According to the researchers, gas stoves are estimated to lead to 40,000 premature deaths each year in the European Union and Britain, shaving off roughly two years of an average person’s life span.

PhilipTheBucket@ponder.cat to News@lemmy.world – 178 points –
nytimes.com
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Thanks for the non-paywalled article. It produces absolutely no evidence though. or even an explanation or theory. One mention of benzene, which is a well known dangerous substance, but also highly flammable. So unlikely to be produced by burning any gas, and no link to a source. So that sounds like scaremongering to me. If anyone knows how to make benzene out of methane, let me know and we’ll patent the process. The one link to ‘research’ is one that just shows correlation, not causation.

Just how bad is the airflow in homes there?

We have far better insulation. Like our houses aren’t made of thin wood but of bricks.

Which greatly reduces heating costs.

I mean here in tx we rarely open our windows. It's either searing hot or freezing cold. The MAYBE two or three weeks it's nice outside are hardcore allergy season so nuts to that ...

But those 2.5 years are wasted waiting for the electric stove to heat up so it's a wash.

Paywall, but I rent a place with a gas stove I don't use. I had to take the place because of timing, and I've always wondered, even if I don't use it, is there still a risk of it?

If you never use it, it should be fine. You could always try to find the gas line that goes to the stove and turn it off there - it should have a valve on it.

There's always a risk of a gas leak, even if you don't use an appliance, but you'd (hopefully) smell it before it becomes a major issue. If you ever think you smell a gas leak, immediately call your gas company. They should have a 24/7 emergency number.

No, having an idle stove of any kind is not harmful. It's the combustion.

And even so, natural gas is relatively clean-burning, especially compared to wood or coal. The primary combustion product is water vapor.

shaving off roughly two years of an average person’s life span.

Press X to doubt

The gas stoves themselves aren't the only reason, but they help contribute to a lower lifespan. Also 2 years over the course of, like, 75 years? Yeah that sounds about right

No, that doesn't sound right. Even with totally unrealistic assumption that stove kills every victim at birth, it would need to kill ~2,5% of all newborns. Bullshit

Edit: I'm absolutely astonished that my previous post got more downvotes than upvotes. It shows the scale of failure of the education system

I don't know what your argument was exactly, but you make zero sense here? Going from an average lifetime reduction to "kill 2.5% of all newborns" just isn't the same