Biden Pulls Energy Department Nominee After Gas Stove Spat With Manchin

[MichMan]

(Bloomberg) -- The White House withdrew its nominee for an Energy Department posting, ending a months-long standoff and handing a win to Senator Joe Manchin, who has protested the agency’s plans to regulate gas stoves.

Jeff Marootian’s nomination to be assistant secretary of the Energy Department’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy had been stalled since May, when Manchin, who chairs the Energy and Natural Resources Committee, scrubbed a committee vote. At the time, Manchin argued he was “not comfortable moving forward” with Marootian, who had been tapped to lead the Energy Department division spearheading the stove energy-efficiency rule that the senator opposed.

https://news.yahoo.com/biden-pulls-energy-department-nominee-220252685.html

[CentralMass]

1. Manchin being a dick, I'm shocked.

[CurtEastPoint]

2. Manchin needs to go explore a mine and....

[Think. Again.]

3. Manchin isn't concerned...

...about the nominee himself or gas stoves in.particular, Manchin is just successfully keeping the entire Energy Department weakened by not allowing it to be properly staffed.

[OKIsItJustMe]

8. Manchin has ties to Natural Gas

https://www.businessinsider.com/joe-manchin-hires-natural-gas-lobbyist-cj-osman-climate-change-2022-3
Joe Manchin just hired a natural gas lobbyist to his energy panel even as he blocks Biden's climate agenda
Kayla Epstein Mar 29, 2022, 4:42 PM EDT

https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2023/05/manchins-vows-to-block-radical-climate-agenda/
Joe Manchin vows to block “radical climate agenda,” rakes in oil and gas industry contributions
By Taylor Giorno and Jimmy Cloutier
May 12, 2023 5:35 pm

According to Open Secrets, he was the #1 recipient of Energy/Natural Resources sector money in 2021-2022.

[hunter]

4. If I were to choose my battles gas stoves isn't one I'd pick.

I've been through this with my wife and my brother who insist on "cooking with gas."

My dream kitchen would have a high quality electric inductive stove and cast iron cookware. I don't have that, even though I now find myself the number four or five cook in our extended family.

My brother, who is a five star cook and has done that work professionally, has all the family cast iron cookware and a huge old gas range dominating his kitchen that weighs as much as a car.

I don't complain about the gas range my wife bought for our home even though I do most of the cooking.

Don't sweat the small stuff.

Sometime, in a better future, the gas everyone will be cooking with is carbon neutral DME.

[BlueIn_W_Pa]

5. So true

gas stoves are a stupid topic - ZERO impact to the environment

[OKIsItJustMe]

6. Greater than 0 impact

Clearly, using a gas stove releases greenhouse gases. Producing the gas they require also releases greenhouse gases.

That being said, if your goal is to heat something, and your choice is heating it with gas, or heating it with electricity generated by a gas turbine, the gas stove is likely more efficient.

However, as the grid includes more renewable electricity, the scales tip toward the electric stove.

Now, in regards to indoor air quality, there can be little doubt that an electric stove is preferable.

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-health-risks-of-gas-stoves-explained/

The Health Risks of Gas Stoves Explained

Gas stoves produce emissions that can harm human health and the environment. Experts answer questions about the dangers and how to limit them

By Tanya Lewis on January 19, 2023

Editor’s Note (5/3/23): New York State has become the first state to pass a law banning gas stoves and other gas-powered appliances in new buildings, including houses and apartment buildings. The move is intended to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but gas stoves also pose health risks, as this article published in January 2023 explains.

The Internet has been aflame in recent days over gas stoves—specifically, over whether they are harmful to human health and can or should be banned in the U.S. But this is not a new issue.

Scientists have long known that gas stoves emit pollutants that irritate human airways and can cause or exacerbate respiratory problems. The recent furor seems to have been set off by comments recently made by Richard Trumka, Jr., a commissioner of the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), a government agency that addresses the risk of illness and injury from various products. Speaking about the commission’s plans to potentially regulate gas stoves, Trumka told Bloomberg News that “any option is on the table. Products that can’t be made safe can be banned.”

In response, conservative politicians (and Democratic Senator Joe Manchin) pushed back strongly against what they perceived as an attempt to ban gas stoves. House Republicans even introduced legislation to prohibit the CPSC from outlawing the popular cooking appliances. The chair of the CPSC recently clarified that the commission is not planning any kind of ban but is seeking public comment to make gas stoves safer.

…

[BlueIn_W_Pa]

7. Agreed

greater than zero, but 1/1,000,000 of a penny buys nothing.

I don't like gas stoves for what you cite, as well as a safety hazard for kids (and my autistic son) who may not turn them off all they way.

But wrt climate change? Not even relevant.

[OKIsItJustMe]

9. From the Scientific American article

… A 2022 study by Lebel and his colleagues found that gas stoves leak this unburned methane, which is not directly harmful to human health but accumulates in the atmosphere, where it traps heat and contributes to climate change. Lebel and his team found that methane emissions from gas stoves in U.S. homes could have as much impact on the climate as half a million cars.

…

[BlueIn_W_Pa]

10. No argument here

but it still means little to nothing

Remember that the U.S. accounts for only 15% of global greenhouse gas emissions. That means U.S. passenger vehicles contribute only 16.4% to the country’s 15% share of global greenhouse gas emissions – less than 2.5% over 276 million registered U.S. vehicles.

That 500,000 over 276 million?

That's like 0.004%