“The world of tomorrow is cooking with gas!” This phrase was popularized by the gas industry as far back as the 1930s, promoting gas stoves as clean and reliable.
“The world of tomorrow is cooking with gas!” This phrase was popularized by the gas industry as far back as the 1930s, promoting gas stoves as clean and reliable. Carmen Miranda even sang, “Cooking With Gas” in the 1948 film “A Date With Judy” and the American Gas Association (AGA) got Bob Hope to adopt the catchphrase “Now you’re cooking with gas” in his routines. The gas industry’s marketing campaign was a big success: gas came to be seen as clean and natural, and eventually gas stoves became the cooktop of choice for most professional chefs.
Today, about 40 million U.S. households use gas stoves—more than 30 percent of homes; in New Jersey, California, Chicago, and New York City, it’s about 70 percent of households. But recently, concerns have arisen about their impacts on children’s health. What does the science show, and why are we only hearing about this now?
In January, the chair of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that emissions from gas stoves could be hazardous and that it was looking into ways to reduce the indoor air pollution they produce. Although the CPSC said it was not considering a ban on gas stoves, the media was suddenly awash with reports on the dangers of gas stoves and campaigns that defended them.
Read more at: Columbia Climate School
Photo Credit: Lisafern
