You may recall a period over the past couple of years when the left was waging war on all manner of appliances that are supposedly adding to the ongoing "climate crisis" because they consumed natural gas or other fossil fuels in an insufficiently stingy way. Chief among these targets of opportunity were gas stoves, particularly in California and New York. So great was the threat posed by these appliances that liberal lawmakers were seeking to ban them or at least require dire warnings to accompany their sale or installation. New York went so far as to try to ban natural gas fixtures in new construction projects. It's a good thing we finally put that bit of silliness behind us, right? Not so fast, partner. Once California's liberals get their teeth into a project like that they don't give up easily. The Golden State is back for another bite at that apple, proposing that all gas stoves be sold with a warning label similar to what you see on packs of cigarettes. Governor Gavin Newsom is currently considering this bill prior to signing it into law. (NPR)

The next time you shop for a cooking stove, the gas versions might show a health warning label similar to those on tobacco products.

Because a stove's blue flame releases air pollution into your kitchen, California lawmakers have passed a bill that would require such warning labels on gas stoves for sale in stores and online. Gov. Gavin Newsom has until the end of September to sign the bill into law.

The legislation comes after a series of lawsuits was filed against stove manufacturers, claiming they should have warned customers about potential health risks. Environmental activists are encouraging people to switch to electric stoves, part of a broader campaign to cut climate pollution from buildings. Now there's an effort to put health warning labels on stoves nationwide.

The linked report cites all manner of dangers posed by gas stoves, along with heartwarming stories of professional chefs who made the sacrifice to switch to electric stoves for the sake of the planet. They speak of carbon monoxide leaks and nitrogen dioxide levels in homes, along with exposure to methane, formaldehyde, and benzene. That all sounds worse than whatever concoctions Saddam Hussein was cooking up in those recreational vehicles that were actual mobile biological warfare laboratories.

There's just one problem with all of this. Particularly in the United States, people have been using gas stoves since the early 1800s. For a very long time, they were ubiquitous in American homes, just as natural gas was used for lighting and heating. That was true for at least the better part of a century. How did we all manage to survive? Shouldn't we all have dropped dead long before the first affordable electric stoves became available on the market?

In reality, if they had changed the name of the product from "gas stove" to all-natural-stove, nobody would have been likely to pay any attention to them. But the fact that the stoves generate flames and heat using a fossil fuel made them a target for the climate alarmism lobby. It's true that a poorly maintained gas stove can develop obstructions in the lines or clogged filters, so keeping up with standard maintenance routines is important. But the same can be said for virtually all modern appliances. There is no need to reach for the panic button unless doing so provides some other (likely political or financial) incentive for you.

The same goes for air conditioning for the most part. Climate change alarmists don't want you to have air conditioning in your home because they are terribly concerned about climate change and rising sea levels Of course, if you somehow scored a tour of some of those mansions on Martha's Vineyard in the middle of August, I can assure you that there is nobody inside of them sweating buckets from the ambient heat levels. Nor will the temperature reach uncomfortable levels aboard their private jets that they use to fly from one playground of the rich and famous to the next, demonstrating no concern that those rising sea levels will wash away their palatial estates. California liberals are simply stuck singing the same refrain over and over again. This latest kerfuffle over warning labels for gas stoves is just the latest verse they've added to the tune.