Natural gas companies are sweating the clean future. So, theyâre upping their public relations game.
This week Puget Sound Energy (PSE) tweeted a coloring activity for kids, urging them to explore âNatural Gas Town":
The tweet was taken down. PSE explained to me that âwhile the intent was to promote safety, we realized that it lacked context."
Across the country, there are stealthy natural gas-funded ad campaigns cropping up. Have you noticed any Instagram influencers talking about the wonders of the gas stove? Yeah, thatâs being funded by natural gas companies. Despite the fact that recent reports show children who live in a home with a gas stove âhave a 42 percent greater risk of developing asthma symptoms, and 24 percent risk of lifelong asthma,â Mother Jones reports.
Was that the context missing from PSEâs âExplore Natural Gas Townâ kids activity?
"Natural" gas is a fossil fuel. It leaks methane, the most potent of greenhouse gases, into the atmosphere through the fracking process. And, itâs horrible for air quality. The Guardian reported that gas stoves are âcontributing pollution that makes indoor air up to two to five times dirtier than outdoor air.â
"The science is clear," Jesse Piedfort the director of the Washington State Sierra Club chapter told me. "We can't avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis without moving away from gas. Expanding gas is tantamount to climate denial, and it locks us into a future where our very survival is threatened."
Cities and states are reckoning with natural gas as many move toward adopting Green New Deal legislation. Washington committed to getting utilities on self-generating 100 percent clean energy by 2045. Mayor Jenny Durkan has committed to formulating a plan to get all city-owned buildings on clean electricity by 2021. This isnât ideal for companies like Puget Sound Energy, which relies on natural gas and coal for around 60 percent of its energy mix.
PSE defends a âbalancedâ approach to energy and that includes natural gas. Theyâve funneled millions of dollars into lobbying efforts and campaigns against progressive candidates at the state and local level in Washington. Their most recent effort last year failed spectacularly.
So, theyâre pivoting. PSE and other Northwest natural gas companies, including some Canadian gas and pipeline companies, are spending $1 million on a glossy public relations campaign called âPartnership for Energy Progress.â The campaign's goal "is to promote natural and 'prevent or defeat' any initiatives that would reduce or prohibit its use," Desmog Blog reports.
Hereâs the word-for-word statement PEPâs press person supplied me with when I asked about the campaign:
"The Partnership for Energy Progress is a collaboration of utilities, farmers, workers, small and large businesses and community advocates across the Northwest," said Leanne Guier, member of UA Local 32 Plumbers & Pipefitters and President of Partnership for Energy Progress. "This broad coalition is sharing stories and information about innovative energy solutions, such as renewable natural gas. Our goal is to communicate the work we do to provide reliable, affordable energy to homes and businesses, and highlight the progress weâre making to address climate change."
While I havenât seen any Seattle-area influencers telling me the wonders of the gas stove, it seems like PSEâs recent pivot to kidsâ education on natural gas is a concerted effort to rebrand the gas. Theyâve partnered with the site âEnergy Safe Kidsâ to âpromote safety around electricity and natural gas for about the last month.â
âPSE and the gas industry continue to gloss over the health and safety impacts of gas,â Piedfort said. âWhere was the fire station and health clinic in their coloring book?â
On the âEnergy Safe Kidsââ site there is, of course, the Natural Gas Town coloring poster. Kids can also color in a flame namedâand Iâm not kiddingââDon Fuego.â
Thereâs a game called âGas Dash.â Thereâs also this cute song by the mascot Thermilla on what to do when kids smell a potentially deadly natural gas leak in their home. Good safety, but maybe the problem is natural gas?
âAdvertising to children while ignoring the climate, health, and safety impacts of gas is particularly gross,â Piedfort said. âWhen I was growing up, it was a different multi-billion industry that advertised to kids while hiding the health and safety impacts of their product. Instead of Big Tobacco and Joe Camel, we have PSE and Don Fuego. We need PSE to stop the greenwashing, stop with the cute little mascots and coloring books, and become a meaningful partner in moving off fossil fuels.â