The science is abundantly clear: natural gas never has been a “clean bridge fuel.” Anyone who thinks so is paying more attention to the industry’s well-funded PR campaign and not to the documented safety, health and climate dangers of fracking, flaring, distributing and burning the stuff.

Clean alternatives already exist. The industry’s in a downward spiral. Banks and lawmakers everywhere realize our economic opportunities lie in clean renewable energy, electrifying everything, protecting watersheds and our landscapes. Cities across the country are phasing out fossil gas in new buildings, and certainly not starting new projects that must be maintained for decades.

Clinging to old myths that gas helps us transition off coal and oil is a thoughtless cop-out. “Renewable gas” is a farce. Real leaders look at the facts and make the difficult choices to be part of a speedy and just transition off dirty fossil energy. When city councilors in Eugene negotiate their Northwest Natural Gas franchise agreement, it’s a once in a generation opportunity to stand up to the disinformation of the fossil fuel industry and stand up for the future they assert they care about. What’s the status of the negotiation anyway? It keeps disappearing from meeting agendas.

Patty Hine

Eugene

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