Hello, my name is Meenal Raval, a resident of Mt Airy, Philadelphia. I have been trained by Al Gore’s Climate Reality Project and I am an unpaid representative of the grassroots community.

On October 16th, I spoke at a Gas Commission meeting stating simply that… the recent IPCC report asks us to reduce our emissions as soon as possible. PGW’s product, whether you call it natural gas or fracked gas or methane, emits about 25% of our City’s emissions. How do we get these emissions to zero? And how to do this without laying off anyone? And still continue to heat our homes? We need a different business model for PGW.

Since then, we met with Council member Derek Green, chair of the Gas Commission. And believed that he too wanted a different business model for PGW, one that didn’t involve selling more & more gas. Our understanding was that we’d have a public hearing about the future of PGW before we fast-tracked another fossil-fuel project.

Yet here we are.

Seeing PGW’s marketing budget spent on ads promoting this project; we wonder — wouldn’t these be better spent educating us about energy efficiency measures such as setback thermostats, insulation, and electrification?

Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Gas Commission blatantly ignored vehement public opposition when they voted to OK the Passyunk Energy Center last December. Nor does the Philadelphia Gas Commission publish meeting minutes on their website.

Why aren’t we working this hard to fast-track new clean energy projects?

We take pride that PGW is the nation’s largest municipally owned utility. Yet, there appears no way that citizens can participate in steering this utility that we own.

Even when signing up to testify for this hearing, the chair of the committee defered all coordination to the champion of this project. People signing up to speak of their opposition to this project are being advised, by the project’s champion, that the speakers representing fossil fuel interests have no time limit, and that there are too many in opposition to fit into the schedule. Perhaps a conflict of interest here?

If our goal is public health and a livable planet, we’re headed in the wrong direction by further developing a reliance on gas. Our Mayor and Council have so far only offered lip service. I suggest you all read Charles Ellison’s article: ​Reality Check – Voting Green​ in The Philadelphia Citizen, where he asks: ​Why aren’t our elected officials talking more about climate change and pollution? This election, voters will demand it​.

We’re demanding it today. And ask that Council passes on gas.

This is looking like the behavior of an addict…so I’ll just end by offering a copy of the 12 steps from Emissions Anonymous.

  1. Admit that we are powerless over capitalism — that our business has damaged the planet.
  2. Come to believe that only a Power greater than us, Nature, can restore us to environmental protection.
  3. Dedicate our energy to Nature, discontinue ​extracting & combusting fossil fuels,​ and put 100% of our ​effort​ into environmental conservation.
  4. Perform a fearless inventory of our industry, its exploitation and disregard for the earth, its ecosystem, and its inhabitants.
  5. Admit to Nature, our stockholders, and our customers that we have put profit over humankind and the planet.
  6. Embrace Nature and expunge the character flaws that enabled us to abuse her.
  7. Humbly ask Nature to forgive us our emissions as we forgive those who emitted with us.
  8. Make a list of all persons we have harmed and to whom we must make amends. This includes reparations for the workers exploited, the communities harmed, and the environments damaged.
  9. Release in full our financial and environmental transgressions.
  10. Welcome unequivocally Nature’s removal of our character flaws.
  11. Implore Nature to heal us of our hydrocarbon habit and our wasteful ways, and help us devote our future to sustainable practices.
  12. List anyone we have harmed and make amends to them, from consumers who believed our lies about ‘clean ​gas​’ to any person or thing subject to the effects of climate change.