The Fracking Industry Is Feeling the Heat -- And Plans to Fight Back

Just last week I had the unique experience of attending the fracking industry conference Shale Insight in Pittsburgh. At the conference, I noticed a focus on infrastructure—pipelines, LNG export terminals, and petrochemical manufacturing plants. We, as champions for clean water and air, know that these projects simply lead to more drilling and fracking and expand the markets that lead to profits for the industry. According to Gary R. Heminger, the CEO of Marathon Petroleum Corporation, “if you build the infrastructure, demands from the markets will follow.”

.@MarathonOil CEO: "we need more #fossil #fuels not less" #SHALEINSIGHT

— alison grass (@alison_grass) September 21, 2016

Of course the conference was not without misguided criticism against our anti-fracking movement either. Harold Hamm, CEO of Continental Resources, blasted what he called the “environmentalist agenda” claiming that “they [environmentalists] use fear and disregard for the law” and that “they [environmentalists] think methane is a huge pollutant.” Naturally this confused me, because I don’t think methane is a dangerous greenhouse gas, I know it is. Science shows that  pound-for-pound, each puff of methane from the industry is over 86 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over 20 years, and over 34 times more potent than carbon dioxide at trapping heat over 100 years. Furthermore, shale gas, which is 90 percent methane, is leaking more than regulators seem willing to admit. Fugitive methane emissions from oil and gas industry operations, including pipeline transmission, are the leading anthropogenic (human-caused) source of methane pollution in the country.

Specifially: methane from the industry is 87x more potent than CO2 at trapping heat over 20 years, & 36x more over 100 years #SHALEINSIGHT

— alison grass (@alison_grass) September 21, 2016

On the other hand, I noticed that the oil and gas industry is feeling the pressure from residents across the country mobilizing to stop the polluting practices of drilling and fracking and the construction of new and expansion of existing pipelines and associated infrastructure. During one session an EQT Corporation representative dubbed the movement as “very organized, very vocal and very aggressive." Likewise, the CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America said that aggressive, grassroots organizing and what he called a “public policy battle” are making pipelines harder than ever to push through.

.@ContinentalOil's #HaroldHamm says activists use fear and disregard for law. False. We all know the climate science is real. #SHALEINSIGHT

— alison grass (@alison_grass) September 21, 2016

However, we can’t stop now—the industry plans on trying to re-brand their image, messaging and being more pro-active rather than reactive. And unfortunately they have the support of elected officials who should be acting as climate leaders for their constituents.

Ohio Lieutenant Governor Mary Taylor told an audience that the industry needs to do a better job marketing and “explaining the importance” of the industry to the public. And she wasn’t the only elected official to side with the industry. Speaker and Pennsylvania State Representative Mike Turzai proudly boasted that he helped to introduce a bill to create keystone energy zones for manufacturers in Pennsylvania that would help attract petrochemical manufacturers to the state, such as the toxic Shell ethane cracker plant coming to Western Pennsylvania. Ethane is a major feedstock used in petrochemical manufacturing and a component of natural gas. The fracking boom has made ethane more affordable, and the chemical industry is slated to spend over $164 billion on 264 new shale gas related projects – including expansions and new facilities – by 2023. Unfortunately, ethane crackers are environmentally unfriendly and the process of “cracking” ethane into ethylene (needed to make plastics and other products) releases large amounts of air pollution and has been linked to smog.

Indeed, after spending two days at the conference, my “shale insight” is that the industry is spending a lot of time and resources responding to the growing movement against fracking. Perhaps that’s why they invited Alex Epstein, author of The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels and founder of the for-profit think tank Center for Industrial Progress, to speak one morning.

@AlexEpstein: Touts that industry should frame fossil fuels as being pro-human, "we care deeply about humans flourishing" #SHALEINSIGHT

— alison grass (@alison_grass) September 22, 2016 

Overall, the speeches and the rest of the conference made two things clear. First, the ever-growing movement against oil and gas fracking and  infrastructure is a major industry problem and it is not easy for them to solve. Our organizing efforts are working and we need to continue to build our movement’s scope and power. Second, big oil and gas are not going to sit back and ignore what we’re doing. These already powerful interests will be even more aggressive and sophisticated in pursuing their goal of fracking America.

A common trend I keep hearing at #SHALEINSIGHT conference is activism & opposition is a huge road block, esp to #pipelines & infrastructure

— alison grass (@alison_grass) September 21, 2016

It is long past time to move away from dirty fossil fuels and to invest in clean, renewable energy. But the deep-pocketed fossil fuel industry — with its increasingly intensive extraction methods, entrenched infrastructure and lack of investment in energy conservation to slow demand for its product — is trying to derail the necessary transformation. Now is the time for North America to declare independence from the oil and gas industry.