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Una Clara Advertencia Para México Acerca de la Contaminación Climática de su Industria Petrolera

By Daniel Zavala-Araiza / Published: September 19, 2016


splash-with-citationUn estudio publicado recientemente por científicos de la NASA contribuyó a encontrar al responsable de una gran nube invisible de metano extendiéndose en el suroeste de los Estados Unidos y cuyo tamaño es 5 veces más grande que la Ciudad de México. El estudio permitió atribuir este foco de emisiones a la creciente red de instalaciones de la industria petrolera en dicha región – Este descubrimiento levanta preocupaciones no solo para nuestros vecinos del norte, sino también para México.

El metano es un gas de efecto invernadero extremadamente potente. En los primeros veinte años después de ser emitido, el metano es más de 80 veces más potente en calentar la atmosfera que el dióxido de carbono. Los científicos estiman que el metano contribuye aproximadamente a 25% del calentamiento que ya experimentamos hoy en día. En adición a sus implicaciones climáticas, reducir sus emisiones también permite reducir otros contaminantes que se emiten en conjunto con el metano: tanto precursores de ozono que afectan la calidad del aire, como tóxicos que afectan la salud humana. Read More »

Also posted in Air Quality, General, Natural Gas / Tagged , | Comments are closed

What to Look for In Today’s House Committee On Science, Space, And Technology hearing On Methane

By Elgie Holstein / Published: September 15, 2016

maxresdefaultThis morning, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Subcommittee on the Environment will hold a hearing on the EPA’s methane emissions regulations, during which I will offer some insights into how and why the oil and gas industry should reduce methane emissions.

This is the first hearing about the methane issue, and while the panel is tipped in favor of industry and we don’t expect testimony to cover all the facts, here are a couple things to look out for as the discussion unfolds.

Industry representatives who are not in favor of regulations will try to make the following points:

  • They will say that the oil and gas supply chain isn’t the problem.
  • They will say that the oil and gas industry is more than capable of self-regulating.
  • They will say that regulation will cost a struggling industry too much, and will put American jobs at risk.

None of these statements is true.

What is true is the fact that methane poses a significant threat to our environment. Over the first 20 years following its release, methane is some 84 times more potent than CO2 in terms of the climate damage it does. While CO2 represents a continuing, long-term threat in the form of accumulated, long-lived and rising atmospheric concentrations, methane drives near-term climate effects. The result is that 25% of the global warming we are experiencing now is due to methane emissions. Read More »

Also posted in Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Smart Policies to Stop Disastrous Natural Gas Leaks

By Adam Peltz / Published: August 29, 2016
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Infrared footage reveals massive methane emissions from a gas storage facility in California’s Aliso Canyon

Last fall, a massive leak from a natural gas storage facility in California’s Aliso Canyon released nearly 100,000 tons of methane pollution into the atmosphere — the largest uncombusted release of this potent greenhouse gas in U.S. history, and seen by many as the industry’s worst environmental disaster since the BP oil spill.

Facilities like Aliso Canyon inject gas pumped in from elsewhere and withdraw it when needed for electric production or heating. Aliso Canyon is the largest field of its kind west of the Mississippi River. There are around 400 such facilities across the U.S., about 14 in California. Until recently, regulatory oversight of these facilities has been uneven at best.

The exact cause of the Aliso Canyon incident is still being investigated, but all signs point to a problem in the aging, corroded casing of one of over a hundred individual wells at the sprawling site. Neither the utility’s maintenance programs nor the state’s lax enforcement of 1980s-era policies were sufficient to prevent this disaster. But now that’s about to change. Read More »

Also posted in Aliso Canyon, California, Climate, Natural Gas / Tagged , | Comments are closed

California Has Solid Data on Methane Leaks, Now They Need To Be Fixed

By EDF Blogs / Published: August 23, 2016

By Luis Bourgeois, Public Policy Intern, Oil and Gas Program

Until recently Californians were in the dark when it came to the state’s natural gas distributionBLOG PIC system and its pollution. But all that is changing now; for the first time ever, consistent data on the annual methane emissions from gas utilities is available for all to see. And what does this data show? California has room to reduce leaks and tighten the integrity of its gas delivery system.

A move toward better transparency

California’s recent step to boost disclosure of the amount of emissions leaked and number of repairs made to gas pipelines and other equipment is the product of Senate Bill 1371 (Leno) passed in 2014, and subsequent regulations from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). SB 1371 took this approach because methane, the main component of natural gas, is a powerful climate pollutant that puts our environment and communities at risk with a leak-prone system across the natural gas transmission, distribution and storage sectors. Read More »

Also posted in Natural Gas / Comments are closed

What the New NASA ‘Hot Spot’ Study Tells Us About Methane Leaks

By Ramon Alvarez, Ph.D. / Published: August 15, 2016

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Look up in New Mexico and on most days you’ll see the unmistakable blue skies that make the Southwest so unique.

But there’s also something hovering over the Four Corners that a naked eye can’t detect:  A 2,500-square mile cloud of methane, the highest concentration of the heat-trapping pollution anywhere in the United States. The Delaware-sized hot-spot was first reported in a study  two years ago.

At the time, researchers were confident the cloud was associated with fossil fuels, but unsure of the precise sources. Was it occurring naturally from the region’s coal beds or coming from a leaky oil and gas industry?

Read More »

Also posted in BLM Methane, Climate, Colorado, Natural Gas / Tagged , , | Comments are closed

A Simple Fix with a Big Benefit: California Lawmakers Consider Closing Loophole to Curb Gas Leaks

By Tim O'Connor / Published: August 11, 2016
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Click image to play video.

After passing the State Assembly Appropriations committee on Wednesday, a little known bill – SB 1441 – is headed for the assembly floor, which is slated to deliver big benefits for consumers and the environment. Not only will the bill create a strong market driver for utilities to operate tighter infrastructure and save California consumers tens of millions of dollars per year, the simple yet innovative approach it takes can chart a course for curbing methane leaks across the industry.

But first, a little context.

As recent as a couple years ago, non-hazardous natural gas leaks and venting were a commonly accepted occurrence across gas utility infrastructure. As long as a leak or a venting wasn’t likely to ignite, utilities could let it go – with many small persistent leaks lasting for decades. And though it sounds hard to believe, gas utilities continuously collect money from consumers through their gas bills to cover the amount of gas utilities lose, even though they also collect money from those same ratepayers to upgrade pipes. This market design works only to protect utilities – giving them money to fix leaks while also covering them if they don’t. Read More »

Also posted in California, General, Natural Gas / Comments are closed