Do you know how harmful gas is to you and your children’s health? With new Councils being elected on Saturday 14 September, now is the time to insist that your council join others and ban new gas connections.
A Gasbusting health webinar was chaired by The Greens MLC Cate Faehrmann on 3rd September with presentations from Prof Melissa Haswell and Dr Ben Ewald. Prof Melissa Haswell was co-author of a report released in 2023 – The risks of oil and gas developments on human health and wellbeing. Download from The University of Sydney
Australia’s emissions increased from 2022 – 2023 and the gas industry is expanding not contracting. Gas use has fallen in the domestic markets of Sydney and Melbourne, but more gas is being exported. When we liquify gas for export it releases huge emissions.
Gas is used for cooking and heating in homes more during winter when there is less ventilation.
Gas heaters
Carbon monoxide poisoning, which can result in death, can be caused by gas heaters during winter months when windows are closed if a heater is
- Faulty
- Not maintained and not serviced regularly or
- Not fully flued so carbon monoxide leaks into the room
Gas stoves
Open windows and doors when using a gas stove because the stove will produce nitrogen oxide.
- For children there is a 42% risk of developing asthma if you have a gas stove – published in 2013 and not contradicted
- Children are also more likely to become allergic to dust mites
- Rangehood needs to exhaust to outside of the building, and it’s better to use the backburners
Electric stoves with Induction tops – the healthy alternative to gas
- If you can’t afford a new induction stove or if you are renting, buy a portable single ($60-$100) or twin induction cooktop that plugs into a power socket
- Induction stoves turn themselves off when a pot is taken off the stove
- They are easy to clean
- They heat faster than gas and have immediate temperature control
- There’s no build-up of black on pots and pans like from a gas stove
- Cookware needs to have a magnetic base. To check if your current pots are suitable put a fridge magnet on the base – if it sticks it will be OK, if not you will need to replace them.
What Councils, NSW and Federal Governments need to do
- Require new developments (homes and businesses) to be all-electric with no gas connection. Connection bans are legal if they are based on health and economic benefits.
- Education campaigns are needed to make the public aware of the risks of gas and to reduce usage and therefore emissions.
- Stop gas providers charging unfair disconnection fees.
- Establish an electrification strategy to transition away from gas in all government buildings and sporting facilities.
Human health impacts where coal seam gas extraction occurs
- Traditional Owners lose cultural heritage connections affecting their health and wellbeing
- Water supplies become polluted with naturally occurring chemicals as well as drilling chemicals
- Hospital admissions rise
- Mental health issues rise
- Interference with the reproductive System
- Interference with normal development of unborn babies
- Increased incidence of cancer, respiratory and cardiovascular disease
- Fly in fly out (FIFO) workers – increases the risk of domestic and sexual violence against women and children.
Who will monitor all the capped wells? Future generations – indefinitely.
Stop the Narrabri Lateral Pipeline and the Hunter Gas Pipeline – It is still possible to stop the Narrabri Gas Project from spreading across NSW. We have seen what has happened in Queensland.