Communitopia, with the help of our ClimateMama extraordinaire, Joylette Portlock has once again “knocked it out of the park” with this great video, “More on Methane Part 1: Taking a Leak.” Grab the kids in your life, watch this video and LEARN something, in a fun and easy way. As with all of Joylette’s video’s you can also learn how to “not just sit there, but do something” to make a difference too.
This video helps us understand that methane, aka natural gas, is a greenhouse gas and is over 80 times more powerful at trapping heat in our atmosphere then carbon dioxide, in the near term (20 years). Joylette also explains that we currently have no national rules for stopping leaks of methane from the oil and gas industry, something our current administration is looking at rectifying and something we should support and encourage. The video also discusses large scale agriculture and how this industry contributes to climate change by producing huge amounts of methane…your pre-teen boys and girls may particularly love these facts!
At ClimateMama, we agree with Joylette – we should support the EPA Clean Power Plan and drastically reduce carbon pollution. As well, we also should support strong regulations on methane. However, our continued concern at ClimateMama, and why we strongly advocate for a fracking ban and a “Manhattan style” program for renewable energy, is that even if we establish the regulations to control leaks, not only don’t we have the independent inspectors to make sure the regulations are being complied with, natural gas is and will always be a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels when they are burned, drilled, fracked and mined, create greenhouse gases and contribute to climate change. They are only safe, when they stay stored within the ground, where nature put them.
We don’t buy into the mantra that “we need fossil fuels for a transition to a clean energy future.” We want to see a revolution and large scale move to renewables now…Fossil fuel production of any kind,and it’s associated infrastructure, slows this down and is NOT okay for our children, their future and their now.
Yours,
Climate Mama
