And the chorus continues to grow. Just this week, the New York Times weighed in with a call to address methane pollution, calling this a "moment of truth" for the gas industry."Pound for pound, methane’s impact on the climate is more than 20 times greater than that of carbon dioxide, the most prevalent atmosphere-warming gas.
At the federal level, the Obama administration has made methane reduction a key element of its climate change strategy, and new federal regulations will likely take hold within a couple of years. But Pennsylvania shouldn't wait.States like Colorado, Wyoming and Ohio are now taking the initiative to work with natural gas producers to curb methane emissions, and it’s time for Pennsylvania to follow suit.A Pittsburgh Tribune-Review report last week found the state’s aging natural gas distribution network, including some 10,000 miles of dangerously leaky pipes, sprang more than 31,000 leaks in 2013. Those leaks can pollute our air and leach into the water table.The natural gas industry understandably wants to maximize profit, and it’s hard to focus on the long-term financial benefit associated with preventing methane loss when you’re staring at a substantial short-term outlay of capital to implement mitigation systems.The best way for the gas industry to reduce the amount of natural gas it leaks and vents into the atmosphere is to upgrade the infrastructure that produces, transports and stores the gas, and that’s not going to happen without it being a requirement of doing business in Pennsylvania.Pennsylvania needs the economic push of natural gas. But that push can't come at the expense of the environment in general and the release of increased amounts of methane gas into the air we breathe.Balancing the two concerns should be a critical focus of both the Corbett and Wolf campaigns."
Andrew Sharp is PennFuture's director of outreach and is based in Philadelphia. He tweets at @RexBainbridge.
