealed, it doesn’t matter, as they control the game in an increasing number of states and cities. Never forget that this is a religious argument for them.
Related observation: Natural gas like gasoline provide a safety margin in the event of disaster, though sadly, the left never considers any negative impact from their diktats. If your electricity goes out (which it will with wind and solar, and other natural disasters), you can still heat your home, your water, and cook. ICE engines don’t require an operable grid to get you from here to there, though you do have to figure out when and where to refuel. The amazing thing to me is that the current system has the robust safety margin it does in the event of an emergency. What the greens have in mind for us cuts chunks out of that margin every single thing they demand. I don’t think it is accidental (Rainmakers – Government Cheese). Cheers –
My home is heated, my water warmed, and my backup generator all run on propane. Our cooktop is also propane. The oven is electric because that is better for the task than a gas version. When the power goes out here the fact that we run on propane means: we have heat, we have water (we are on a well), we have lights, and we can cook.
The only part of this I find interesting is that the effort to ban gas cooktops – at least at the Federal level – is based on a health concern rather than Climate Change®. Is this some sort of tacit acknowledgement that human caused climate change is a lie?
I’m reminded of a fact I heard in Mike Duncan’s podcasts about the English civil war. Charles I apparently sold monopoly rights on the manufacture and sale of soap. The particular product was so bad a black market developed. It seems autocratic government hasn’t changed any in all these centuries.
We just had a new gas stove installed today. Here in Michigan between DTE and Consumers Energy, electricity is expensive and power outages are frequent, often lasting for days. Even now you can’t rely on electricity, and it’s only going to get worse in the future.
My ex-wife’s Grandmother, Grandma Williams, cooked all her life with a wood stove. She was in her late 80s in the 1980’s at the time and had refused all offers from her children to change to gas or electric stove. ‘All the work of splitting and hauling the wood up from the basement, and so much more comvenient, Mom.’ It wasn’t entitely a question of money; as she was very frugal, having been widowed in the late 1930s with two young children, she was an excellent cook with that stove. A woman of great character.
Steve Walsh –
It’s not just “health concerns”. It’s “for the children”. When legit, that’s typically one of the strongest draws.
Forcing Americans to surrender gas stoves is a means of the ruling Open Border$ Globali$t elite to rake in mega-riches from monopolizing and selling American natural gas to foreign powers, for which the elite’s “health hazard” rationale against gas stoves is a transparent fig leaf.
My wife grew up with electric. We redid our kitchen and I insisted on replacing the electric cooktop with gas (I hardly ever get involved with interior design choices). She quickly became a convert and would never switch back.
Craigslist and OfferUp are good sources for older washers and dryers. Residential Front loaders are expensive to fix, and usually don’t clean as well.
For gas stoves I now buy from a used appliance store to avoid issues.
Donald Trumps straight talk on shower heads made me into a supporter of his. It’s such a huge issue, that I’ve never heard any other politician mention.
Chris B, funny you should mention power outages. Our neighborhood just had a 3 hr outage. We are having high winds so probably wires down/crossed, transformer out. We could have cooked but it was the evening and didn’t need too this time. Love the NG stove top
Still think I’ll replace my 21 year old gas oven/range soon – I don’t trust these b$$tds as far as I can throw them!
Susanamantha,
My original washer lasted 19 years, the next one 7 and the current is 5.
They are getting worse instead of better.
At least for now you can still find top loaders with a full size center post agitator but it takes some looking. Ditto for water level choice and second rinse options. Which will actually get clothes clean.
I have no patience with friends and family that complain about appliances and still vote Dem.
At the top, SHIREHOME: “As far as I know they are still trying that here in CO.”
It started in Colorado by politics at the eco-wacko Rocky Mountain Institute.
It’s a Hail Mary pass attempt, if only because the rate of asthma in states with the most NG stoves is significantly lower than TPW here use is lowest (California)
A hypothesis refuted by ugly fact.
Auntie Analog –
I doubt they’ll try and sell natural gas abroad. Pipelines are the only convenient way to get it around. Sending it to Europe and Asia won’t happen in amounts that matter to us because the stuff is difficult and expensive to safely ship. It’s possible to ship it. But it’s not practical in bulk. And the US (and I’m guessing Canada) produces absurd quantities of the stuff to the point where the stuff we could ship out is just a small fraction of what we produce.