The following represents the opinion of the student reporter and does not represent the views of Loyola University Maryland, the Greyhound, or Loyola University’s Department of Communication.
In 2023, Congress and the internet erupted in fear over Americans losing an essential freedom: the right to poison themselves with gas stoves.
This was because a Consumer Product Safety Commission found that gas stoves had hazardous effects on people’s health, thus they were considering regulations in order to protect people.
Though you may have believed this was a generation-defining issue if you were unfortunate enough to look at any conservative’s post online at the time, or even members of Congress’ proposed bills, nothing came of this.
This hasn’t stopped the scientific community from studying the impacts of gas stoves, and concluding a move to electric stoves would be beneficial for our health and the planet’s. The question then is, why hasn’t Loyola made the switch in dorms?
To get more details as to why these stoves create such concern for people’s health and the environment, I spoke to Dr. Elizabeth Dahl who teaches multiple environment-focused classes.
“Gas stoves – particularly used in an unventilated area where there is either no vent hood, or a vent hood that doesn’t vent outside, can cause indoor air pollution levels that exceed the health standard set by the clean air act,” she said.
This is consistent with the government reports published under the Biden Administration and other studies done in the field. Dahl corroborated these concerns and went into more specific detail about the health impacts.
“The primary concern is nitrogen dioxide, but carbon monoxide, VOCs, and particulate matter can also exceed safe levels. Short-term exposure to nitrogen dioxide can aggravate asthma and other respiratory issues and long-term exposure can contribute to the development of asthma,” she said.
Dahl continued by pointing out more studies that have found correlations between childhood development of asthma and the use of gas stoves in households. The Biden administration attempted to combat this by offering rebates for people with gas stoves in order to buy electric ones.
With the numerous documented negative impacts, Director of Environmental Health and Safety at Loyola, Tom Hettlemen, offered some counters to these reports.
“I think a lot depends on the proper function of the stove itself, ventilation, the use of the above stove exhaust fan and amount of time the stove is active,” he said.
Hettlemen also provided a World Health Organization funded research paper which concluded that there was no correlation between the use of gas and childhood asthma. Yet that same paper acknowledges an increased risk in bronchitis and other health impacts with the use of gas stoves, recommending that areas with the capability to switch to electric should as it has zero emissions at the point of use.
Loyola is committed to Maryland’s energy reduction laws, Hettlemen noted, including the Climate Solutions Now Act of 2022 and other initiatives focused on reducing the usage of fossil fuels.
When asked if Loyola has considered moving to electric stoves, Hettlemen discussed the work the school has done and what needs to be done to achieve this.
“Yes, we have been and continue to replace the stoves with electric during major renovations of the resident halls. Generally, this requires a complete upgrade of the electrical system to accommodate the increased electrical needs.” he said.
It is unclear when major renovations or how many have taken place to dorms. According to the Office of Sustainability, only Thea Bowman is considered a Green Building, meaning it was built and utilizes sustainable methods.
Knowing the health risks and negative health impacts that gas stoves can have on students is important to push for a faster change from the university. 15% of Loyola’s yearly emissions in 2015 were from natural gas, thus cutting down on this would also help the school reach its climate goals.
Alexandra Chouinard ‘27, an officer of Loyola’s Environmental Action Club, gave her thoughts on how we as students can push for this change and others at Loyola.
“Everyone here believes in climate change and understands the threat. When practical solutions are given, most will act on them. You just need to decide on the issue you’re passionate about because it’s easy when you look to find groups to work with or organize others,” she said.
Moving on from gas stoves means less pollutants in our dorm, our campus, and ultimately, our planet.
