A cheap gas cooktop is by far the worst possible stovetop out there, far far worse than electric. They are so slow, ineffectual pieces of crap. At least electric can always get really hot. But there are so many gas ranges these days that don't focus the heat in the right place by having bad grill designs. Id take the average cheap coil electric range over gas any day. And id take induction over that.

And by comparison, a nice gas range is significantly superior to all of the electric cooktops I've ever used. By nice gas range, I mean one of the 6-burner types on one side, griddle on the other, and double side by side ovens. I'd happily electrify the rest of the building if it was economical to do so (it's still not in many places), but having gas for cooking is the one hard, non-negotiable feature I have in a property.

I suspect the average lawmaker does not take cooking seriously, which I think is fairly sad.

Induction has huge advantages over gas, I’m seeing it increasingly used in newer high end homes. Gas wins out on lower end luxury builds given that a gas stove is much cheaper than an induction stove.

I’ve read that gas cooking produces about twice as much PM2.5 as electric cooking.

Some of that can probably be mitigated with good fume extraction, but it’s a consideration.

> but it's easily mitigated by cracking a window

Uh, the air pollution of a typical urban street is a _disaster_.

Not in NYC where the AQI hasn't been above 50 for more than 3 years and often hovers in the mid 20s. Your indoor air-quality is almost certainly worse.

I love cooking on my gas stove but it's also worth noting that Julia Child filmed The French Chef on electric coils. They are certainly not ideal but they are also far from the worst thing you could be forced to deal with in the kitchen.

Saying that one of the most famous chef's ever cooked on a crappy range is a poor argument for legally banning the alternative. You, as you've mentioned like myself prefer a gas range. I gladly acknowledge that induction is equally suitable. However banning gas in new apartment construction forces people by law to use the thing we both agree isn't very good, sine few building will be built with induction.

I honestly don't know all the tradeoffs here. I lived with electric coils for a few years when I was in a rental apartment and somehow we were still happy. It's not ideal but I can certainly picture criteria under which it's the optimal policy.

The point about Julia Child is that she was creating works of art using this supposedly unusable tool. If she can manage that, your average Joe should be able to bang together some burgers and saute some vegetables on one.

I didn't know what the big deal was and thought it was silly until I actually lived in a place with a gas stove. Definitely motivated me to cook more. Induction also excellent. I'm not saying I physically can't cook with electric but it's unpleasant

That doesn't really follow. An inferior tool may be prohibitively hard to use for a beginner while an expert effortlessly compensates.

It doesn't follow in the sense of being a formal logical syllogism, but it is nonetheless true. You can learn to cook on electric coils. Millions of people have. You can make both beginner and expert food on them. And Childs' use of them is evidence, but not proof, of this fact.

Hello, rdI*

r*d*l*?

Saying you can just open a window takes the problem too lightly, I believe gas stoves like the risk of childhood asthma by the realm of 40% [1]? I think we’re going to at least be talking about mandatory hoods over the range considering they contribute to a significant amount of all respiratory issues despite reasonable alternatives existing.

Gas sure bets induction especially when filling up a large skillet with food. People can adopt though. It really wasn’t very long ago when cooking was mostly done with wood.

Personally I would just impose a tax on new hookups and more regulations before I actually banned gas though, but there is justification for government intervention when people are pumping highly flammable toxic and environmentally destructive gases into businesses and residences for the sake of making a better omelette.

The only really strong argument I see for gas is that reducing heating expenses has a substantial effect on local poverty.

[1] https://academic.oup.com/ije/article/42/6/1724/737113