1. Oil & gas companies follow tough, self-imposed rules
Voluntary standards, or self-imposed “rules,” work just about as well for the oil and gas industry as they do for your diet in a candy store. You create loopholes and cheat since no one is going to punish you — and you looove that sweet, sweet candy. Same deal with oil & gas companies, except they looove profits rather than candy, and instead of getting fat, breaking the self-imposed rules means chemical spills, explosions, and air pollution.
The only meaningful safeguards are local, state and national rules that apply equally to everyone, and that are strongly and transparently enforced by public agencies. It’s not a perfect system–but it’s better than industry binges while no one’s looking.
2. Natural gas is clean energy
In addition to oil and gas facilities regularly exploding into flames and leaking into our waterways and soil, they also release dozens of normally invisible climate and health-harming pollutants into the air.
Using optical gas imaging technology we can see this normally invisible pollution that may include known carcinogens benzene and toluene, volatile organic compounds and methane.
3. Natural gas reduces climate pollution