"It is unconscionable
that we continue to subject our communities to these risks when we have the
technology to make a just transition to renewable energy."
Wednesday, November 27, 2019
"The actions we take now
by extracting, transporting, and liquefying fracked gas will determine the
health of generations to come."
That's according
to Dr. Laalitha Surapaneni, an assistant professor at the University
of Minnesota in the general internal medicine department and lead author of
a report (pdf)
published Tuesday by the nonprofit advocacy group Physicians for Social
Responsibility (PSR).
Surapaneni and co-author
Zachary Morse's new report, which details how liquefied natural gas (LNG)
threatens both human health and the planet, comes as the Trump
administration and bipartisan
federal legislation continue to support its production.
LNG is primarily composed of
methane, a greenhouse gas that is 84–87
times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. The
United States has seen a boom in LNG production over the past 15 years, driven
primarily by the extraction process known as horizontal hydraulic fracturing or
fracking—which involves injecting water and a secret mix of chemicals into rock
formations.
The International Energy
Agency (IEA) projected in
June that the United States is on track to become the world's leading exporter
of liquefied natural gas within five years. A Food & Water Watch report that
shortly preceded the IEA's projection highlighted the more than 700 recently
built or proposed U.S. facilities that aim "to capitalize off of a glut of
cheap fracked gas."
Surapaneni warned Tuesday that
"with LNG projects, we are locking ourselves into fossil fuel
infrastructure that will heat up our planet and impose a human health
cost."
"Our current climate
crisis is a health emergency," she said. "It is unconscionable that
we continue to subject our communities to these risks when we have the
technology to make a just transition to renewable energy."
The new 10-page report
followed the sixth edition of the Compendium of Scientific, Medical, and
Media Findings Demonstrating Risks and Harms of Fracking that PSR and
Concerned Health Professionals of New York published in June—which led experts
at PSR and elsewhere to reiterate that
"we need to ban fracking."
In PSR's latest report, a
section on "The Warming Planet" emphasizes the heat-trapping
abilities of methane and notes that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC), the U.S. Global Change Research Program, and The Lancet "have
all called for a rapid, unprecedented shift away from all fossil fuels in order
to prevent potentially catastrophic climate change effects."
The report acknowledges
research that has shown planetary heating caused by human activity leads to
more intense extreme weather events, from fires to hurricanes, that can impact
public health by increasing threats of heat stroke and exposure to waterborne
illnesses.
The report's "polluting
supply chain" section warns about health risks related to the "slurry
of chemicals" used in the fracking process as well as air quality concerns
near LNG terminals.
PSR references a U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency webpage detailing
the effects of particulate matter pollution, which range from premature death
in people with heart or lung disease and nonfatal hearth attacks to aggravated
asthma and decreased lung function.
In terms of safety and
security, PSR notes that "LNG is a volatile and potentially explosive
material," pointing to an 2014 incident in Plymouth, Washington that
injured five people.
"LNG also poses grounds
for concern in regard to national security," the report says. "A full
LNG tanker carries the energy equivalent of 55 atomic bombs, making it a
potential target for terrorist attacks, especially when at port near population
centers."
Another section of the report
points out how LNG production contributes to environmental injustice. As PSR
explains:
These facilities are often
placed in areas that are predominantly home to African American, Native
American, and Hispanic families, and families of lower socioeconomic status,
and may be sited close to schools and nursing homes. Such proximity, often
reflecting these communities' lack of political power, intensifies the impact
on vulnerable populations and people with pre-existing health conditions.
After outlining how the United
States "is now rapidly building out its export capacity" for LNG, it
concludes with a call to action—urging readers to share information about the
health risks, demand greater transparency and more scientific research, and
advocate for an urgent transition to clean energy.
"We have a unique
opportunity," said Surapaneni, "to shape a world that is healthy and
equitable by moving away from fossil fuels."
No comments:
Post a Comment