Methane Emissions Featured in April’s “Environmental Focus”

Contact: Alex Oltmanns
Date: April 14, 2016
Phone: (412) 481-9400
Email: [email protected]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXUkuMyDJqc&feature=youtu.be

 

Pittsburgh – Methane emissions, the main component of natural gas and a highly potent greenhouse gas — and their consequences for Pennsylvania in the natural gas age — are the topic of April’s “Environmental Focus.”

This edition of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council’s (PEC) monthly environmental affairs television program airs on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) on Sunday, April 17 at 4 p.m. Check here for local listings.

Environmental Focus methane discussion photo
A roundtable of experts composed of Andrew Williams, Sam Robinson, and John Walliser discussed methane emissions and their impact.

Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the United States, and even conservative estimates of methane emissions from active and abandoned oil and gas wells make this issue a tremendous issue for the Commonwealth. Methane, 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a near-term time frame, is responsible for about one-fourth of the global warming today.

The half-hour television show features Andrew Place, Vice Chairman of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and one of the foremost experts on natural gas energy policy and technology.

Following Vice Chairman Place’s interview, a roundtable discussion composed of Sam Robinson from Governor Tom Wolf’s Office of Policy and Planning, Andrew Williams of the Environmental Defense Fund, and PEC’s John Walliser continued the discussion.

“Any meaningful dialogue on climate change in Pennsylvania has to include reduction of methane emissions,” Walliser said. “Our knowledge of the true extent of these emissions in Pennsylvania is incomplete, and, as the recent gas leak in California’s Aliso Canyon illustrates, even one leak can result in very serious public health and environmental problem.”

Previous editions of “Environmental Focus” have featured topics such as outdoor recreation on Pennsylvania’s waterways, Pennsylvania’s capital budget, the Pennsylvania Pipeline Infrastructure Taskforce, and the Delaware River Conservation Program with guests such as Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) Secretary John Quigley, Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, Pennsylvania Representative Kate Harper, and Andrew Johnson of the William Penn Foundation.

To view past episodes of “Environmental Focus,” click here.

 

About the Pennsylvania Environmental Council

Founded in 1970, the Pennsylvania Environmental Council is the leading environmental organization in the state, and was instrumental in the passage of nearly every major piece of legislation and regulatory initiative affecting clean air, clean water, land use and conservation, hazardous materials, and other major public policy actions since that time. Today, the organization is heavily engaged in a number of critical initiatives surrounding the development of the Marcellus Shale in Pennsylvania, trail and green space development, green energy and climate change programs, water quality, and watershed protection projects.

PEC serves the entire state with programs and staff spanning the Commonwealth.

 

About Pennsylvania Cable Network

PCN (the Pennsylvania Cable Network) is a Government-access television cable television network dedicated to 24-hour coverage of government and public affairs in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It features live coverage of both Houses of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, as well as other forms of informational and educational programming.

The bulk of PCN’s operations are located in Harrisburg, the Commonwealth capital, but it also has bureaus in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.

For more information, visit www.pcntv.com.

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