For years EEN has been helping pro-life Christians oppose pollution from our natural gas infrastructure, especially methane and volatile organic compounds or VOCs. Why? It’s simple — because they harm human health, especially the unborn. The leaks, venting, and flaring from the natural gas industry spew out smog precursors, as well as other toxic pollutants and cancer-causing agents like benzene. Studies have shown that smog, VOCs, and air toxics have a disproportionate impact upon life in the womb; for those near production sites the emissions have been linked to birth defects, pre-term births, and low-birth-weight babies, who are at greater risk of infant mortality, ADHD and asthma, among other things. In addition, methane is highly potent greenhouse gas, 86 times stronger than CO2 at trapping heat over a 20-year timeframe. This is crucial, because it is the next 10-20 years that will determine whether we keep the world safe from catastrophic climate impacts.
