Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities
** Methane waste from oil and gas fields far exceeds federal estimates
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Friday, August 2, 2024
Oil field on public land in California; BLM/Flickr ([link removed])
The country’s biggest oil and gas basins emit four times more methane than estimates by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to new research ([link removed]) by the Environmental Defense Fund. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas with about 80 times the heat-trapping capacity ([link removed]) of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
The data for the study was collected using a jet aircraft outfitted with an imaging spectrometer, which measured atmospheric methane in regions accounting for 70 percent ([link removed]) of onshore oil and gas production in the Lower 48. The aircraft took measurements from the 12 biggest oil and gas basins ([link removed]) in the U.S. The total emissions rate across all basins was roughly 7.5 million metric tons per year, which is enough to meet the annual energy needs of over half of U.S. homes, according to the EDF ([link removed]) .
The analysis follows the finalization of two federal rules meant to curb methane waste. The first, the BLM's Waste Prevention Rule ([link removed]) , applies to oil and gas drilling and extraction on public land and requires producers to pay ([link removed]) for methane that goes to waste. The second, the EPA's Rule for Oil and Natural Gas Operations ([link removed]) , applies to all oil and gas operations, regardless of their location, and requires increased monitoring ([link removed]) for methane leaks.
** Quick hits
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Study: Methane emissions in oil and gas basins far exceed EPA estimates
E&E News ([link removed]) | Financial Times ([link removed]) | Environmental Defense Fund ([link removed])
U.S. Forest Service failing to protect old growth trees from logging, critics say
Guardian ([link removed])
Hanford nuclear waste site could soon host a massive solar installation
Canary Media ([link removed])
Opinion: From lands smeared with my ancestors blood to a sacred hot springs stolen from us, the dispossession continues
Denver Post ([link removed])
Arizona attorney general calls transportation of uranium across Navajo Nation without notice “unacceptable”
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Indigenous celebration of Hanford remembers the site before nuclear contamination
High Country News ([link removed])
Controversial Bears Ears tower proposal scrapped amid backlash from environmentalists, Tribes
Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
Capitol Reef National Park is working hard to save fruits you’ve probably never heard of
KUER ([link removed])
** Quote of the day
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” Hauling radioactive materials through rural Arizona, including across the Navajo Nation, without providing notice or transparency, and without providing an emergency plan, is unacceptable.”
—Arizona Attorney General Kris Mayes, Salt Lake Tribune ([link removed])
** Picture This
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@USFWS ([link removed])
Draw me like one of your French girls.
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