Earlier in March, the American Lung Association penned an open memo in support of the All-Electric Building Act (S.562-A/A.920-A). In it, the Association urges the New York state senate and assembly to include the bill in their new One House budget proposals.
The proposal, which seeks to effectively ban gas-powered appliances in residential units, could have a tremendously positive impact on public health if it’s passed. That’s because nearly 19% of childhood asthma cases throughout New York state are directly attributable to the gas stoves in home kitchens, according to some studies. Other studies, like this one from our friends at the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI), have shown that having a gas stove in the home can increase the presence of asthma symptoms in children by as much as 42%.
The effects are exacerbated among lower income and public housing residents, who often live in smaller, less ventilated residences and bear a disproportionate burden of these effects.
“New Yorkers are dying at the highest rates in the nation from burning fossil fuels in our homes,” said Eric Weltman, Food & Water Watch Senior New York Organizer. “We know that 19 percent of childhood asthma in New York can be attributed to gas stoves, and that communities of color are disproportionately exposed to unhealthy air. We have to do better. The legislature must act now to include the All-Electric Building Act in their One House budget proposals to reduce dangerous fossil fuel emissions that cause deadly lung conditions.”
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