From the Sealed Home to the Sealed Person

A controversy erupted on social media last week surrounding gas stoves inside homes. It was ignited when a member of a federal government agency, the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), said in mid-December that the commission will consider regulating indoor air pollution from gas stoves. The Commissioner, Richard L. Trumka Jr., said in an interview that he had not ruled out a ban on the appliances. Los Angeles already voted to ban most gas appliances: 

The public reason for banning gas stoves is because of NO2 emissions that may or may not cause health problems. It seems though, that general ventilation, which includes over head hoods can lessen the amount of emissions a human breathes.

But this isn't like cigarette smoking, where we knew the risks of cancer since at least the 1950s. By 1952 early epidemiological studies in the United States and the United Kingdom were showing substantial risks for lung cancer related to cigarette smoking. You do not need to ban gas stoves to achieve an objective of reducing NO2 emissions, you can give people a rebate on proper overhead hoods on their stoves. But that's not what's going on here, there's another reason. Besides, generations of people people have grown up with a gas stove. If it was a huge issue, we wouldn't need some obscure journal report. Something is fishy. 

 This stuff about asthma and stoves seem like a smoke screen, the reason the climate community care about this stuff is because they want to fully electrify the home. The last remaining hold out in the home for full electrification is the gas stove. Full electrification means full electrification:

Nobody in America is going to vote on climate change as a policy. So government will have to appeal to Americans' obsession with health. If you have kids, you know all about the "noble lie". That happens a lot with public policy. There is a stated reason for a policy, and then there is a hidden reason, that's usually backed by interest groups of some sort. That's deep lindy. 

The Sealed Home

I mean it doesn't sound crazy that poor ventilated gas stoves would be bad for your respiratory health. I suppose I could see the health angle in a modern sealed house. The kind of place where smells linger inside. I've always lived in drafty houses with plenty of "air exchange". For most people, that's how things were for most of history, buildings were generally constructed of wood, stone, clay bricks, and other natural materials that generally did not emit airborne toxins — and they were drafty, often allowing outdoor air to circulate whether people wanted it or not. Over the course of the next century, the building blocks of modern construction changed: Plastics were the future, and new or renovated buildings began incorporating contemporary materials like synthetic carpets and glues, pressed wood products, and vinyl into their designs. 

Then during the 1970s architects and engineers to design buildings that were increasingly airtight — why pay money to heat a building just to see that heat escape out a crack around a window? That, in turn, required new approaches to controlling their interior climates. Mechanical systems for heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) became more common, as did open-plan layouts to allow for better air circulation.

It even has a name, the passive house. 

It's also part of the climate strategy. Passive House advocates claim their buildings require 10 to 35 percent as much energy as standard buildings. 

You wouldn't use a gas stove in a space capsule, would you?

Likewise in the sealed pod home with 24/7/365 climate control and perma-closed windows.

The modern sealed home isn't this ghastly dungeon. The higher end ones are usually accompanied by lots of windows. This generally looks pleasant. 

But it also finishes the job that started with air conditioning. The sealed home replaces the localist architecture for a region.

Air Conditioning

People lived in New Orleans without air conditioning. How did they do it?

They built homes that allowed for a lot of air and wind. 

The shotgun houses lack hallways, requiring inhabitants to walk through each room to traverse the home from front to back. The windows and doors at either end, combined with high ceilings, allow for efficient ventilation and airflow in such a hot and humid climate. A shotgun house’s foundation is raised off the ground, which allows for airflow below the home and discourages termites and other pests from setting up shop. The home’s foundation also protects against flooding and suits the softer earth below.

The sealed home replaces all these quirks, including porches, tall windows, high ceilings or columns. That doesn't mean homes will not have these features or that the sealed home isn't an "improvement", it just means there is a replacement happening. 

From the Sealed Home to the Sealed Person

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