The Green Divas | s15:e3
Featuring Kelly Sheehan, Executive Director Of Energy for the Sierra Club.
What In The Frack Is Liquified Natural Gas?
First of all, it is anything but natural. It is more accurately called fracked gas or methane gas. Liqufied natural gas (LNG) is a methane gas that has been cooled down to -259 degrees Fahrenheit into a denser liquid form.
LNG is about 600 times smaller than its volume in its gaseous state in a natural gas pipeline, which makes it easier to store and transport.
What’s the Problem with LNG?
LNG is 85-95-plus percent methane, which has more than 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide over the first 20 years after it reaches the atmosphere. Even though CO2 has a longer-lasting effect, methane sets the pace for warming in the near term. Source: edf.org
LNG emits about twice as much greenhouse gas as ordinary methane gas and is responsible for more than one-third of carbon emissions and almost half of methane emissions.
LNG devours energy. Chilling gas to such a low temperature eats up a lot of energy. Transporting it uses more energy. Warming it back up to use uses yet even more energy.
Yikes!
And now things seem to be heating up…
According to Sierra Club: Exporting liquefied methane gas, known as liquefied “natural” gas (LNG), has shot up the agenda of US federal policymakers as part of global energy security discussions. The war in Ukraine has led to a severe undersupply of gas in Europe, and US LNG companies are eager to capitalize on the opportunity to pile on to their already record profits by calling for increased export capacity. The story about where the gas is going is plastered across the news, but there has been a concerning lack of discussion about where that gas is coming from and LNG’s impacts on the communities where gas is processed for shipping overseas.
There are now more than 20 LNG export terminals proposed for the Gulf Coast. If approved, we could see an additional 90 million tons of greenhouse gasses (GHG) released into the atmosphere per year, according to a recent analysis by the Environmental Integrity Project (EIP). EIP says, “That’s as much climate-warming pollution as from about 18 million gasoline-powered passenger vehicles running for a year – more than from all the cars and trucks in Florida or New York State.”
Adding these facilities would make it impossible to meet any global emission reduction goals set by the international community or by the Biden administration.
Double yikes! But don’t lose hope. There are many people and organizations working hard to stop these terminals from being built. Read on!
Kelly Sheehan | Featured LNG Expert | Exec. Dir. Of Energy at the Sierra Club
We had the opportunity to talk to Kelly Sheehan, the Executive Director of Energy for the Sierra Club, where she leads a national effort to advance climate justice and a transition off of fossil fuels.
She explained why natural gas is not natural, LNG’s negative environmental impact and the Sierra Club’s effort to put a stop to the 20+ LNG export terminals proposed in the Gulf Coast. We hope you’ll listen to this informative podcast and share it up far and wide!
More about Kelly: Kelly joined Sierra Club in 2012. She has been an environmental activist by passion and by trade for the past twenty years, directing campaigns to protect the environment, training and engaging people to participate in our democracy, and building a movement for social change. Kelly lives in Asheville, NC with her children. She was honored as Best Environmentalist by Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine and you can often find her exploring trails and rivers in the Appalachian Mountains. Connect with Kelly @ecokelly on Instagram.
Follow #StopLNG and @sierraclub to keep up to date on this issue and ways to take action.
Take GD Action!
- Follow and share #StopLNG social media posts
- Click here to Tell America’s Largest Banks: Don’t Fund New Gas Exports
- Tell Federal Officials: No Expansion Of Fracked Gas Exports here
- Talk to friends and family about this issue. Suggest that they listen to this episode, which can be found on the majority of podcast apps
Learn more by watching these videos….
This episode was brought to you by The Climate Listening Project
The Climate Listening Project is listening to artists and activists working together in the Gulf Coast. The gulf is beautiful. Beaches and bayous. But it is also cancer alley. There are dangerous oil rigs, and now over twenty liquid natural gas export terminals proposed along the beautiful Gulf Coast. These huge export facilities will bring gas to the coast to ship overseas for fossil fuel companies, who will profit in the billions. Not only is it dangerous to local humans, environment and wildlife, but with climate change, why would we even consider this!?!
Tell the EPA, FERC, president Biden, and your senators and representatives to quit it with the liquid natural gas! (There is nothing NATURAL about it!). Learn more at GulfCoastMurals.com.
Follow @TheClimateListeningProject and @GulfCoastMurals on Instagram.
