Editorial: Biden isn’t banning gas stoves.
But facts don’t stop Missouri and Kansas
GOP outrage
2023/04/22
It’s not a surprise anymore when prominent politicians focus their energies on rabble-rousing culture war battles instead of doing the hard stuff of governing, but we still feel compelled to point out when Kansas and Missouri leaders actively mislead their constituents.
That brings us to Sen. Roger Marshall, the Kansas Republican, and his Twitter feed.
Like many conservatives, Marshall has lately made a big deal about proposed new federal regulations for gas stoves being offered by the Biden administration. The rules would simply mandate that new stoves for sale meet more stringent environmental and safety standards than the models currently on the market — but the Fox News set has treated this as a fresh opportunity for demagoguery. They haven’t quite resorted to “you’ll take my stove from my cold, dead hands” sloganeering, but they’ve come awfully close.
Certainly, that’s what Marshall seemed to suggest. On Tuesday, he linked to a report about his role in a group of Republican senators challenging the proposed regulations. And he posted this commentary:
“I don’t know about you, but I’m certainly not inviting the Department of Energy into my home to inspect my kitchen appliances. #GOVERNMENTOVERREACH”
WIth that tweet, Marshall painted a picture of government agents invading private residences to ensure that gas stoves conform to the Biden administration’s standards. And that would be alarming if that was really what we could expect to happen. But it’s simply not true.
Just to be sure, we reached out to the U.S. Department of Energy, which is formulating the new rules. The department confirmed that the gas stove regulations would apply only to new products and only at the point of manufacture. There will be no home invasions by jack-booted agents terrifying your family because you like to cook over an open flame.
The Department of Energy “proposes efficiency standards all the time — for lightbulbs, washers and dryers, refrigerators, and more,” a spokesman said in a written statement. “Does it mean they’re coming to ban those appliances? Of course not.”
That’s right. The stove you have in your home has almost certainly met the federal standards that already exist for such appliances. Have you seen a federal inspector in your house to look at your stove, ever?
No?
There is nothing different about this new round of regulations — except that some Republicans, including Marshall, see an opportunity to frighten their constituents.
We think there are good reasons for adopting new, better standards to regulate gas stoves in the United States. Studies suggest that the appliances often leak harmful fumes into the homes they serve, harming the health of family members and pets. There is reason to believe the new standards will save American consumers on energy costs.
But reasonable people can disagree about the issue. What’s not reasonable, however, is for Marshall to mislead and frighten the Kansans who look to him for responsible leadership.
He is far from the only regional GOP leader guilty of such demagoguery. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson on Wednesday blamed President Joe Biden for the protests that sprung up following the Kansas City shooting of teenager Ralph Yarl. Missouri Sen. Eric Schmitt regularly fulminates on Twitter about “climate alarmists” despite the very real threats posed by climate change. And Sen. Josh Hawley’s social media feed seems designed to keep his followers in a near-constant state of high dudgeon. It’s exhausting.
Among our most prominent local Republicans, only Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas seems to have an interest in the nitty gritty details of governing. His Twitter feed is filled with boring, normal topics such as the new Amelia Earhart museum in Atchison, Veterans Administration policies and even the rules surrounding organ transplants. He rarely tries to provoke his followers. And that’s quite a relief.
Marshall, unfortunately, has not decided to follow the example of Kansas’ senior senator. Instead, he decided this week to unnecessarily frighten his constituents. He may profit from such demagoguery, but Kansans won’t.
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© The Kansas City Star
IT'S GERMANY
Germany Moves To Ban Most Oil And Gas Heating Systems From 2024
- On Wednesday, the German government voted to ban most oil and gas heating boilers in new and old buildings from 2024.
- Under the rule, all new heating systems should run on 65% renewable energy, with exemptions for homeowners aged over 80 and for households with the lowest incomes.
- The draft bill approved by the government suggests the switch to renewables could cost Germans around $10 billion every year until 2028.
The German government voted on a bill on Wednesday to ban most oil and gas heating boilers in new and oil buildings from 2024 as part of a plan to reduce emissions.
The ruling coalition in Germany has decided that nearly all new heating systems should run on 65% renewable energy, with exemptions for homeowners aged over 80 and for households with the lowest incomes.
Industry associations and the German public disagree with the planned ban. A Forsa survey commissioned by RTL and ntv showed this week that 78% of Germans do not approve of the bill, and only 18% think the decision to ban oil and gas heating systems is the right one.
Most of the opposition to electric heating running on renewable energy stems from concerns that heating prices would rise. A total of 62% of respondents in the survey expect prices to increase if heating comes from renewables, while only 12% expect their heating bills to decline.
According to the draft bill approved by the government and seen by Reuters, a switch to renewables for heating could cost Germans around $10 billion (9.16 billion euros) every year until 2028.
Last month, the German heating industry said that the government's plan to install electric heat pumps instead of oil and gas boilers shouldn't be rushed as fully electric heating systems require massive grid investments.
Germany plans to have more and more electric heating pumps installed to reduce CO2 emissions from buildings and reduce its dependence on oil and natural gas for heating.
However, associations in the heating pumps industry warn that ditching oil and gas boilers too soon would be both unrealistic and an enormous financial challenge. Germany should be flexible in allowing hybrid pumps and not ban oil and gas boilers too soon, the industry associations say.
In 2022, heat pump sales in Germany jumped by 53%, according to figures from the Federation of German Heating Industry (BDH) released earlier this year.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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