Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: We are soon making the decision to bring or not bring gas to the community

[Jim Snyder-Grant (jim.snyder.grant]

Yes, avoiding gas is a great win for health and the environment.
Our commonhouse has two induction stoves (with convection ovens). It does
everything we need for cooking. Heat is fast and controlled: boiling big
pots of water is especially great, and keeping things warm.

-Jim, New View Cohousing, Acton MA.
(I don't usually monitor this list, so contact me directly with follow-ups)

Jim Snyder-Grant
(he / him / his) why?
<https://assets2.hrc.org/files/assets/resources/TalkingAboutPronouns_onesheet_FINAL.pdf>
18 Half Moon Hill
Acton MA 01720

On Tue, Dec 8, 2020 at 9:21 AM Joanie Connors <jvcphd [at] gmail.com> wrote:

> Why experts are sounding the alarm about the hidden dangers of gas stoves
> By Jonathan Mingle <https://qz.com/author/jonathan-mingle/>
> December 4, 2020
>
> https://qz.com/1941254/experts-are-sounding-the-alarm-about-the-dangers-of-gas-stoves/?utm_source=pocket-newtab
>
> "...While many Americans might think illness linked to indoor cooking and
> heating is a problem confined to smoke-filled kitchens in the developing
> world
> <
> https://www.nationalgeographic.com/photography/proof/2017/07/guatemala-cook-stoves/
> >,
> the natural gas-burning stoves and furnaces found in millions of US
> kitchens and basements can produce a range of health-damaging pollutants,
> including particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide
> (CO), and formaldehyde. Over the past four decades, researchers have
> amassed a large body of scientific evidence linking the use of gas
> appliances, especially for cooking, with a higher risk of a range of
> respiratory problems and illnesses.
>
> Since the publication of two new reports on the subject from the nonprofit
> research group the Rocky Mountain Institute
> <https://rmi.org/insight/gas-stoves-pollution-health/> (RMI) and the UCLA
> Fielding School of Public Health
> <
> https://coeh.ph.ucla.edu/effects-residential-gas-appliances-indoor-and-outdoor-air-quality-and-public-health-california
> >,
> this past spring, the existence of these gas-fired health hazards has
> garnered increasing
> <
> https://grist.org/energy/study-gas-powered-appliances-may-be-hazardous-for-your-health/
> >
> media
> <
> https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2020/5/7/21247602/gas-stove-cooking-indoor-air-pollution-health-risks
> >
> scrutiny
> <
> https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/10/gas-stoves-are-bad-you-and-environment/616700/
> >.
> But less discussed has been how the Covid-19 pandemic has compounded the
> risks of this pollution, especially for low-income and vulnerable
> populations, and how key regulatory agencies have lagged decades behind the
> science in acting to protect them.
>
> “There’s no question this has been a neglected issue,” said Jones, who has
> drawn on lessons from his long career in public health epidemiology and
> disease prevention in sounding the alarm throughout Massachusetts and with
> former CDC colleagues over the past few years. The first step, he said, is
> “letting people know what the risks are—particularly when they can be
> substantial, life-threatening risks that can kill kids.”
>
>
> On Mon, Nov 30, 2020 at 2:32 PM Henning Mortensen <hmortensen [at] gmail.com>
> wrote:
>
> > Thank you for the book report Sharon. I have ordered it from amazon and
> > look forward to reading it. I am a longtime follower of carfree.com (no
> > longer exists) and the carfree movement. Especially the ideas for car
> free
> > cities such as that developed by Joel Crawford.
> > Henning Mortensen
> >
> > On Mon, Nov 30, 2020 at 3:18 PM Sharon Villines via Cohousing-L <
> > cohousing-l [at] cohousing.org> wrote:
> >
> > > > On Nov 30, 2020, at 1:00 PM, Jenny Guy <jenstermeister [at] gmail.com>
> > wrote:
> > >
> > > > Here's something else I wonder about: our buildings have been here
> for
> > 80
> > > > years without air conditioning. [snip] When I was a kid, it was
> > > unthinkable that anyone
> > > > would have air conditioning in San Francisco, but now it's full
> > >
> > > Pollution. Air pollution. Noise pollution. Not just from exhausts, from
> > > all the activity that keeps the “cement dust” moving. Changes in
> planting
> > > for the convenience of cleaners but produce higher pollution.
> > >
> > > Stuff like that.
> > >
> > > I think it also has to do with higher stress levels. Or ambition. We
> put
> > > in AC so we can work harder and faster even when it is 100 degrees out
> > > there. We don’t have to get up early to avoid the heat. We don’t take
> > > siestas.
> > >
> > > One of the book reports I haven’t written is on “Carjacked: The Culture
> > of
> > > the Automobile and Its Effect on Our Lives,” It is cowritten by a
> > professor
> > > of Anthropology and International Studies at Brown University and her
> > > analysis is from a totally different direction than we usually hear.
> She
> > > examines how expectations of children have been changed. It isn’t just
> > that
> > > cars made more activities available but we expect kids to "take
> > advantage"
> > > of all those activities. I used to sit in a big elm tree and read books
> > for
> > > hours. How many parents worry about children who don’t have any
> > > “activities" this week?
> > >
> > > Carjacked shows how our lives have changed without our being aware of
> it
> > > once we have a car.
> > >
> > > Sharon
> > > ———
> > > Sharon Villines
> > > http://affordablecohousing.com
> > > affordablecohousing [at] groups.io
> > >
> > >
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