Stop Pipelines & Fracked Gas
Photo By Sierra Shamer / Fractracker
Two decades ago, so-called natural gas exploded on the American energy market, pushed by the industry as a supposedly clean “bridge” fuel to transition the economy from dirty coal to renewable sources of electricity generation like solar and wind.
But this gas is far from clean. From the time that it is extracted using a destructive drilling method called fracking, its transport through pipelines, train cars and trucks, to the power plants where it is burned, the dire environmental and human costs of this fossil fuel are now abundantly clear. In particular, this polluting infrastructure is often sited in communities of color, lower-income areas and other environmental justice communities.
Studies show that investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency are on par with, or sometimes more affordable than, building new gas infrastructure. Many states are enacting policies to tap into the rising solar and wind sector. Yet the fossil fuel industry is rushing to build gas pipelines and power plants to squeeze as much profit as possible out of the waning fuel, putting most of the financial risk on customers.
Appalachian Voices is tackling the spread of fracked gas head-on by legally challenging fossil fuel proposals and pushing back against the antiquated policies and rubber-stamping agencies that govern the development of gas infrastructure. We are also partnering with communities in the fight against new fossil fuel infrastructure, providing resources and training to bolster local opposition. And we are pressuring decision-makers to force them to consider the environmental justice impacts to communities threatened by energy development.
And the tide is starting to turn. In July 2020, Duke Energy and Dominion Energy canceled the 600-mile Atlantic Coast Pipeline. The massive fossil fuel project was riddled with problems, starting with the fundamental fact it was not needed to meet energy demand. Standing beside the many communities and organizations that made this historic victory possible, we’re taking this momentum and applying it toward the fight against other climate-harming boondoggles like the Mountain Valley Pipeline and MVP Southgate.
“I am only one, but I am one. I cannot do everything, but I can do something.”
Edward Hale, 19th century American author
Become A Voice for Clean Water
From coal ash pollution to runoff from coal mining to fracking and pipelines, the health of our region’s waterways are threatened.
Latest News
Biden must stop methane pipelines to deliver on climate change and environmental justice
In the USA Today, Indigenous leader Crystal Cavalier and climate scientist Michael Mann team up for this op-ed calling out the Mountain Valley Pipeline as a nail in America’s climate coffin and environmental injustice.
N.C. Upholds MVP Southgate Permit Denial
The N.C. Department of Environmental Quality again rejected a permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline’s proposed extension into the state. MVP also announced another delay and cost increase for the 300-mile fracked-gas pipeline.
Relay Runners Followed Path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline
Three women ran the 415-mile route of the Mountain Valley Pipeline over the course of 10 days to protest the project and connect with residents along the pipeline’s path.
North Carolina again rejects fracked-gas Mountain Valley Pipeline extension
CONTACT: Cat McCue, Sr. Communications Strategist, 434-293-6373, cat@appvoices.org…
Last Tree-sitters Removed from Path of Mountain Valley Pipeline
For 932 days, tree-sitters at the Yellow Finch site blocked the path of the Mountain Valley Pipeline. The two remaining tree-sitters were extracted by Virginia State Police on March 23 and March 24.
FERC setting up an “Office of Public Participation.” After 40 years.
Congress told FERC 40 years ago to start an “Office of Public Participation.” The agency is finally doing it — after decades of approving dirty-gas pipelines all across the country.
