Methane Rules Would Protect Workers, Communities and the Climate
July 28, 2016
Methane Rules Would Protect Workers, Communities and the Climate
Statement of Tyson Slocum, Director of Public Citizen’s Energy Program
Note: On Wednesday, Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the U.S. Department of the Interior calling on the agency to abandon plans to regulate methane emissions on federal lands. Methane is a dangerous greenhouse gas that is 87 times more polluting than carbon dioxide.
Regulation of harmful emissions from oil and gas drilling operations on federal lands will help protect workers, communities and the climate, and efforts to derail such commonsense public health initiatives are nothing more than a cynical ploy by multinational oil companies to avoid their environmental responsibilities. Furthermore, efforts to permit pipelines more quickly trample on farmers, ranchers and other landowners’ constitutional rights to due process.
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