Letters to the Editor: A gas stove ban wouldn't be such a bad idea

Los Angeles Times Opinion
·2 min read
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EL SEGUNDO, CA - JUNE 02: The LA City Council unanimously voted to ban gas stoves in new Los Angeles buildings and require only electric stoves and ovens. Cooking columnist Ben Mims tests the difference between the gas burner and electric induction stovetop in the Times kitchen. Photographed on Thursday, June 2, 2022 at LA Times Test Kitchen in El Segundo, CA. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)
In Los Angeles, most gas appliances, including gas stoves, are banned in new homes. (Myung J. Chun / Los Angeles Times)

To the editor: It's time to take more seriously the idea that gas appliances should be removed from the market. We cannot pretend their effect on our health and the climate is not dangerous. It is!

By electrifying our homes, we can lower the instances of childhood asthma and respiratory diseases, and stop one of the biggest causes of the climate crisis — methane emissions.

We are too far along in destroying our planet for only "limits and standards" on gas appliances. They need to be eliminated, and if that means no more gas stoves, I'm all for it.

Mary Clifford, Laguna Beach

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To the editor: The discussion of gas ranges here and elsewhere fails to note that electricity is not very "green" either.

In 2021, only 20% of electricity in the United States was generated by clean, renewable sources. The rest comes from nonrenewable resources. In 2020, 44% of our electricity was generated by natural gas, and 19% came from coal.

The same math holds for electrical cars. While electricity in our homes and cars does not pollute locally, generating it is a major component of atmospheric pollution.

Fred Abramson, La Quinta

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To the editor: Perhaps the most dangerous effect of gas stoves is methane emissions.

Methane is a greenhouse gas that is 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide in warming the planet. Methane leaks from stoves even when they are off, which means the gas is constantly in the air we breathe, possibly causing respiratory diseases and contributing to asthma in children.

We had excellent experiences with electric stoves in the past and intend to replace our gas stove with an electric one as soon as possible.

Diane Ohanian, San Diego

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To the editor: I would wholeheartedly support a U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission ban on gas stoves and any legislation or regulations required to stop methane emissions from gas appliances.

Even though we were longtime fans of cooking with fire, we finally replaced our relatively new but leaky gas stove with an induction stove, and we love it.

The repairman could not resolve the small leak in the stove, so we decided not only to improve our indoor air quality, but also to take this crucial step in response to the climate crisis.

Susan Hess, Grand Junction, Colo.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.