This August, Citizens’ Climate Lobby is focused on one of its core issues: electrification.

But why should we electrify our homes?

• With fossil fueled appliances in our home, the air we breathe inside is often dirtier than the air outside of them. Electrifying helps ensure your home is a safe haven, rather than a safety hazard.

• Outdated, fossil fueled appliances use energy less efficiently, which drives up your energy usage – and your bills. When you electrify, your appliances will perform better and save you money in the long run.

• Your wallet will thank you for electrifying your home. The incentives from the IRA: Inflation Reduction Act make it more affordable than ever. Don’t leave money on the table – take advantage of these incentives today!

CCL notes, “Fossil fuels are literally prehistoric. Bring your home into the modern age with electrification and reap the benefits of cleaner, safer energy.”

On a personal note, in the 1960s my Camp Fire troop in Southern California attended cooking classes at the local gas company. I have fond memories of those events, which were carefully orchestrated and enjoyable. Of course, we cooked on gas stoves. Today however, we know more about the health risks of gas appliances. Even the venerable chef Julia Child sang the praises of gas stoves. Vox notes in, “How the fossil-fuel lobby weaponized Julia Child’s gas stove” (November 2023):

Child had many stoves over her five-decade career, but she was famously devoted to one in particular: the Garland, a squat, six-burner gas range Child used in her home kitchen that cemented gas as her recommendation for professional and home chefs alike. The stove was so iconic that the Smithsonian has dedicated an exhibit to it.

KitchenAid shares a step-by-step guide to converting gas stoves to electric, should you be interested.

I notice that still today in Austin, there are apartment complexes being constructed with gas appliances. Some potential residents specifically look for complexes outfitted with gas appliances (see Every Austin Apartment with Gas Stoves by Everything Austin Apartments).

I am also a fan of historic home restoration and HGTV programs on that topic. The kitchens of historic homes are often outfitted with new versions of old gas stoves, so that they look just like the days when the homes were new. But is this safe?

Scientific American shares in, “The Health Risks of Gas Stoves Explained” (January 2023):

Gas stoves burn natural gas, which generates a number of invisible by-products. The biggest concern for human health is nitrogen dioxide (NO2). This gas is produced when natural gas is burned at high temperatures in the presence of nitrogen in the atmosphere, according to Josiah Kephart, an assistant professor in the department of environmental and occupational health at Drexel University. “We’ve known for a long time that [nitrogen dioxide] has many harmful effects on health,” he says.

Yet, some are still fighting to keep gas appliances in American homes. Vox notes:

In 2023, a mention doubting the safety of gas stoves made some politicians apoplectic. In January, the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s Richard Trumka Jr. set off a firestorm for raising the idea of a gas stove ban to which the Republican representative Ronny Jackson from Texas threatened “they can pry it from my cold dead hands.”

Maybe Hollywood – a key partner in the Julia Child and gas industry campaign back in the 1960s – can return to the topic of electrification, and encourage people to electrify their homes. Wouldn’t that be great!

Below you can download a helpful flier about electrifying your home courtesy of Citizen’s Climate Lobby. If you need more information, check out the CCL website and YouTube channel.

Carolyn M. Appleton, Citizens’ Climate Lobby volunteer (since 2017)