Pipelines might be going the way of toilets, death, and sex \u2014 that is, best talked about discreetly. Just as ordinary folks might use a euphemism like \u201cthe birds and the bees,\u201d a natural gas company is now awkwardly calling its proposed pipeline \u201can infrastructure.\u201d No, really.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The proposed 12-mile pipeline, officially called the \u201cGreenville County Reliability Project,\u201d is meant to bring more natural gas to the growing population near Greenville County, South Carolina. Local environmentalists argue<\/a> that the pipeline, proposed by a subsidiary of Duke Energy called Piedmont Natural Gas, is unnecessary. Duke Energy responded with a news release<\/a> touting the community\u2019s role in determining the pipeline\u2019s route — but without any mention of the actual word \u201cpipeline.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Instead, there is plenty of discussion of a \u201cnew infrastructure project\u201d and various \u201croutes.\u201d Pursuing the project\u2019s site<\/a>, you have to scroll down to the FAQ to find the p-word, as Politico pointed out<\/a>. A page about construction<\/a> includes some creative but not necessarily grammatically correct turns of phrase, perhaps to avoid the word \u201cpipeline\u201d:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Heavy equipment \u2013 such as excavators, cranes, rough terrain forklifts, track hoes, dump trucks, side booms and welding equipment \u2013 is often necessary to construct a large natural gas infrastructure<\/strong>. While construction of an infrastructure<\/strong> can take months, this equipment and associated construction on individual properties is much shorter in duration. [emphasis added]<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n Pipeline projects have become the subject of many fervent protests and ensuing legal battles over the last decade, from the Dakota Access pipeline to the Keystone XL expansion. Opponents often cite damage to ecosystems, potential water contamination, and the climate costs of pursuing further fossil fuel infrastructure instead of developing a cleaner grid. These efforts have managed to sink some projects, including Duke and Dominion Energy\u2019s Atlantic Coast Pipeline<\/a> intended to carry natural gas across Appalachia, which was canceled last summer<\/a> because of delays and ballooning legal costs. Considering this contentious history, it\u2019s conceivable that companies may want to avoid the word \u201cpipeline\u201d to try to fly under the radar of environmental activists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A spokesperson for Piedmont Natural Gas, however, cites a different reason for the news release\u2019s linguistic gymnastics. \u201cThe word infrastructure is simply a way to indicate that a project includes MORE than pipe,\u201d Jennifer Sharpe said in an email to Grist. \u201cIt also includes regulator facilities, control systems, system markers, corrosion coating, AC mitigation, etc. Calling it just a pipeline doesn\u2019t provide an accurate description of the utility infrastructure we build.\u201d Sharpe noted that \u201cinfrastructure\u201d is a common term used by utilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oil and gas companies have a long history<\/a> of using spin to improve their reputation. The oil company BP, for example, rebranded from British Petroleum to the sustainable-sounding \u201cBeyond Petroleum\u201d in the early 2000s. Other messaging tweaks have been more subtle. At the same time that delegates gathered to meet in Glasgow, Scotland, for the United Nations\u2019 international climate negotiations, BP and ExxonMobil began painting themselves as part of the solution<\/a> on social media. Despite tweeting about a \u201clower carbon future\u201d and touting renewable and electric vehicle investments, these companies\u2019 spending on low-carbon projects is dwarfed by their spending on oil and gas<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n There\u2019s some evidence that public opinion may be souring on fossil fuels. Last year, the CEO of BP admitted that oil was becoming \u201csocially challenged<\/a>\u201d and that the company was in danger of losing staff and finding it harder to recruit new hires. A recent analysis<\/a> from the Oxford English Dictionary found that the phrase \u201cfossil fuels\u201d was being used alongside negative words like \u201cdivestment\u201d and \u201cphasing out\u201d more frequently than in the past. Natural gas has the best reputation among the fossil fuels: 76 percent<\/a> of Americans view it favorably, much more than support oil (51 percent) or coal (39 percent).<\/p>\n\n\n\n To be fair, it\u2019s not only fossil fuels that are getting new names to avoid a rough reputation. In some Republican circles, the phrase \u201cclimate change\u201d has become so politicized that communication experts recommend avoiding it<\/a> in favor of more GOP-friendly terms like \u201cresilience,\u201d \u201cfuture-proofing,\u201d and \u201cextreme weather.\u201d<\/p>\n This story was originally published by Grist<\/a> with the headline Natural gas company goes to great lengths to avoid saying the word \u2018pipeline\u2019<\/a> on Nov 12, 2021.<\/p>\n