Energy Exchange

Saving Energy and Doubling Worldwide Water Supplies – One Drip at a Time

By Kate Zerrenner / Published: February 9, 2017

Netafim HQOn a warm December day, I stood in a jojoba field in the Negev Desert in southern Israel and watched water slowly seep up from the ground around the trees. First a tiny spot, then spreading, watering the plants from deep below. This highly efficient system is known as drip irrigation, and I was there to meet with the world’s leading drip irrigation company, Israel-based Netafim.

Naty Barak, the Netafim director who I met on the visit, notes that if the world’s farmers increased their use of drip irrigation to 15 percent (up from just under 5 percent now), the amount of water available for use worldwide could double.

Drip irrigation saves more than water. Whereas traditional irrigation typically uses quite a bit of energy, drip reduces the pressure (and power) needed to get the water to the crops while reducing the need for energy-hungry fertilizers. Plus, due to the inextricable link between water and power, saving water results in further saved energy.

Texas has already enhanced its water efficiency, but it could go further and take a page out of Israel’s book. By investing in thoughtful drip irrigation now, Texas could lead the nation on expanding this innovative technology and significantly reduce the energy footprint of its irrigation sector, while protecting water supplies for our growing cities and creating more sustainable farming practices. Read More »

Posted in Energy-Water Nexus, Texas / Comments are closed

Congressional Review Act: A Law of Unintended and Long-Lasting Consequences

By EDF Blogs / Published: February 9, 2017

3802348922_e99184a252_bBy Carol Andress, Director of Legislative Operations, Climate & Air

With legislation flying fast and furious through the Capitol – much of it using new or unusual legal mechanisms – lawmakers today must be doubly mindful of unintended consequences. Case in point: Actions rushed through the House and Senate under an obscure law called the Congressional Review Act (CRA), the details of which can cause deeper, more lasting impact than the simple name implies.

The CRA dates to the 1990s. It says that any rule finalized by a federal agency can be subject to an expedited congressional repeal for 60 legislative days after the agency sends up a copy of the final rule and a report detailing the reasons for its promulgation. Within that window, either chamber can introduce a joint resolution of disapproval – which, if passed by both houses of Congress and signed by the president, effectively voids the rule.

The law sounds simple enough. But it leaves a lot of room for error or mischief. Read More »

Posted in BLM Methane, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Read 3 Responses

Texas Leaders Can Use Clean Energy to Increase Investments and Create Jobs. Here’s How.

By John Hall / Published: February 8, 2017

GA_Washington_DC4It’s that time again. Texas leaders are meeting in Austin for the 85th Legislative Session and the next five months will be an interesting wrestling match over human rights, voting rights, bathroom rights, and local rights.

But what about our economic rights? A new report Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) issued to the Texas Legislature, Texas’ Clean Energy Economy: Prioritizing Jobs, Investments, and Growth, shows the Lone Star State’s evolving electricity landscape has created enormous economic growth and jobs. The report explores the policies put in place years ago that has allowed Texas’ power market to become cleaner and more affordable, and it outlines the state’s impressive job growth in energy efficiency, wind, and solar power.

The report urges our leaders to develop and implement a bold, comprehensive Texas energy plan to create well-paid jobs, drive innovation and investment, make us more energy independent, and protect our water supplies, while improving the health of Texans and the environment. Read More »

Posted in Clean Energy, Solar Energy, Texas, Wind Energy / Comments are closed

Another Study Confirms Methane Problem Warrants Action

By Ramon Alvarez, Ph.D. / Published: February 7, 2017

natgaswellThis post was updated on February 10th.

A new study from the U.S. Department of Energy adds to the large and growing body of research on the problem of methane emissions from the oil and gas industry. Methane is both the main component of natural gas and a powerful climate pollutant – which is why regulators, scientists, and industry all have a vested interest in developing a more complete understanding of how much methane is emitted and from which sources.

Researchers with the Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) used a life cycle model to integrate data from several of EDF’s methane studies, and estimated that 7.3 million metric tons of methane were emitted along the natural gas supply chain in 2012. This value is about 10% higher than the corresponding estimate in the 2016 EPA Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI), although the difference was not statistically significant (the NETL confidence interval ranged from -20% to +30% of the central estimate). Read More »

Posted in General, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Trump wants to reduce waste and grow jobs? Good, these methane policies do just that.

By Dan Grossman / Published: February 6, 2017

Casing-head gas

This post originally appeared on the EDF Voices blog.

Today, lawmakers are using the Congressional Review Act to dismantle common-sense energy policies that can save Americans hundreds of millions of dollars and prevent massive amounts of energy resources from being needlessly wasted.

The targeted policies from the Bureau of Land Management apply to oil and gas companies that operate on 245 million acres of federal and tribal lands. Since 2013, these operators have wasted more than $1.5 billion worth of natural gas that belongs to the American public, with millions in lost royalties as a result.

That comes to more than $1 million every day – hardly what President Trump had in mind when he promised to maximize our natural resources. Read More »

Posted in BLM Methane, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed

Rollbacks to National Standards Jeopardize California’s Efforts to Reduce Methane Emissions

By Irene Burga / Published: February 6, 2017

California’s Air Resource Board (ARB) recently released a strong and likely final draft of new regulations that will reduce methane pollution from new and existing oil and gas facilities across California.

CAOilAndGas

Methane essentially is natural gas — wasting it is tantamount to wasting an energy resource. California producers report losing about 75,000 metric tons of methane every year, while nationally companies on publicly owned lands reportedly waste more than $1 million worth of natural gas every day. Alongside methane, oil and gas facilities also emit a list of toxic pollution like hydrogen sulfide, toluene, xylene, and benzene, all of which can be harmful to public health. Read More »

Posted in Air Quality, California, Climate, General, Methane, Natural Gas / Comments are closed