The EPA, as you may know, enacted federal methane emissions standards earlier this year, which is very important, given that, contrary to corporate propaganda, methane emissions deliver a far, far bigger carbon emissions punch than coal pollution does. But the EPA has only acted on new and modified power plants and drilling operations -- what of all the long-standing oil and gas drilling operations? By 2018, 90% of all methane emissions will be coming from operations not covered by current EPA rules, which makes sense, given that gas and oil drilling methods have improved over the years, and any operation that hasn't improved must be polluting more. And what's the cost to gas drilling corporations? Not lost jobs, not higher energy prices, but less income for the CEOs to gild the plumbing on their 19th vacation homes. And we're all breathing this air, and we're all drinking this water, so we're all in this together. The Sierra Club helps you tell the EPA to ensure that methane emissions regulations cover older oil and gas drilling operations as well as newer ones.
Meanwhile, SEPTA wants to build a power plant in North Philly that would power their regional rail lines with natural gas -- which will not only cause air pollution in local Philadelphia neighborhoods, but will cause water and air pollution elsewhere, since gas extraction comes with polluted water and air. I wouldn't be upset if residents of Pennsylvania's famous "T" were to protest the befouling of their own neighborhoods so that some citified public transit operation could run a little more cheaply. For its part, SEPTA has actually been claiming that a gas-run power plant would help shield against unpredictable storms brought by climate change -- as if gas extraction, as we have just discussed, doesn't itself exacerbate climate change. They also say using renewable energy won't work, because it's not cheap enough -- as if a large public agency has literally no power to negotiate energy prices! Hence Food and Water Watch helps you tell SEPTA to abandon its gas-powered dreams and power their regional rail lines with solar and wind power instead.
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