The truth is that we don't need gas stoves

We don't need gas stoves to cook during power outages.

My daughter got a ride in an ambulance to the emergency room instead of having her fifth birthday party. She couldn't breathe during an asthma attack. If I had known my “natural gas” cooktop was making her asthma worse and poisoning our family mealtimes, I would have immediately gone electric. If our outdoor air quality was as bad as the air in our kitchens, I suspect it would violate Environmental Protection Agency regulations.

A recent Harvard study found that “gas appliances like stoves and ovens can be a source of hazardous chemicals in our homes even when we're not using them.” One of these hazardous chemicals is benzene, a known carcinogen.

There are other ways to get through power outages without losing our ability to make coffee and eat hot food. One way is to buy a portable battery to power an electric hot plate and coffee maker, then recharge the battery with your car if the outage lasts long enough. Another idea is to use your barbecue or a camp stove.

Of course, the continued reliance on methane for heating and cooking, as well as fossil fuels for our cars, is increasing the damage to our atmosphere and is tied to the extreme weather that leads to more frequent and longer power outages.

Does it make sense to poison our families and spew greenhouse gasses from our homes for the more than 99% of the time the power is on to avoid the pain for the amount of time it is off?

Life is a series of choices. The choices we make today about whether to switch from methane to electric appliances have serious consequences to our health and our children's future on earth. It's not hyperbole. It's science. — Susannah Saunders,

San Anselmo