Your argument connecting blowing-off natural gas and the current antipathy to pipelines today is false and disingenuous.
Essentially, it follows the logic that the only way to keep corporations from devastating the environment is giving them some positive market incentive to not do so. But of course, given zero regulations or morality, there's always going to be an economic incentive to toss some poisons in lakes and some pollutants in the atmosphere - because some things just aren't useful and if you have zero-cost disposal, that the (amoral) path of least resistance.
I'd go the opposite rout. Polluting in whatever form should be illegal. Polluters should be fined or go to jail, whatever is appropriate. "I could make money with my stuff so I tossed it/burned it/whatever" should never an acceptable explanation or excuse.
Billions of cubic feet of gas is not a reasonable disposal problem - there's no place to put it, that isn't worse than burning it. Except a pipeline, where it would be ultimately burned anyway, but now yielding energy.
Essentially, it follows the logic that the only way to keep corporations from devastating the environment is giving them some positive market incentive to not do so. But of course, given zero regulations or morality, there's always going to be an economic incentive to toss some poisons in lakes and some pollutants in the atmosphere - because some things just aren't useful and if you have zero-cost disposal, that the (amoral) path of least resistance.
I'd go the opposite rout. Polluting in whatever form should be illegal. Polluters should be fined or go to jail, whatever is appropriate. "I could make money with my stuff so I tossed it/burned it/whatever" should never an acceptable explanation or excuse.