The gas industry has spent billions of dollars over decades selling the lie that their product is part of a clean energy future. The truth: methane gas causes slow-motion health harms, makes people who live near wellsites and in homes with gas appliances sick from toxic fumes, and is a major cause of climate change, not the solution.
GAS = METHANE
Methane is a super-polluting greenhouse gas – more than 80 times as potent as carbon dioxide. Methane levels in the atmosphere are at record levels, and the oil and gas industry is a leading source.
GAS LEAKS CONSTANTLY
Before it reaches your home, the gas system releases millions of tons of methane into the atmosphere. A wave of academic research shows that emissions from the oil and gas system are far higher than is officially reported, all the way from wellheads to stove tops, gas-fired power plants, and LNG export terminals. And gas leaks from furnaces and stoves in our homes and buildings, even when they’re turned off.
GAS EXTRACTION POISONS COMMUNITIES...
Eighteen million people in the U.S. reside within one mile of active oil and gas wells, where they’re exposed to health-harming air pollutants, such as benzene, a known carcinogen, which is linked to a range of detrimental health effects, such as cardiovascular disease, diabetes, lung cancer, and leukemia, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs).
Recent research has found that exposure to air pollution may directly increase the risk for Alzheimer’s disease and exacerbate certain mental health disorders, including anxiety and schizophrenia.
...AND THE AIR IN YOUR HOME
Gas stoves emit methane and other toxic air pollutants into your home’s air, including nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide, and benzene . Children in homes with gas stoves have a 42% higher chance of developing asthma.
Studies show that replacing your gas range with an electric or induction one reduces nitrogen dioxide exposure by over a quarter on average across the U.S. and by half for the heaviest stove users.
IT DOESN'T HAVE TO BE THIS WAY
Cutting methane pollution from fossil fuels is one of the easiest, cheapest, and most effective ways of slowing climate change. About 75% of methane emissions from oil and gas could be eliminated with existing technologies, often at little or no cost. And at home, efficient electric alternatives to gas are increasingly popular, though simply raising awareness of the need to improve indoor air quality through ventilation is critical, as only about 10–25% of households are estimated to actually use their range hoods or open windows while cooking.
