Mothers Out Front Tackled Gas Leaks in Brookline

BROOKLINE, MA — On Saturday, mothers and their allies gathered in front of Brookline’s Town Hall with a message and a mission; "Take to the streets, tag gas leaks and raise awareness," said Kathleen Scanlon, for Mothers Out Front Brookline, an activist group made up of mothers and other caregivers with the aim of raising awareness about climate change.

As part of a campaign to mark leaks in Brookline’s antiquated gas pipelines on Saturday, the crowd of about 50 people broke into small groups and headed out to each of Brookline’s precincts armed with maps indicating the sites of leaks, and laminated sheets to attach to light poles, signs or other nearby structures.

All told, they marked more than 100 leaks with brightly colored posters, distributed door knocker tags and information sheets, and posted about the campaign on social media, as they went.

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Mothers Out Front Brookline organized the event to call attention to the leaks and to build support for the Gas Leaks Consumer Cost Protection Bill, (House Bill H.2683 and Senate Bill S.1845) before the state legislature.

"These bills will prevent utility companies from passing on the cost of leaked gas to consumers, and provide incentives for them to find and fix the biggest leaks first," according to the group statement. Similar bills passed in Texas and Pennsylvania resulted in dramatic reductions in methane gas leaks.

According to data provided by National Grid, Brookline has more than 250 gas leaks, the second highest number of leaks per mile of pipeline of any town in Massachusetts. These leaks emit methane, an extremely potent greenhouse gas, which traps heat 86 times more effectively than carbon dioxide for the first 20 years after its release. Just 7 percent of leaks, the “super-emitters” emit 50 percent of the gas leaked, and fixing them could reduce this problem by half. Gas leaks account for 10 percent of the greenhouse gas emissions of Massachusetts, and are large enough to wipe out all of the efficiency and conservation efforts made to date.

“I think it’s a serious issue and presents public health and environmental concerns and it’s important to identify where the leaks are and to pressure state government and the utility companies to take action," said Brookline Selectmen Ben Franco who took part, along with select-woman Heather Hamilton and Nancy Heller.

Mothers Out Front plan to take the gas leak posters down by June, to avoid contributing to waste in the town, according to a statement.

A whole list of town advocates said they supported the efforts, including those from Climate Action Brookline, 350 Mass, Elders Climate Action, Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET), Mass Healthcare Providers Against Fracked Gas, Temple Israel of Boston, Green Team at United Parish in Brookline, Tzedek at Sinai, Brookline Teen Center, Brookline High School Environmental Action Club, Girl Scout Brownies Troop 62564, State Senator Cynthia Creem, State Representative Frank Smizik, and State Representative Michael Moran.

(Photos courtesy of Mothers Out Front, and Rep Smizik)