Extinction Rebellion DC disrupts DC Council Chair candidate's forum over $5B gas project

Video-questioning the candidate's forum about the value of any other issue on an unstable planet.

On the 16th of May, Extinction Rebellion again targetted DC Government support for Washington Gas's proposed $5 billion pipeline replacement project. This time, they disrupted a candidate's forum for DC City Council chair candidates. Rather than answer questions raised by XRDC, organizers simply ended the event early.

XRDC points out that the UN has called for an end to any new fossil fuel infrastructure projects, given the short timeline to deal with climate chaos. Due to the amount of methane leakage from Washington Gas's very old distribution pipeline network, if this project is cancelled, Washington Gas could have to shut down instead. Extinction Rebellion DC calls for converting current gas uses to electricity instead. A lot of PEPCO bills could be subsidized and electric stoves, heat pumps, and geothermal and/or solar heating systems etc installed for the cost of those $5 billion gas pipes.

At this time, it is more likely that electrical infrastructure would be re-used with renewable power sources than gas. gas pipes could be reused for methane made from sweage at Blue Plains, most likely only enough could be made to run gas stoves and not gas furnaces. This could lower the total value of the gas to below the cost of that $5 billion distribution pipeline network.

It is critical that DC use the $5 billion to alternately subsidize heat pump, stove, and PEPCO bills for the poor, rather than putting the money in their own pockets for "campaign expenses."