Carbon dioxide pipelines: a dangerous part of Appalachia’s proposed carbon capture boondoggle
On a February evening in 2020, a carbon dioxide (CO2) pipeline ruptured near Satartia, Mississippi, causing a plume of CO2 to engulf the community. Within minutes, dozens of residents collapsed in their homes and vehicles. Cars stalled, including emergency vehicles trying to reach the scene. The incident hospitalized 45 Satartia residents and forced 200 to […]
Another Gas Pipeline Expansion Could Drive More Fracking in Appalachia’s Gas Reserves
A new plan to expand a New England gas pipeline would drive more fracking in Appalachia’s colossal gas reserves. “Project Maple” is a proposal by the Canadian energy company Enbridge to expand its Algonquin Gas Transmission Pipeline by 25%, or 750 million cubic feet (MMcf) per day. Originally constructed in 1954 and with a current […]
LNG Exports Are a Rotten Deal for Appalachians
In a recent Wall Street Journal opinion piece, former Ohio Congressman Tim Ryan decried President Biden’s recent decision to pause liquified natural gas (LNG) export authorizations. Ryan, tugging on heartstrings, claimed that LNG exports and other new avenues for natural gas buildout are a “crucial bridge to a clean-energy future.” To hear well-paid gas industry […]
The Meaning of MVP
Tucked amid the Biden administration’s cornucopia of climate initiatives was a poison pill: the greenlighting of the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) in Appalachia. When the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 essentially bulldozed the permitting review process for the pipeline, it accelerated a perilous feedback loop: gas extraction in Appalachia driving growth in gas-consuming infrastructure elsewhere, […]
Pennsylvania AG Josh Shapiro Charges Mariner East Pipeline Developer with Environmental Crimes, Reflecting Widespread Support for a Crackdown on Fracking
Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro charged Mariner East 2 Pipeline owner Energy Transfer with a total of 48 counts of environmental crimes last Tuesday in a landmark crackdown that reflects Pennsylvania voters’ overwhelming concern about the impacts of fracking and related activities. In a hearing, Shapiro’s office revealed that, on multiple occasions, Energy Transfer allowed […]
Railroaded By the Gas Industry
Before you get behind the wheel of a car, you’re required to have auto insurance. It costs a few bucks, especially for bad drivers, but everyone understands that insurance is a commonsense way to protect the public from the costs of accidents. It’s too bad railroads don’t have to play by the same rules. Even […]
Living with Natural Gas Pipelines
More than 2 million miles of natural gas pipelines run throughout the United States. In Appalachia, they spread like spaghetti across the region.
Biden’s First Fracking Test: LNG Trains
Biden’s first fracking test. That’s what the Wall Street Journal editorial board calls the incoming administration’s decision about a port project on the Delaware River. Yet the decision is not about fracking at all. At least not directly. It is, rather, about whether to approve a port facility in New Jersey that would handle mile-long […]
New Rule Allows Explosive Liquefied Natural Gas on Rail Lines Near You
October 22, 1944 was an ordinary Friday in Cleveland until 2:40 in the afternoon. That’s when liquefied natural gas (LNG) that had quietly seeped from a storage tank into the city’s sewer lines exploded with staggering force. The blast sent steel manhole covers rocketing into the air—at least one was launched several miles into another […]