Whidbey Island's Kicking Gas expands aid to electric stoves

WHIDBEY ISLAND — Kicking Gas, a Whidbey Island-based environmental justice organization, has expanded its efforts to electrify local homes by offering rebates for residents wanting to switch from gas to electric stoves.

In 2023, the group pushed its initial heat pump installation campaign as a way for people to decrease their carbon footprint. But in their third year of work, campaign managers have shifted to talking about the public health effects of burning fossil fuels in homes.

Gas stoves burn natural gas, emitting numerous harmful byproducts. One of those byproducts is nitrogen oxide. The Environmental Protection Agency has safety protections for limiting nitrogen oxide for outdoor emissions, but no indoor regulations.

A 1992 literature analysis by Environmental Protection Agency and Duke University scientists showed gas stoves increase the odds of children developing a respiratory illness by roughly 20%. A 2022 study published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health found gas stoves are responsible for 12.7% of childhood asthma cases in the United States.

https://www.heraldnet.com/news/whidbey-islands-kicking-gas-expands-aid-to-electric-stoves/