Testimony: Cutting Methane Pollution: Safeguarding Health, Creating Jobs, and Protecting Our Climate

This is the oral testimony of Patrice Tomcik, Senior National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force, on June 24, 2022, to the US House of Representatives Select Committee on the Climate Crisis about cutting methane pollution.

"Chair Castor, Ranking Member Graves, and members of the Select Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to speak about protecting our health and our climate by cutting methane pollution.

"I am Patrice Tomcik, a Senior National Field Manager for Moms Clean Air Force, a national community of more than 1 million parents and caregivers united to protect our children’s health from air pollution and climate change. We envision a safe and equitable future where all children breathe clean air and live in a stable climate.

"I am the mother of two boys living in Southwest Pennsylvania on top of the Marcellus Shale, where many oil and gas operations are located within communities like mine.

In the US, the oil and gas sector is the largest industrial source of methane pollution contributing to climate change. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and the main component of natural gas..."

READ MORE HERE

Respiratory Hazards and Your Health

By The Environmental Health Project

How do respiratory hazards affect us?

Air pollution is one of the biggest environmental risks to health, often resulting in premature death. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), respiratory hazards that threaten our health can exist in various forms, such as gases, vapors, dusts, mists, fumes, smoke, sprays, and fog. When inhaled, these chemicals can bypass our body’s protective mechanisms, enter the deep lung, and cross into our circulatory system, exerting their effects along the way. Some hazards, like carbon monoxide, are short-acting, which means they work quickly and can detrimentally affect one’s health within minutes. Others, like formaldehyde, are long-acting and have been shown to cause long-term health impacts, such as cancer and damage to the liver, kidneys, and central nervous system. For a full list of chemical carcinogens, visit the National Cancer Institute or explore PubMed.

What are the most common air pollutants?

Some of the most commonly known air pollutants as reported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are particulate matter (often referred to as “particle pollution” or “PM”), ground-level ozone, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. These pollutants can harm human health and the environment, and all of these are released or formed during shale gas development processes.

READ MORE HERE

New Mapping Tool Shows Nearly 4 Million U.S. Children Live in the Oil & Gas Threat Radius

By Celerah Hewes for Moms Clean Air Force

Families living on the frontlines of oil and gas have an updated tool at their fingertips. The new analysis in the Oil & Gas Threat Map released by Earthworks and FracTracker shows that more than 17.3 million people, including 3.9 million children under 18, live within a half-mile threat radius of active oil and gas operations. This is an increase of 4.7 million people since the last time Earthworks updated their analysis in 2017. When families and individuals live within the threat radius, they are more at risk of health impacts from methane and other harmful pollution emitted by oil and gas operations. The Oil & Gas Threat Map is a powerful tool that highlights the need for strong methane rules to protect the health of families and the climate.

Methane is the main ingredient in natural gas, and it’s a powerful greenhouse gas pollutant that is fueling the climate crisis. Oil and gas companies leak methane at the rate of more than 16 million metric tons a year into the atmosphere when they extract, store, and transport oil and gas throughout the supply chain. This is the equivalent of the climate pollution from all of the nation’s passenger vehicles in a year.

READ MORE HERE