February 9, 2017 – The Senate will vote soon on whether to repeal the methane rule.
This rule seeks to reduce harmful natural gas emissions (mostly methane) into the environment. We need to keep the methane rule! It is an important part of combating climate change, reducing pollution, and capturing more natural gas for the energy market. Last week the House voted to repeal the methane rule and now it is up to the Senate to save it.
Take action now: Tell your Senators to keep the methane rule.
With strong support from faith communities, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management adopted the methane rule to reduce natural gas waste (methane) from fracking on federal and tribal lands. Methane is a greenhouse gas more potent than carbon.
The bureau has a fact sheet that details the importance of cutting natural gas (mostly methane) leaks. The bureau estimates that the oil and gas industry wastes billions of cubic feet of natural gas from leaks and flares – enough to power 6.2 million U.S. households for a year. These leaks and flares contribute to global warming, increase smog and rates of pollution-related illnesses, and waste energy. In the next decade, tax payers could lose up to $800 million that could be put to use for the common good.
Click here to tell your Senators to vote to keep the methane rule. Learn more about the methane rule from our friends at Creation Justice Ministries.
Photo: Natural gas flares from a flare-head at the Orvis State well on the Evanson family farm in McKenzie County, North Dakota. Photo by Tim Evanson from Cleveland Heights, Ohio, and available in the creative commons 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons.