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Friday, March 29, 2024

From Cambridge Mothers Out Front, July 28, 2017: Today’s massive gas leak in Kendall Square is a safety and health concern for us all and demonstrates everything Mothers Out Front has been saying about the dangers of “natural” gas.

Last May, mothers, grandmothers, kids and allies fanned out across Cambridge tagging all 231 known gas leaks in our neighborhoods. Our aim was to bring attention to the more than 16,000 leaks across Massachusetts emitting dangerous greenhouse gases, killing trees and costing ratepayers tens of millions of dollars every year for gas that never reaches our homes. We appreciate the fact that utility companies are now working with Mothers Out Front and our allies to identify and fix “super-emitters” – the biggest and most environmentally damaging leaks.

But that doesn’t change the fact that natural gas is not a clean, safe source of energy. It leaks at every point along the extraction, supply and distribution chain. When it leaks it is a potent greenhouse gas, far more damaging to earth’s atmosphere than carbon dioxide, and a source of ground-level ozone that makes our air harder to breathe. It can explode, putting everyone in its path – including today’s first responders from Eversource, along with Cambridge fire and police personnel – at risk. That is not a risk anyone should have to take.

Now is the time to hasten the transition from all fossil fuels, natural gas included, to the clean and local renewable energy necessary for fueling a healthy, livable climate for our children.