I do not own a car. Instead, I rely on my bicycle for transportation. So, extreme heat, cold, or other climate-change induced weather events are not only inconvenient, but directly hinder my ability to get to the grocery store, my job, or the doctor’s office.
As a frequent biker, I am also keenly aware of the negative health risks I face from exposure to pollution and poor air quality released from nearby gas power plants. I worry deeply about the health impacts that methane gas and climate change will have on me and my neighbors.
This concern for public health and safety has motivated me to participate in the Ride to End Fossil Fuels at the end of this month. The Ride to End Fossil Fuels is a 100-mile bike ride across Connecticut, organized by Sierra Club and Sunrise Movement, to protest the expansion of fossil fuels across our state. I’m riding because I want our state leaders to take action now in response to the escalating climate change and pollution around us. Connecticut cannot afford continued pollution of our air and water, and an acceleration of the climate emergency we already find ourselves in. Our families, neighbors and communities need change now.
No matter how careful our state leaders and agencies try to be, using methane gas, a potent fossil fuel, leaks gas at every step of the pipeline process. When methane interacts with other pollutants in the environment, it has serious health impacts. Ozone formed from methane can cause and worsen breathing problems, heart disease, cancer, and strokes, and is especially impactful on children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing health conditions.
Methane is also a significant contributor to climate change, and its heat-trapping capacity is more than 80 times that of carbon dioxide. The impacts of climate change are already burdening our state with hotter summers, colder winters, and more extreme weather events like hurricanes and flooding, which are only expected to increase.
Despite the consequences, there are multiple proposed projects that would expand gas infrastructure across our state:
Brookfield Compressor Station: The fossil fuel company, TC Energy, has proposed an expansion that would double the size of an existing compressor station located just 1,900 feet from the only middle school.
Eversource Connecticut River Pipeline: Eversource has proposed a new gas pipeline in Middletown under the Connecticut River, impacting state parks in Middletown, East Hampton, and Higganum.
Enbridge AGT Pipeline: The Norwich Public Utility wants to buy more gas capacity from an existing Enbridge pipeline, which has been recently expanded in Connecticut and is currently at threat of expansion in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.
Every single one of these projects would accelerate climate change and lead to the release of more methane and other toxic pollutants across the Northeast.
During our Ride to End Fossil Fuels on May 30 and 31, some 20 cyclists and I will ride through many of these impacted towns and cities. We will attend community organizing events in Brookfield, Middletown, and Mansfield, helping to shine a light on the incredible advocacy communities are engaging in to stop these projects from moving forward.
As a state, we need to stop expanding fossil fuel infrastructure, and instead work to expand clean alternatives to protect the health of our residents and our environment. Instead of deepening our reliance on costly and environmentally destructive projects, we should be investing in clean alternatives and increasing energy efficiency so that we slow down climate change and ensure that Connecticut families, residents, children, and elders have clean air to breathe.
Climate change is already happening, but Connecicut leaders can and must act now to shift away from fossil fuels and address the problem before it gets worse. I urge Connecticut leadership to oppose fossil fuel expansion projects including the Brookfield Compressor Station Expansion, new Eversource pipeline in Middletown, and added capacity to the Enbridge pipeline. These projects will increase the amount of pollution in our environment, harming our residents, and adding onto the climate change impacts we are already dealing with.
If you’re as concerned about these projects as I am, then I invite you to join one of the Ride to End Fossil Fuels community events, which will take place in Brookfield, on the morning of May 30; Middletown, on the afternoon of May 30; and Mansfield on the afternoon of May 31.
Kai Addae is a cyclist living in New Haven.