To the Editor:
Re “20 Questions With Didi Barrett” (front page, May 10):
I feel that Assemblymember Barrett’s answer to the “methane bill” question was disingenuous.
Didi’s bill, Assembly Bill 6039, changes the definition of “Carbon Dioxide Equivalent” to measure the global warming impact of pollutants according to how much climate damage they cause over 100 years, rather than the current 20.
Methane, AKA natural gas, is 80 times worse for global warming than CO2 in the first twenty years after it’s emitted into the atmosphere. After that, methane slowly breaks down into water and CO2, but the damage has already been done.
By making one of the worst greenhouse gasses look relatively harmless, the gas industry would evade accountability and the state’s climate goals could be achieved on paper, without actually cleaning up our energy.
Experts who are a lot more knowledgeable than I have explained how this legislation would undermine the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, but Barrett stubbornly refuses to pull the bill.
Bill Kish
North East, N.Y.