Energy Expert and Former Regulator Issues Statement on Oscar Nominated Documentary Gasland
 |
HARRISBURG, PA - February 27, 2011: John Hanger, immediate past secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection, former member of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission, and nationally-recognized expert on energy, the economy, and the environment, issued a statement today on his blog about the documentary Gasland, nominated for an Academy Award to be awarded tonight.
The statement says, in part, "[Filmmaker Josh] Fox is giving voice to real concerns and speaking for some people that really have been negatively impacted by drilling who should not be ignored."
But Hanger warns of problems with Gasland, and urges everyone to consider all the facts and choices that must be made:
"The film presents a selective, distorted view of gas drilling and the energy choices America faces today. If Gasland were about the airline industry, every flight would crash and all airlines would be irresponsible. In Gasland, the gas industry is unsafe from beginning to end and is one unending environmental nightmare with no benefits.
But perhaps the biggest of Gasland's many problems is that it does not discuss the alternatives to natural gas. If not natural gas, then what?
"The reality today is that only more coal and oil, both of which are dirtier than natural gas, could replace the 24 percent of America's electricity made from natural gas and the 51 percent of homes heating with natural gas. Since coal and oil pollute more in their production and combustion, using more natural gas to replace them decreases mercury, soot, smog, and heat trapping pollution.
"America does not run on clean fuels today but instead on mainly coal and oil. Natural gas is cleaner than coal or oil and can quickly replace large amounts of both for electricity generation, heating, and transportation. America should be doing that for our economy, national security, and environment.
"Of course, natural gas has impacts and is not the full, only, or ultimate solution. It must be strongly regulated, rules enforced, and rules strengthened further if needed. Achieving operational and environmental excellence is a challenge first and foremost for the industry, but it is one that everyone --government, industry, communities, environmental groups -- should help meet.
we must accelerate deployment of even cleaner technologies like wind, solar, and others. More must be invested in energy conservation, the cleanest and cheapest option."
Hanger's full statement is available on his blogsite at
. Hanger is president and CEO of Hanger Consulting, LLC, and Special Counsel at Eckert Seamans.