What’s in the air we breathe inside of our own homes? The Fumes in Focus film helps us visualize the air pollution from gas stoves.
Join The Environmental Center’s Climate Solutions program at their first Power Hour event of the year, featuring Willamette Valley-based environmental justice organization, Beyond Toxics. This year, the Power Hour series will focus on healthy, energy efficient homes and the resources available to improve our living spaces and the built environment.
When: Wednesday, February 28 from 7-8pm
Where: Boyle Education Center at Central Oregon Community College, 2600 NW College Way in Bend
This is a free event, but donations are welcome to help support.
Please register in advance here: secure.everyaction.com/7oopXKSWIkK3sJGsTqB3nA2
The event will feature a screening of Beyond Toxics’ eye-opening documentary, Fumes in Focus, highlighting the real health and environmental impacts of natural gas stoves that often go unseen. This project utilized advanced FLIR (forward looking Infrared) technology to capture and visualize the immediate emissions during stove operation.
“There is a reason that the saying ‘seeing is believing’ has stuck around so long,” said Lindsey Hardy, Climate Solutions program director. “Conversations about indoor air quality and parts per million of pollutants can quickly get abstract and flow right out the other ear. But watching someone fire up a gas stove, where I know I spend countless hours every week while my kids eagerly ask ‘what’s for dinner?’ and seeing the fumes coming off the stove was eye-opening. It’s just all too real of a situation that we know tens of thousands of people in our community find themselves in every day. For most of us, we have no way of seeing what’s invisible and yet all around us every day in our homes”
Since the release of the RMI report Gas Stoves: Health and Air Quality Impacts and Solutions in 2020, conversations about gas appliances have elicited heated debates about how dangerous they really are.
Beyond Toxics decided that they needed data that people could visualize. They were able to show that exhaust fans usually weren’t effective at pulling the plumes of gas up and out of the living space. In addition to the visuals Beyond Toxics was able to record with the FLIR camera, they measured volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2).
“This film and study resonated with us because it can empower individuals to make informed choices,” said Hardy. “There is a big distinction between not knowing and choosing not to act. With this health information and then connecting folks with resources to help complete projects we’re hoping we can get people out of the dark on this issue and empower them to do what they feel is best for their families.”
Lisa Arkin, executive director of Beyond Toxics’ will present more information on their work and be available for questions from attendees. Other local organizations and businesses who can help connect folks with resources to learn more about upgrading appliances in their homes such as Energize Bend and GreenSavers will be available at the event.
About the speaker:
Lisa Arkin, the executive director of Beyond Toxics, has provided innovative policy leadership and grassroots organizing for Beyond Toxics since 2006. Under her guidance, Beyond Toxics embraced the principles of diversity and equity, and adopted an anti-racist ethos to become Oregon’s first environmental justice organization. Arkin is dedicated to placing human rights, racial and social justice at the forefront of all environmental protection and climate resiliency policies. She serves as an appointed member of a number of commissions and workgroups on issues such as land use, environmental justice, pesticide reform and air quality.
This event is sponsored by GreenSavers.
About The Environmental Center:
The Environmental Center’s mission is to embed sustainability into daily life in Central Oregon. As a regional place for environmental education, engagement, and action, we are leaders in shaping a healthy future for people and the planet. Our programs and advocacy efforts focus on building community connections, educating students, revolutionizing energy, and rethinking waste.
