BEAT has been teaming up with No Fracked Gas in Mass to go around the state (and beyond) giving presentations about the fracked gas pipelines that are proposed to bring more fracked gas into New England. BEAT’s presentation focuses on why fracked gas is NOT clean, won’t be cheap, won’t be reliable, and why we DO NOT NEED IT! No Fracked Gas in Mass focuses on the dangers of fracked gas and fracked gas pipelines as well as what individuals can do to fight these proposed pipelines.
For how to take action – see our Act Now! page.
You can view some of our, in person, presentations on the No Fracked Gas information clearinghouse website that BEAT hosts.
(Skip to the latest information on the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline or the Connecticut Expansion pipeline.)
“First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.” – Attributed to Mahatma Gandhi
I think we have hit the “then they fight you” stage – a new “consumer advocate” group is really a bunch of fracked gas industry insiders [off-site link].
Background:
BEAT learned early about the Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s proposal to build a natural gas pipeline “Northeast Energy Direct” across Massachusetts from Richmond to Dracut and another pipeline expansion in Sandisfield and Agawam (with a pipeyard for building the pipeline in Tyringham). Click here to learn more about the proposed projects.
We were the first to speak out publicly, and soon offered fiscal sponsorship and a web presence to the newly forming citizen groups MassPLAN and No Fracked Gas In Mass. (Check their websites for the latest news and events about the fight to stop the pipeline.)
We have so far spoken on this issue in more than 20 towns and cities throughout the Berkshires, across the state, and into nearby New York, always by invitation. We have met with local, county, state, and federal representatives, and have consulted with state and national environmental and legal organizations. (Here is a partial list of BEAT’s pipeline-related activities since February.)
We believe that there is no need for these pipelines, that the price of the gas will not stay low, that most of the natural gas coming through the Northeast Energy Direct pipeline will be exported to Europe and/or Asia, and that there are safer, greener, and less costly alternatives that are being ignored by industry and industry-friendly regulators.
Add to all those problems, the fact that natural gas may be worse for the climate than coal, not to mention that adding more fossil fuel infrastructure may detract from investing in energy efficiency and renewable energy, and we would be heading in the very wrong direction.
TAKE ACTION!: Here is what you can do to take action now.
Here are BEAT’s 9/4/2014 comments to FERC regarding the CT Expansion. (large pdf)
About FERC and the FERC Process (Federal Energy Regulatory Commission)