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Call ‘Natural Gas’ What It Is: Fracked

If you live in Washington State, Oregon, or British Columbia you might think fracking is not really your problem. You might also be under the impression natural gas isn’t all that bad compared to oil and coal.

But think again.

“Natural gas” is slick industry branding. Don’t be fooled by the mantra that it “burns cleaner.” It’s dirty stuff. Fracking itself pollutes soil, water, and air. Methane—the main component of fossil fuel gas—is an intensely powerful climate-damaging greenhouse gas without even being burned. Methane is released during extraction, transport, storage, and refining. In short: Natural gas is not a clean replacement for oil and coal. 

Our gas is fracked: At least half of the natural gas we consume in this region is fracked and that share is growing. There is a massive scale-up of oil and gas leasing and drilling in the inland West, and the fossil fuel industry is pushing fracked gas projects Cascadia, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) and methanol. 

So, to protect our communities, we need to know how to talk about fracked fossil fuel gas. Here are messages based on research and expertise from Resource Media, Sierra Club, the Power Past Fracked Gas coalition, and Sightline Institute.