To Ban the Gas Stove or not to Ban the Gas Stove, that is the Question

   To cook with natural gas, or not to cook with natural gas, that is the question. Is it a health hazard? Does it contribute to greenhouse emissions? Will commercial restaurants be able to survive without it? Will food ever taste the same if the day comes it cannot be cooked on a fire-heated grill?

   All important questions for our day, right?

   Saturday, Fox Business brought in a chef and restaurant owner, Andrew Gruel, who announced that "all this is junk" and "absurdity." "We're living in a tragic comedy," he said, lamenting the thought that new gas stoves could be outlawed in New York.

   "We've completely lost our minds," Gruel said early in the interview. He explained that with the move to make energy renewable, "they are going to create as many stories as they can, and try to piece together statistics that really have no connection."

   With apologies to Gruel, yes, a quick search of the Internet does reveal that natural gas can be a health hazard. And, I don't think even he believes it is not a greenhouse gas. Instead, he suggests that if you take away gas heat, you will be left to rely on fossil fuel-powered energy, which is worse.

  Fox Business and its guest, Gruel, were speaking mostly of New York, which is considering furthering its restrictions against natural gas. Will it have to be replaced by fossil fuel-fired plants? Will it be? New York City's largest fossil-fuel plant, which generates 20 percent of the city's electricity, is coming off line. It is being replaced by offshore wind power. So, the move to reduce natural gas is not being done in a void without a cleaner source to replace it. 

  Which brings us to the question of what becomes of restaurants. "You cannot commercially cook food without gas right now," Gruel said.

   The alternatives to gas stoves is what is called induction heating. And, as fine of establishments as Michelin three-star restaurants The French Landry in Napa Valley and Alinea in Chicago have vowed to switch to energy-efficient electric.

(Index -- Climate change info)