As adults, we learn to form our own opinions on things. Despite our best efforts, many of those opinions are often reflections of what we were taught by our parents, interactions we have had with others growing up and our surrounding community. 

All of these factors play a role in my latest opinion about the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s latest comments about gas stoves. 

For those who have not heard, The Consumer Product Safety Commission, an agency charged with protecting the public from dangerous household products, said last month that the commission will consider regulating indoor air pollution from gas stoves. 

The issue was further fueled when Commissioner Richard L. Trumka Jr. said in an interview he had not ruled out a ban on the appliances. 

My great-grandfather founded Modern Gas Company in Albany, Georgia in 1954. It was later handed down to my grandfather, Dan Holloway, who ran the company, until my father, Mark Holloway took over in recent years due to my grandfather’s declining health and age. 

This ban would not only play a huge part in the livelihood of my family, but also create the false narrative that gas stoves impact the health of millions of Americans. 

Before I was born, my parents were featured in a news article about becoming the first few couples in Albany to have a propane-powered home. 

My mom had never used a gas stove before, but my dad, working with propane, found it only appropriate to use what he sells. He truly believes in every product, and trust me when I say we’ve been the test family for many. 

They had a gas-powered stove and range, along with a fireplace, and spoke on how much more efficient it was than an electric stove. 

My mom grew to love it, and I grew up in that house. 

Fast forward to my teens, I began working at Modern Gas. I was constantly around the emissions and would go home to later be around a gas-powered stove, fireplace, a Rinnai tankless hot water heater, and eventually my dad’s propane-powered truck. 

I have lived in a home powered by propane and used a gas-powered stove for twenty seven years and I do not suffer from any breathing issues, nor does my mom, sister or dad. 

In fact, my grandfather just turned ninety two and he’s still asking if he can please take his car out for a spin. He has no breathing issues. 

I find the Commissioner’s statement to be outrageous. 

If the Consumer Product Safety Commission really wants to study gas stoves and see what indoor air pollution they create, come to our house and conduct those tests. 

They’d be hard pressed to find someone who is so familiar with gas-powered appliances and uses them more regularly than we do. 

I asked my dad for his opinion on the issue and he said since the Commissioner’s statement, they’ve had more calls for gas stoves than ever and can hardly keep up with the demand. 

The Commission has since back-tracked their statement, saying if anything, they will just regulate the new stoves. 

What about families looking to build? Are they just not supposed to have a decent appliance because they weren’t born in the right decade when gas-stoves were perfectly acceptable and often preferred. 

I don’t pretend to understand everything about carbon emissions and global warming, but I am assured that the Commission has grossly exaggerated the impact gas stoves have on indoor air quality and the impact they play on people’s health and quality of life. 

I hope the Commission will consider talking to companies like my family’s before taking any type of drastic action. If not, they will turn back the clock on decades of work installing over 40 million gas stoves across America.