A basic introduction to the energy use and environmental issues surrounding cooking can be found at . The numbers associated with cooking on this link are merely costs and ignore other environmental factors. Thus while use of an electric convection oven might cost less than a gas oven the carbon footprint of the electric oven is significantly higher if non-renewable energy sources are used. The efficiency of the electric generation system in the United States is approximately 30% and about 50% of the power is generated from coal. Thus the actual carbon footprint of using electricity to cook is on average about three times higher than that associated with natural gas. Also note that while natural gas use is much better from a carbon footprint standpoint there are associated health "nasties"