Texas Veterans DEMAND PERMANENT ACTION FOLLOWING HOUSTON Pipeline Explosion
For Immediate Release: September 16, 2024
Contact: Clyde Gunter | clyde@commondefense.us and Lakiesha Lloyd, Deputy Climate Justice Director, Common Defense | Lakeisha@commondefense.us
Texas Veterans DEMAND PERMANENT ACTION FOLLOWING HOUSTON Pipeline Explosion
LA PORTE, TX – The pipeline explosion and current fire in La Porte, Texas demonstrates once again the grave threats both to public health and national security that are posed by our nation’s over-reliance on fossil fuels. This horrible event highlights the threat posed against many of the communities in Texas due to needed infrastructure for the continued expansion of liquefied natural gas (LNG) overseas. Nobody should be forced to evacuate from their homes or shelter in place at their workplaces or schools because corporate interests are repeatedly prioritized over human health and safety.
Common Defense and the Common Defense Veteran’s State Organizing Committee, calls on our local, state, and federal government to continue the current pause on new leases of liquefied natural gas (LNG) export infrastructure and more stringent enforcement of safety and health regulations to ensure that no more communities are put at risk again.
QUOTES
Lakiesha Lloyd, Houston Resident, Disabled Army Veteran, 2001-2010, Deputy Climate Justice Director, Common Defense: "The dangerous fire from today’s pipeline explosion is expected to keep burning through the afternoon into the evening. Meanwhile, homes are spontaneously catching on fire from the heat, and our first responders and residents are being exposed to invisible, odorless methane fumes that are harmful to everybody in the immediate and surrounding areas. This tragedy shows us once again why liquefied natural gas infrastructure expansion and the attack on regulations by the Supreme Court are disastrous to our communities. Not one resident in the State of Texas should ever be forced from their homes due to an explosion of toxic chemicals in their own backyard. This is why Common Defense and veterans across the state of Texas are demanding the expansion of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) Pause and an increase of regulations to protect what we hold most dear."
Lamar Banks, Texas Resident, Army Veteran, 1993-1998: “As a veteran and a Texan I’ve seen firsthand how resilient this state can be, but the recent liquefied natural gas (LNG) pipeline explosion in La Porte, TX is yet another alarming reminder of the dangers we face. Incidents like these not only threaten our health and safety but underscore the broader need for stronger environmental and climate protections. The Supreme Court’s recent rulings have weakened critical regulations that could prevent such disasters, leaving us vulnerable. Our government must prioritize the health and future of communities like ours, by ensuring environmental safeguards are strengthened—not dismantled.”
Tom Beauchamp, Houston Resident, Retired Disabled Army Veteran, 1981-1985: “As a retired Army disabled veteran and decades long resident of Houston, the explosion and fire in La Porte today has released among many other harmful substances, methane, which is considerably more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide, and will cause long term negative impacts to the environment. This is as well a major detriment to the health of those living in the Houston area. This is why we need to bring back more regulations around liquefied natural gas (LNG). As a veteran, I have endured numerous health issues, and continued exposure to these harmful chemicals released into the environment is unacceptable.”
Ted Spencer, Climate Policy Analyst for Common Defense, US Navy Veteran, 1999-2009: “Our continued export of large amounts of liquefied natural gas overseas doesn’t serve anybody except the profits of oil and gas companies, at the expense of the health and safety of American citizens along the Gulf Coast. Today’s pipeline disaster is a tragic reminder of the human costs that have been ignored or hidden for far too long. The Supreme Court has recently taken up cases specifically meant to roll back safety regulations and protections in the oil and gas industry. All of these cases are aimed at protecting the oil and gas industry over the American people, the environment, and public health and safety. Where the courts have failed us, lawmakers must step up. We need legislation to ensure that all Americans are free to enjoy life absent of the dangers we’re seeing playing out in real time.”
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Common Defense is a grassroots, veteran-led organization that was founded in 2016. We empower veterans to stand up for our communities against the rising tide of racism, hate, and violence, to organize against the entrenched powers that have rigged our economy, and to champion an equitable and representative democracy, where “liberty and justice” truly is for all. For too long, politicians from both political parties have attempted to use veterans as unwilling political props, and Common Defense serves as a home for veterans to organize and speak for themselves and support the candidates who truly share our values.