Decatur Kids At Risk Thanks To the Gas Lobby and Your Legislature

Two new lines of research find that natural gas (methane), or fossil gas is both a health risk to our children and our climate. What’s the reaction to this news by the gas industry and the one political party they own in the legislature? They’ve dangerously restricted our freedom to choose how we heat and power our homes and businesses locally.

We use methane in Georgia to heat our homes, cook our food, and unfortunately, generate 49% of our electric power. The problem is that methane leaks at every step of the process from fracking wells, to pipelines, to the gas stoves, water heaters and furnaces we use. We have over 49,158 miles of methane gas pipelines in Georgia.

Long billed as clean energy source, methane is clean in the same way arsenic is not as bad as cyanide. The clean analogy is relative to coal.

Gas stoves leak significant amounts of methane when lighting and burning – studies run as high as 1.3 percent. This doesn’t sound like a lot, but three quarters of these emission are when the stove is shut off suggesting leaky fittings and connections with gas service lines. The consequence is an increased health hazard for our children and ourselves.

A 2013 analysis of 41 other studies found that children living homes with gas stoves had a 42% higher risk of asthma over their lifetimes and a 24% increase in the risk of being diagnosed with asthma. Burning methane gas in US kitchens and basements can produce a range of health-damaging pollutants, including particulate matter, nitrogen dioxide (NO2), carbon monoxide (CO) and formaldehyde. Much of this pollution affects those with higher energy burdens in our city.

The other problem… “Even when they are not running, U.S. gas stoves are putting 2.6 million tons of methane — in carbon dioxide equivalent units — into the air each year, a team of California researchers found in a study published Thursday in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. That's equivalent to the annual amount of greenhouse gases from 500,000 cars….” No one would leave the car running in their garage.

But pollution by methane isn’t restricted to just gas stoves. Again, leakage occurs at every point in the supply chain. Methane gas is about 80 times more powerful a greenhouse gas pollutant than carbon dioxide. A study published in the journal Science last week estimates methane emissions at 2.3% of total production per year. Some estimates go much higher. This is the equivalent of 13 million metric tons lost each year or enough to power 10 million homes. It would seem that we could just plug the leaks and move on but there are literally billions of leaks.

The impact on our climate by methane gas is enough for scientists to say that it is no better than burning coal. As Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org says, “We need to stop burning stuff, electrify everything, and do it rapidly if we want a livable future for our kids.”

Taking a page from tobacco companies before them, the gas industry lobbied and donated to one party in our Georgia legislature to pass a law that bars cities, including Decatur, from restricting gas use. They see electrification as a threat to their bottom lines. We are rapidly developing clean renewable energy that can replace fossil gas. There is more power from the sun that falls on Georgia in one hour than is required to power Georgia for a year. It seems like we could give our kids a break. What can you do?

The first is make a personal energy usage choice. Cost-effective, reliable alternatives exist to fossil gas in the form of electricity and more and more people are selecting electric devices. About 30% of our electricity in Georgia is from low carbon sources. This percentage is increasing. When or if you can replace your stove, switch to an electric or electric induction cooking. The next time your water heater or furnace goes out, look at electric heat pumps for these devices. Second, look to use less fossil gas by making sure your dwelling is well insulated and you're using good heating practices like setting your thermostat down a few more degrees in the winter. Until then, turn on an external vent when using your gas stove.

But so much of what we are doing in Decatur with our Clean Energy Plan requires us to show up too. (Links italicized below.)

1. Let our Decatur City Commissioners know that you’d like them to lead by challenging the state gas law in a creative ways.
2. Let our state legislators know and lobby at the state legislature
3. Show up to testify at the Public Services Commission and encourage our commissioners to intervene in the Georgia Power IRP process.
4. Join our efforts at All In for Decatur 100 to build a just equitable transition to clean energy.

Please help our kids breathe easier. Thanks for all that you do.