Nov 27, 2017 2 min read

In response to Rick Shrum’s article last week, “Marchers descend on Southpointe to protest environmental impacts of gas, coal,” I am a resident of Ohio and founding member of Keep Wayne Wild, a grassroots organization working to protect Ohio’s only national forest from unconventional fracking and the ETP Rover pipeline, and I attended Monday’s march.

I was disappointed to see no analysis of the statement by Marcellus Shale Coalition spokeswoman Erica Clayton, in which she called natural gas “an absolute winner for our environment.”

Natural gas has been called a “bridge fuel” because it was believed to be cleaner than coal, and has been viewed as a good temporary solution as we transition to renewables. Recent studies show that methane is, in fact, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, making it disastrous for our rapidly changing climate, and thus extremely harmful to the environment, even when no accidents occur.

Accidents, however, occur frequently. The night after the march, a gas leak resulted in an explosion in Michigan, leaving behind an 18-foot crater. This is not an isolated incident. In 2014, an explosion at a Monroe County, Ohio, well pad near Wayne National Forest contaminated Opossum Creek, a tributary to the Ohio River, killing 70,000 fish.

And then there is the so-called “brine.” The water used for drilling is often pulled from natural waterways, and after being contaminated with undisclosed chemicals and radioactive material from underground, this waste is transported in tanker trucks, which sometimes spill. The day before the march, one overturned in Athens County, Ohio, and spilled into a creek. If it is transported without incident, the waste is injected into wells, which can leak, contaminating groundwater. If they don’t leak, the water is permanently removed from the water cycle.

I don’t know what criteria led Clayton to the conclusion that natural gas is a “winner” for the environment, but I beg to differ. I urge those who share my concerns to stand up to the companies that threaten our natural resources in the name of energy dominance and the politicians they fund. Clean, safe alternatives exist and present and future generations deserve better.

Becca Pollard

Columbus, Ohio