** Secret recording reveals oil executives' climate change and methane hypocrisy
------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, September 14, 2020
Oil wells flare off natural gas, producing emissions without creating energy | North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality ([link removed])
Last summer as oil and gas industry groups lobbied to change federal restrictions on methane leaks, a major contributor to climate change, they claimed that companies had emissions under control. However, in a secret recording ([link removed]) of a discussion last year by the Independent Petroleum Association of America, participants expressed concern about the amount of natural gas flared off, and discussed how to appear more environmentally friendly.
One participant said ([link removed]) , "We’re just flaring a tremendous amount of gas... this pesky natural gas, the value of it is very minimal," and raised concerns that flaring represented a "huge, huge threat" to industry efforts to portray natural gas as a climate-friendly energy source. That same petroleum council president has publicly spoken against ([link removed]) methane regulations and said that the industry produced "valuable energy resources in a responsible manner."
Burned natural gas emits about half the amount of greenhouse gases as coal; but the flaring of natural gas produces large amounts of climate-warming emissions without creating any usable energy. Researchers have also warned that drilling operations have large methane leaks, and methane emissions are shown to be far higher than previously estimated ([link removed]) . Methane is an extremely potent greenhouse gas, trapping more than 80 times more heat than carbon dioxide over the short term.
The revelations of the oil industry's private views on climate change and emissions come at a time when the American West is in climate distress ([link removed]) as drought, record-setting wildfires ([link removed]) , and extreme weather behavior ([link removed]) ramp up, all of which scientists say are linked to climate change ([link removed]) .
Quick hits
** Opinion: The American West is in climate distress
------------------------------------------------------------
New York Times ([link removed])
** Border wall construction ignores park service recommendations to protect wildlife in Arizona monument
------------------------------------------------------------
E&E News ([link removed])
** Western wildfire smoke plumes are unprecedented, driving extreme weather behavior and filling parks with smoke
------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Post ([link removed]) | National Parks Traveler ([link removed])
** Oil and gas firms in Wyoming received overwhelming majority of royalty rate reductions, shortchanging the state
------------------------------------------------------------
Casper Star-Tribune ([link removed])
** Huge western fires in 1910 changed U.S. wildfire policy. Will this year's blazes do the same?
------------------------------------------------------------
Colorado Sun ([link removed])
** Secret recording reveals oil executives' climate change and methane hypocrisy
------------------------------------------------------------
New York Times ([link removed])
** Climate denialist given senior role in Trump administration science agency
------------------------------------------------------------
E&E News ([link removed])
** Opinion: Trump detests ‘losers,’ but he’s the courtroom loser in chief, including on the environment
------------------------------------------------------------
Washington Post ([link removed])
Quote of the day
Young voters, female voters, Hispanic voters, really every sector except for older conservative male voters. Their No. 1 issue when it comes to our industry is always going to be environmental stewardship, and concerns about what we’re doing with the environment."
—Ryan Flynn, New Mexico Oil and Gas Association,
New York Times ([link removed])
Picture this
** @U ([link removed]) SFWSRefuges ([link removed])
------------------------------------------------------------
What we're reading: Ian Shive's photography book "Refuge: America's Wildest Places," which features national wildlife refuges, is in the spotlight. [link removed] ([link removed])
============================================================
** Twitter ([link removed])
** Facebook ([link removed])
** Medium ([link removed])
** Instagram ([link removed])
Copyright © 2020 Center for Western Priorities, All rights reserved.
You've signed up to receive Look West updates.
Center for Western Priorities
1999 Broadway
Suite 520
Denver, CO 80202
USA
** View this on the web ([link removed])
Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can ** update your preferences ([link removed])
or ** unsubscribe from this list ([link removed])
