A Stanford University Study that is focusing on the environmental impact of common household and commercial items linked the usage of gas stoves to methane released into the atmosphere. Eric Lebel Ph.D, who is the lead author of the study along with Senior Professor Rob Jackson conducted an experiment to prove their hypothesis using stoves with a range of ages and brands from homes in the California area. The Stanford team concluded that even in the process of turning it off and on, there is emission. The methane emissions come from when the stove was being used in the form of combusted methane, which is a co-conspirator to the impact of carbon on the atmosphere.
Stoves are an integral part of a lot of Califorians and Americans daily lives, so it is interesting that now we are looking at the environmental trade-offs. The article notes that it is “unburned methane” that is being released when the stove is turned on, which I would parallel to the methane released by cows and consider those emissions in California alone to be high. I also think of restaurants who also industrially emit methane through stoves. This also adds to the environmental impact of consuming food, since the practice of getting it emits methane or pollutes and cooking it emits methane.
This article was really interesting! This was a bit of a wake-up call-while I’d been aware that gas stoves weren’t great for the environment, I hadn’t ever considered that it could be contributing to methane in the atmosphere. Do you think that policies will be put in place to reduce the use of gas stoves?
What do you believe the best way to stop widespread gas stove usage is? Most people will be resistant to spending money to change a household appliance. How can people be incentives to switch?
Thanks everyone for their questions and comments. I appreciate your policy questions, I would say that the best course would be encouraging electric stoves in solar powered home since gas stoves can’t be turned off easily as per electric stoves.