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Six gas burners remain covered in grime after heavy usage.

The fight over gas stoves

Gas stoves are a problem for health and the climate, but some people don’t want to hear it.

Contributors: Vox Staff

The American gas stovetop is increasingly a battleground in a war over the fate of the 70 million buildings powered by natural gas.

On one side of the stove wars is the natural gas utility industry, which has tried to thwart cities considering phasing out gas in buildings. On the other side are climate and public health advocates who point to years of mounting scientific evidence on what combusting methane in a kitchen does to one’s health.

Blue states, like New York, are now taking the first steps that would end the use of gas in new buildings. But will other states follow?

Vox’s Rebecca Leber has been writing about gas stoves and their health and climate effects since 2020. Read more of her recent coverage of myths about the appliance and the history of the gas stove wars — and why some chefs are ready for induction cooking.

14 Total Updates Since
May 26, 2016, 9:50am EDT
  • May 4

    The gas industry is losing its most valuable customer: Blue states

    By Rebecca Leber

    New York just passed the first statewide law to ban gas in new buildings. Others could follow.

  • March 21

    The gas stove wars are far from over

    By Rebecca Leber

    Gas stoves are facing a new era of regulation. The public health science says it’s justified.

  • March 10

    There’s something different about the new gas stove influencer

    By Rebecca Leber

    A celebrity chef is blaming the user — not the product — for any health concerns.

  • February 5

    The forgotten gas stove wars

    By Rebecca Leber

    We’ve been fighting over gas stoves for decades.

  • January 25

    Gas stoves and the problematic politics of sacrifice

    By Kelsey Piper

    To reach sustainable progress on climate and health issues, we need to focus on what’s easy — not what’s hard.

  • January 20

    5 myths about gas stoves, the latest culture war clash

    By Rebecca Leber

    Biden isn’t coming for the gas stove.

  • January 11

    The gas stove regulation uproar, explained

    By Rebecca Leber

    Research shows gas stoves are a public health problem. But if you like your stove, you can keep it.

  • October 14, 2022

    The next frontier for climate action is the great indoors

    By Rebecca Leber

    Americans run "mini fossil fuel plants" in their homes. It’s time for change.

  • February 10, 2022

    The end of natural gas has to start with its name

    By Rebecca Leber

    The oil and gas industry didn’t invent the name. But it invented the myth of a clean fuel.

  • January 27, 2022

    Your gas stove is always polluting, even when it’s turned off

    By Rebecca Leber

    Scientists may have just found a source of missing methane in cities.

  • December 16, 2021

    Is this the beginning of the end of gas stoves and dirty heat in buildings?

    By Rebecca Leber

    New York City is phasing out gas in new buildings. It’s a milestone in the fight to clean up climate pollution.

  • December 9, 2021

    A TikTok food star on why gas stoves are overrated

    By Rebecca Leber

    As the natural gas industry tries to defend its turf, chefs are touting the benefits of induction cooking.

  • May 11, 2020

    Gas stoves can generate unsafe levels of indoor air pollution

    By David Roberts

    An accumulating body of research suggests gas stoves are a health risk.

  • May 26, 2016

    Why we've made so little progress on the world's deadliest environmental problem

    By Brad Plumer

    Indoor air pollution still kills more people each year than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined.

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