California Legislators Vote To Slap a Giant Warning Label on All Gas Stoves
A bill prohibiting the sale of gas stoves that don’t prominently display a label awaits the signature of California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D). California is famous for its overzealous labeling laws, but this proposed label is particularly unhelpful.
“WARNING,” it reads. “Gas stoves can release nitrogen dioxide, benzene, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde, and other harmful pollutants into the air, which can be toxic to people and pets. Stove emissions, especially from gas stoves, are associated with increased respiratory disease. Young children, people with asthma, and people with heart or lung disease are especially vulnerable to the toxic effects of combustion pollutants. To help reduce the risk of breathing harmful gases, allow ventilation in the area and turn on a vent hood when gas-powered stoves and ranges are in use.”
Legislators spelling “gases” the British-English way is dismissible (though odd); their attempt to bend consumer preferences to serve their overcautious health and environmental agenda demands attention.
Assembly Bill 2513, proposed by Assemblymember Gail Pellerin (D–Santa Clara), was more specific and qualified in its assertions when introduced in February. The original bill referenced the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standards for outdoor air quality; qualified causal claims about causing respiratory illness with a “may”; and mentioned “harmful” only once and “toxic” not at all, whereas the enrolled bill deploys both alarming adjectives twice.
Despite the histrionics of the bill, 38 percent of U.S. homes use natural gas. NPR attributes Americans’ affinity for gas stoves to a “decades-old ‘cooking with gas’ campaign.”
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