Opinion: A Big Win on Fossil Fuels!
Love, Justice and Climate Change
On January 26, President Biden announced a halt to all new permits for LNG (Liquefied methane “Natural” Gas) export terminals. This is a very big deal because the U.S. fossil fuel industry (already the largest exporter of LNG in the world) has been proposing the biggest fossil fuel expansion in the world–17 new export terminals. These terminals would result in much more methane gas being burned in other countries, further destroying the global climate.
Stopping these terminals is an important part of solving the climate crisis. This is a victory for the frontline residents of the Gulf Coast who have been fighting them for years, for frontline people everywhere being threatened by climate change, and for all of us.
From TikTok to Jane Fonda and more
This is also a big deal because of how the decision came about. Biden’s decision was a direct result of a grassroots campaign that put pressure on him not to approve any additional terminal permits. Led by frontline activists from the Gulf Coast, this campaign eventually included over 400,000 people signing a petition, a TikTok storm that probably reached a million views, thousands of handwritten letters from senior citizens, a letter from 60 members of Congress and one from 170 scientists, leaders of major climate organizations, celebrities like Mark Ruffalo and Jane Fonda, and over 600 people pledging to engage in civil disobedience at the Department of Energy in DC if Biden didn’t stop the permitting.
It was a remarkable demonstration of what people power can do.
A Pause
What Biden did, technically, was to “pause” approvals for LNG exports. Some have been concerned about this and wondered why he didn’t just reject them outright. It turns out that an outright rejection would have been challenged in court and quickly overturned. The pause cannot be challenged this way. The government will now study and revise the process for determining whether or not new projects are in the public interest and change procedures so that climate change effects start being included in that public interest determination. Biden did exactly what the activists were insisting he do.
Limiting Fossil Fuels
This is also a big deal because it is one of the first times that the government has taken action to limit the fossil fuel industry. The Inflation Reduction Act has provided powerful incentives for adopting renewable energy, but it did nothing to limit fossil fuels. We need to do both. Finally, we have begun.
More Government Acknowledgement Than We Usually Get in the U.S.
I don’t generally read many government announcements, but I found Biden’s statement this time quite remarkable. First, it came from the President, not just the Secretary of Energy, for instance. This is the President of the nation that has cumulatively been the worst climate polluter in the world and is today the leading exporter of both gas and oil.
Biden begins his statement acknowledging the severity of the climate crisis and goes on to mention hurricanes, floods, wildfires and record temperatures.
“In every corner of the country and the world, people are suffering the devastating toll of
climate change.”
He labels the climate crisis accurately.
“This pause on new LNG approvals sees the climate crisis for what it is: the existential threat
of our time.”
He takes on the MAGA Republicans directly on the topic of climate and calls the fossil fuel industry a “special interest.
“While MAGA Republicans willfully deny the urgency of the climate crisis, condemning the
American people to a dangerous future, my Administration will not be complacent. We will
not cede to special interests.”
And finally, he acknowledges the importance of youth and frontline voices.
“We will heed the calls of young people and frontline communities who are using their
voices to demand action from those with the power to act.”
Celebrate
Roishetta Ozane, one of the key frontline leaders in Louisiana, responded, “This announcement from the Biden Administration is truly monumental for our communities. … [It] is a reason to celebrate, but it is also a reminder that our work is far from over.” There is much more to be done and I’m sure we will need to pressure the President and other government officials many times in the future. But in this moment, let’s celebrate this win!
If you signed the petition on this issue, wrote a letter, were ready to get arrested, or contributed in any way, thank you and congratulations! If you didn’t, please stay alert to the next opportunity and join us. It feels good to win, and it makes a difference.
Russ Vernon-Jones was principal of Fort River School 1990-2008 and is currently a member of the Steering Committee of Climate Action Now-Western Massachusetts. He blogs regularly on climate justice at www.russvernonjones.org.
The three things to remember about natural gas (as a gas) is that it is (a) lighter than air, (b) highly explosive, and (c) often found with oil.
Hence it often is going to get burned anyway — and if it isn’t, Methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas.
But it is either going to get captured at the oil well site and used — or it’s going to get flared (burnt) because it is too dangerous to let it wander around looking for an ignition source. It has to be gotten rid of.
And if it is flared, it’s going to be burnt in an oxygen-scarce environment for safety reasons, which means you are going to have a yellow flame. The yellow is incandescent unburned carbon particles (that are really bad to breathe) and there will also be carbon monoxide (one oxygen) along with just carbon dioxide (two oxygens).
Carbon monoxide is really bad for mammals (not just humans) because it makes a better bond with the hemoglobin in your blood than oxygen does — and that prevents your blood from carrying oxygen to your body.
Whereas if the same natural gas is burned in, say, the UMass Steam Plant, they spray ammonia into their chimney to get rid of something (I forget what) — yes there is carbon dioxide but not all of the more nasty stuff you get if you just flare it in the field.
And don’t forget that there is natural gas naturally venting in the ocean — my personal explanation for the Bermuda Triangle is a large (rapidly expanding) bubble of methane coming up under a ship. You wouldn’t even be able to get a radio call out as the bubble popped underneath you because there would be a wall of water on all sides and VHF radio doesn’t go through water.
My point: To some extent at least, the Natural Gas is going to be coming out of the ground anyway,
It is more environmentally sound to *use* it and only produce carbon dioxide than to flare it and produce a lot of other nasty stuff as well.
Just sayin….
Two other things —
1: I do not believe that picture is just Natural Gas burning — it’s something heavier because of the way the smoke is forming.
2: What you will often see (and this may be) is a safety flare that burns 24/7. There is one in Springfield at the end of the pipeline from Boston. It’s a safety device for the last resort in an emergency — if they really screw up and have to get rid of something (i.e. reduce the pressure in a pipeline or tank before it explodes), they can send it up to the flare to get rid of it. It’s a last-resort emergency safety measure, and that may well be what this picture is of.