Chicago alderwoman proposes gas stove ban in new buildings
- Chicago is latest blue city to consider gas stove ban
- Alderwoman Maria Hadden introduced legislation on Wednesday
- Hadden: It’s economical, it’s healthier, it’s safer"
FILE – In this Jan. 11, 2006, file photo, a gas-lit flame burns on a natural gas stove. A federal appeals court on Monday, April, 17, 2023, overturned Berkeley, California’s first-in-the-nation ban on natural gas in new construction, agreeing with restaurant owners who argued the city bypassed federal energy regulations when it approved the ordinance. (AP Photo/Thomas Kienzle, File)
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CHICAGO (NewsNation) — Chicago will soon be added to the list of blue cities and states fighting to ban natural gas stoves in new homes. A city alderwoman plans to propose a bill that would ban gas connections in new buildings, according to multiple reports.
Wednesday Alderwoman Maria Hadden introduced her legislation, Clean and Affordable Buildings Ordinance, which would help set emissions standards that gas stoves can’t meet, Fox News reported.
“This is a matter of real survival and the future of our city — and especially our economic future. We’re being forced in this direction by nature, but also by policy and by business and industry,” Hadden told the Chicago Tribune.
Over the past couple years, a wave of progressive cities and states have moved toward banning gas stoves and other appliances in new buildings. San Francisco, Seattle, New York and others have changed the rules in the name of the environment and residents’ respiratory health.
“People are making these decisions because it’s economical, it’s healthier, it’s safer,” Hadden said.
But the wave has been met with substantial backlash, opposing federal legislation and lawsuits seeking to overturn the bans.
Research has shown burning gas in the home doesn’t just pollute city skies, it also pollutes the air in your kitchen. NPR used an air monitor to measure the harmful gas nitrogen dioxide in a kitchen with a gas stove and oven on at the same time, as if they were cooking dinner. After 12 minutes, the journalist found the nitrogen dioxide levels were 60% higher than levels recommended by the World Health Organization.
Studies have found the harmful particles emitted by gas stoves can cause asthma and other respiratory issues, especially in children.
All of the proposed or enacted bans focus on the appliances being installed in newly constructed buildings. No cities or states have suggested ripping out gas stoves in people’s already existing homes and apartments.
Meantime, federal legislators have moved to make sure a nationwide ban doesn’t happen.
NMW contributed to this report.