I encourage anyone concerned about climate change, air pollution, plastic and the overwhelming power that oil and gas companies have in our country, to listen to the
National Public Radio program and podcast “Living on Earth” about ethane cracker facilities that aired Oct. 25.
This episode describes a little-known practice currently being carried out by fossil fuel giants (Shell, Exxon and BP) that few citizens or elected officials are aware of: constructing ethane cracking facilities in economically struggling, poor communities to process (“crack”) ethane gas to make single-use plastics.
Ethane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is commonly flared at horizontal drilling and fracking oil and gas sites. Oil giants instead intend to capture the ethane off-gas and transport it by pipeline to low-income areas in the U.S. (e.g., Pennsylvania, Ohio, West Virginia) where it will be processed to make single-use plastics.
The oil giants are assuming these communities will permit this practice because they are accustomed to being surrounded by high-polluting facilities, and are represented by politicians who care little about pollution or public health.
Equally egregious is that taxpayer dollars are being used to build these facilities, very few permanent jobs will be created and environmental injustice in those communities is further deepened.
Robin V. Davis, Salt Lake City
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