Extinction Rebellion Targets DC Council in Coordination with National Week of Action to End the Fossil Fuel Era
Washington, DC – This morning, as part of People vs Fossil Fuels national week of action, rebels from Extinction Rebellion DC chained themselves to the doors of the Wilson Building to demand the DC Council take a stand against Washington Gas’ deadly Project Pipes. The $4.5 billion massive pipeline replacement project would force DC to rely on dangerous planet-warming fossil fuels for decades to come, making the city’s current climate goals impossible to reach.
Photo by Miles Amoore
The action occurred while the sky filled with hazardous smoke from wildfires in Canada. The burning of fossil fuels like methane make wildfires such as these stronger and more frequent. The smoke was a visual representation of our elected officials’ failure to act with the urgency and scale necessary to avert further disaster.
Before the two rebels chained themselves to the building, speakers Rebecca Spring from XRDC and Doug Siglin from Chesapeake Climate Action Network rallied attendees and emphasized the need to stop Project Pipes. Rebels then engaged in creative street theater about Washington Gas’ manipulation of Public Service Commission members and DC Councilmembers, who are set to approve Project Pipes at the expense of DC residents. The theater ended with dirty smoke spewing from a large structure of gas pipes – created by artist Cesar Maxit – and rebels concluded the action in chant and song.
“Approving Project Pipes at a time when experts have repeatedly warned to stop new fossil fuel infrastructure is absolutely unconscionable. Since the Public Service Commission has thus far bent to the whims of Washington Gas, it’s time for the DC Council to step in and push for the end of the project,” said Jade Olson, Press Spokesperson for Extinction Rebellion DC. “Methane is a dangerous and deadly gas that puts our community’s health and safety at risk every single day, especially those with lower incomes and communities of color. The time to kick methane out of DC is now.”
Pipes structure by artist Cesar Maxit and photo from Jade Olson
This action followed yesterday’s rally at the White House to stop the Mountain Valley Pipeline and was undertaken in coordination with 50+ events across the nation and 64 organizations demanding an end to the era of fossil fuels at all levels of society.
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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 Washington Gas’ coordinated, greenwashed PR campaign. 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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