WASHINGTON, DC (November 21, 2013) – Today, in support of two initiatives introduced by Senator Ed Markey (MA) to fix America’s natural gas distribution pipelines, the Pipeline Modernization and Consumer Protection Act and the Pipeline Revolving Fund and Job Creation Act, the BlueGreen Alliance’s Executive Director David Foster released the following statement:

“Fixing America’s natural gas pipelines is one thing we can do right now to reduce the threat of climate change, create good jobs and save consumers money. Senator Markey knows this, and is doing the right thing by introducing bills to help states repair and replace outdated distribution pipelines and also create a sensible revolving fund to pay for these repairs without unnecessarily drawing on taxpayer dollars.

“American consumers and businesses have paid at least $20 billion for this lost gas since 2000. In 2011, distribution systems released 69 billion cubic feet of gas directly into the air, equal to the global warming pollution from all the cars and pickups registered in the state of Pennsylvania. By repairing the system over the long run, we can prevent further releases and create good U.S. jobs along the way.

“In the near term, natural gas has a global warming impact at least 70 times higher—pound for pound—than carbon dioxide. We commend Senator Markey for working to fix this problem sooner than later, which will also boost our economy and put people to work.”