GAS STOVES EMISSIONS CAUSE 1 IN 8 CASES OF CHILDHOOD ASTHMA IN US HOUSEHOLDS
When I was little, I remember being really, really excited for winter snow. And on one particular day, I woke up to about 9 inches of fresh snow on the ground and my enthusiasm exploded in the way it only can in childhood. I couldn’t wait to get outside and play in snow at last. So I got dressed, got my coat, hat and gloves on, and opened the door to go out and get in the fresh powder. But as soon as the cold air hit my lungs, my throat seemingly closed up and I literally couldn’t breathe! That’s how I found out I had asthma, and it was brutal. Now, new research says that my childhood asthma could have been caused by gas stoves.
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SCIENTISTS HAVE BEEN WARNING OF DANGEROUS GAS STOVE POLLUTION FOR DECADES
Wait, what? Gas stoves? How is this possible? It turns out that as many as 1 in 8 cases of childhood asthma is because of gas stoves? This is more than just a little noteworthy. Gas stoves have been used in the US since the 1800s. And today, roughly 40 million homes have one, which is more than a third of all US households. But since the 1980s, a few scientists have been warning that these gas stoves can be a significant source of indoor air pollution. And recently, the American public has been paying more attention to these warnings.
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GAS STOVES CAN EMIT NITROGEN DIOXIDE, CARBON MONOXIDE, METHANE AND BENZENE
So what are we talking about in terms of indoor air pollution coming from gas stoves? If they are not properly maintained, or the homes they’re in have poor ventilation, we’re talking about unsafe levels of nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, methane and benzene as well. And no, you don’t have to be using the stoves to have the unsafe, indoor pollution. And now we know that gas stoves that emit this noxious crap causes more than 12.7% of all cases of childhood asthma in the US. But, the numbers can be worse, depending where you live. Over 20% of these cases occur in Illinois and California.
And beyond asthma, here is an even scarier statistic about gas stoves. The annual methane emissions coming out of them is about the same as the carbon dioxide coming out of the tailpipes of 500,000 cars.
