Left-wing “climate change” sycophants are not just angling to ban the use of fossil fuel-burning gas stoves, there is a growing list of popular appliances that they are targeting as well, according to an expert who has been tracking the efforts.
Ben Lieberman, a senior fellow at the Competitive Enterprise Institute, said in an interview with Fox News Digital: “There’s bad news for almost every room in the house. Climate activists and the Biden administration want homeowners to stop using natural gas and to electrify everything. That would affect appliances that come in natural gas and electric versions such as stoves, but also heating systems and water heaters.
“So, there are efforts underway to tilt the balance in favor of electric versions even though natural gas is considerably cheaper on a per-unit energy basis. It makes sense to give consumers that choice rather than force them towards electric,” he added.
Items also being targeted include “water heaters, furnaces, clothes washers, dishwashers, ceiling fans, microwave ovens and shower heads,” he said — all in a push for “zero emissions.”
The Western Journal adds:
In 2022 alone, the Biden administration pushed out more than 110 new regulations to strangle products extreme climate activists don’t like. But Lieberman noted that if advanced appliances were what everyone wants, they’d “sell themselves” and the iron boot of government mandates wouldn’t be necessary.
“I think there are some real problems from a consumer’s standpoint when you start to reduce choices — I would say that you’re never doing consumers a favor when you’re reducing choices and forcing them to take eco-friendly models which will be on the market regardless,” he said. “The question is: Do we want mandates that force that choice on everyone, especially when it’s the more expensive option upfront?”
Being forced to buy a product that does not appeal to most people on their own will eventually lead to higher costs, especially if we’re talking about electrifying more products using a grid that is already strained by high use.
Earlier this month, the Biden administration vehemently denied a report that it was working to ban stoves that use natural gas as a means of combatting “climate change.”
CNN noted:
The White House on Wednesday asserted that President Joe Biden does not support a ban on gas stoves after a federal consumer safety official suggested that such a proposal was on the table.
The White House response follows a recent Bloomberg interview with Biden-appointed US Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr., who called the household appliance a “hidden hazard” and said that “any option is on the table” in relations to regulating them.
“Products that can’t be made safe can be banned,” Trumpka added. In addition to a ban, other options include “setting standards on emissions from the appliances,” Trumka noted.
Trumka clarified that “CPSC isn’t coming for anyone’s gas stoves,” but he also added that “regulations apply to new products.”
Thanks for your interest!
To be clear, CPSC isn't coming for anyone's gas stoves. Regulations apply to new products.
For Americans who CHOOSE to switch from gas to electric, there is support available – Congress passed the Inflation Reduction Act which includes a $840 rebate. https://t.co/fcmWMSSfE5
— Commissioner Rich Trumka Jr. (@TrumkaCPSC) January 9, 2023
Well, it turns out that, yes, the push to eliminate gas stoves is real after all, according to an exclusive Washington Times report on Thursday.
“Consumer Product Safety Commissioner Richard Trumka Jr.’s threat of a federal ban on gas stoves this month has channeled the goals of left-wing billionaire think tanks that are making significant progress in pushing communities to eliminate fossil fuels,” the report began.
“A web of environmental groups is stepping up the campaign to persuade states and local communities to switch to all-electric energy. The Rocky Mountain Institute, the Sierra Club and other green groups are working successfully to ban gas stoves and other gas appliances in communities throughout the U.S. as part of an aggressive move to implement a net-zero global economy by 2050,” the report noted further.
The paper noted that the effort began in earnest “in July 2019 during a two-day meeting hosted by the Rockefeller Brothers Fund at the Rockefeller family mansion in Pocantico, New York.” Government officials, as well as green groups, comingled at the event. Representatives from groups like the Rocky Mountain Institute, the Georgetown Climate Center and the Energy Foundation were at the meeting, and the Times indicated the agenda was clear — pushing for more all-electric use as climate advocates seek to end all uses of fossil fuels no matter what it does to the country’s economy or how badly unprepared the national grid is to handle the additional load.
