Energy efficient induction stove (Photo – Green Energy Futures)
Last week the news blew up (no pun intended) that a commissioner on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission floated the idea of a potential ban on gas cooktops in kitchens. The issue is that these cooktops are increasingly linked to unsafe levels of indoor air pollution and childhood asthma.
By Ethan Elkind
However, despite an outcry from right-wing news organizations and various politicians, there is no movement afoot for the government to seize your gas range. If anything, the debate in states like California is about ending ratepayer subsidies for gas hook-ups to new construction and eventually to existing neighborhoods, rather than paying to upgrade them. Eventually, all-electric buildings will be the norm and offer consumers better, more efficient appliances that aren’t putting their health at risk.
Most of the technology to move to all-electric buildings is essentially invisible to us on a daily basis, such as your hot water heater, furnace, etc. But the kitchen cooktop is a deeply personal issue for some people, especially those wedded to cooking with gas.
Fortunately, a far superior technology exists for cooking: the magnetic induction range. I spoke to NPR’s Marketplace this week to discuss the technology, its pros and cons, and the logistical challenges for customers looking to install one. Hopefully this discussion is helpful for anyone interested in purchasing one, or at least getting to the bottom of what was a fake debate about a real issue.
Part of the discussion can be if our choices are reduced by this.
Choices allow us to discover the best solution for our individual needs.
Choices also allow for competition and innovation.
Fewer choices might mean higher potential prices.
Natural gas can be extracted from the ground without releasing oil, and methane is available from landfills and stockyards. Natural gas will likely run out in a few decades, but methane will always be available. Both have a lower carbon content than oil, yet still overheat the climate in the short term. That would be less of a problem if we stopped burning oil and coal.
Electricity is not always clean. It depends on the source. Natural gas and coal are still being used to generate electricity.
Natural gas can be extracted from the ground without releasing oil, and methane is available from landfills and stockyards. Natural gas will likely run out in a few decades, but methane will always be available. Both have a lower carbon content than oil, yet still overheat the climate in the short term. That would be less of a problem if we stopped burning oil and coal. Electricity is not always clean. It depends on the source. Natural gas and coal are still being used to generate electricity.