Extinction Rebellion Criticizes Department of Energy for Funding False Climate Solutions
Washington, DC – Last week, the Department of Energy announced millions of dollars in funding for false climate solutions including so-called “clean” hydrogen and carbon transport and storage. Among the list of recipients is a GKN Hydrogen project to support on-site infrastructure (also known as methane gas infrastructure) at Washington Gas.
Jade Olson, Press Spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion DC, released the following statement:
“The Department of Energy’s recent funding announcements are incredibly disappointing. A large amount of the hundreds of millions of dollars go toward false climate solutions: hydrogen and carbon capture and storage projects. DOE’s support of these projects and fossil fuel companies like Washington Gas serves only to delay true climate action and a just transition off of fossil fuels.”
“The support of hydrogen storage at Washington Gas is especially egregious, as hydrogen involving methane is anything but clean. This project is stated to support Washington Gas’ on-site infrastructure, and given that Washington Gas profits from methane-based fossil gas and methane-based ‘renewable’ natural gas, it is extremely likely that GKN’s hydrogen project will involve methane – and any project involving methane means continued reliance on fossil fuels. Any viable clean hydrogen projects will involve no fossil fuels – and even then, hydrogen projects have their drawbacks. Rather than invest millions in expensive, dirty solutions, the Department of Energy needs to support real energy solutions that further a just transition and prioritize those most vulnerable.”
XRDC campaign poster reading “Gas Leaks. Methane Kills.”
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Note to Editors:
For more information about Washington Gas' toxic pipeline project and XRDC's campaign to stop it visit https://www.xrdc.org/gas
Methane is the gas piped into your home to cook your food and heat your house. DC has some of the oldest underground methane gas pipes in the country, and these pipes are leaking large amounts of methane throughout the city. There are more than 3,000 leaks in the District – and over 70% of the leaks in 2021 were at hazardous levels, posing a severe and immediate threat to the city’s residents.
Methane gas kills. It severely harms the health of DC’s residents, especially the most vulnerable — children, the elderly, and people experiencing homelessness. When you light your stove, it sends nitrogen dioxide into your home. That can cause cardiovascular problems, respiratory disease, and premature death.
A gas stove also releases chemicals that can cause cancer and birth defects.
A lit gas stove also produces a poisonous cocktail of other chemicals and gasses like formaldehyde, carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen dioxide. Children in homes with gas stoves are 42% more likely to have asthma than children whose families use electric stoves, a similar rate to children living with cigarette smokers. Stoves continue to leak methane into your home even when they’re turned off.
Washington Gas will tell you methane gas is “renewable,” “clean,” “natural,” “responsible,” and “green.” In fact, greenhouse gas emissions from the use of methane gas now exceed coal emissions in the United States — and methane heats the planet up to 80 times faster than carbon dioxide.
Methane concentrations in the atmosphere are so high that they’re now responsible for 30-50% of the global rise in temperatures. Leaking gas pipes, like those in DC, are a major source of US methane emissions. The amount of methane the fossil fuel industry releases is far worse than regulators think. And gas stoves in the United States release the same amount of greenhouse gas as 500,000 cars.
DC has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2045. Washington Gas’ plans make this goal impossible to achieve. The Department of Energy and Environment calls Washington Gas’ business plan “technically deficient with significant errors.”
This is part of a longer coordinated PR campaign from Washington Gas. They have sponsored Petworth’s street festival, a community food drive for Thanksgiving, and is an official media partner with WUSA9, which provides an easy outlet for their greenwashed PR. All of this is smoke and mirrors so Washington Gas can go through with their deadly Project Pipes.
About Extinction Rebellion
Time has almost entirely run out to address the climate & ecological crisis, including the sixth mass extinction, global pollution, and abrupt, runaway climate change. Societal collapse and mass death are seen as inevitable by scientists and other credible voices if rapid action is not taken.
Extinction Rebellion believes it is a citizen’s duty to rebel, using peaceful civil disobedience, when faced with criminal inactivity by their Government.
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