Extinction Rebellion Exposes Washington Gas Greenwashing at Local Recycle Day
Washington, DC – Today, rebels attended the Washington Gas sponsored WUSA 9 #EnvironmentMatters Recycle Day to expose Washington Gas’ sponsorship for what it is: a PR stunt to distract DC residents from Washington Gas’ obstruction of DC’s climate goals and its damage to residents’ health.
At the event, members of Extinction Rebellion DC (XRDC) handed out fliers with satirical ads for Washington Gas. One flier reads, “Your Health. Your Safety. The Planet. We’ve never cared.” with smaller text reading, “Washington Gas exposes children to toxins and chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects, asthma, and premature death.”
The second flier reads, “We know you want to change. BUT research funded by the gas industry confirms that the status quo* is the best option. *It’s purely a coincidence that the status quo is the easiest and most profitable option for Washington Gas. We accept no responsibility for illness, death, or climate impact that may occur from our pursuit of profit.”
Washington Gas profits from piping deadly methane gas throughout the city and into our homes. Methane is a greenhouse gas that warms our atmosphere faster than carbon dioxide and contains volatile compounds like benzene and formaldehyde, which are linked to cancer and respiratory problems. Rather than take responsibility for harming our health and accelerating our descent into climate chaos, Washington Gas promotes individual actions so they can protect their bottom line.
Washington Gas’ sponsorship of this event is simply smoke and mirrors so they can spend $4.5 billion on new fossil fuel infrastructure in the District. This is unconscionable.
The DC Council and the DC Public Service Commission must not be manipulated by Washington Gas’ greenwashing. The only responsible course of action is to stop Project Pipes and electrify DC.
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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 6,000 leaks in the district — more than twice the average US city. Some of these leaks are so dangerous that they could explode at any moment, 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.
In December 2017, DC pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050. 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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