Unfudging Climate Myths: Why Gas is bad news

Ben & Jerry’s UnFudge Climate Myths: Why Gas is Bad News

You know by now that we need to move away from fossil fuels for energy and move (*and by move we mean sprinting) to have 100% renewable energy instead of burning coal. 

Energy is a hot topic at the moment, so we thought we would talk about one kind of fossil fuel that is used for energy – gas. The kind our Government just signed a whopping deal to boost its supply and keep in heavy rotation.

In a time where we need to be moving away from these fossil fuel polluters as quickly as possible, this is not good.

Why exactly is gas bad? As much as we love a good gas joke, it’s best we leave it to the scientists, so we called in our friends at The Climate Council to help us clear the air.

Gas makes climate change worse

Gas is a fossil fuel which means it directly affects climate change. Gas makes climate change WORSE, not better because it is highly polluting. Gas is mostly made of methane, a greenhouse gas which is up to 84x more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term. Words like potent and methane are not good news for a planet that needs to cool down in a hurry.

Gas is expensive

Nobody wants to cough up their hard-earned dough for expensive power – especially when it’s the very thing that is driving climate change.

Gas is expensive, which is the reason why energy prices have been so expensive across the East Coast of Australia. Luckily for us (and for the planet!), renewable energy is the cheapest form of energy of new energy generation and doesn’t contribute to climate change.

Gas is a move in the wrong direction

The government is working on gas deals that contribute to the very problem that is making extreme weather events worse. Burning fossil fuels is driving climate change, and climate change is driving our extreme weather events. And we really can’t afford any more extreme weather events. 

This is the time we need to hustle to get away from fossil fuels. We have just seen how bad climate change can be - now is the time we need to move towards renewable energy. However, instead of moving towards the renewable energy solution we so badly need, our government seems committed to keeping fossil fuels burning. 

What is the solution instead?

You guessed it! Renewable energy. We know what we need to be working towards, so it’s time to get to it. It just doesn’t make sense - why would we be paying to ruin our planet when it’s cheaper to get our energy from the sun and wind? Instead of using gas which is expensive and damaging to the planet to extract and burn, we need to pressure those who are making the decisions to move towards renewable energy and away from fossil fuels. If you want to take action, we recommend following our friends 350.org and Climate Council to keep in the loop.