If you read the article carefully you'll notice that the Sirra Club's interest in this is due fracking (sorry, but checking the link again I see that it is truncated.) What, at least in my mind, they are missing is that by trying to shut down the shale gas industry they will succeed in increasing the price of natural gas, making it more profitable for for the oil majors to drill.
Interestingly, the Sirra Club is also aligned with the major power producers in an effort to stop exporting domestic gas overseas. This is the first time that these two entities have sat on the same side of the table. Right now all permitting for new liquefaction plants are on hold until the DOE submits a report in August with projections of what exports will do to the price of domestic gas. Cheniere Energy (LNG) got in under the wire and has all the pieces in place to begin construction of their plant in Sabine, LA. They have pre-sold the anticipated production of the first 4 trains to 4 major concerns with 20 year contracts already in place.
NatGas has been seen as a bridge fuel into the future. It remains to be seen if that bridge will be build or if it will be the bridge to nowhere. I wouldn't underestimate the lobbying power of the SC in either case.
