** Flaring on the rise
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Friday, October 18, 2019
Natural gas flare in Balmorhea, Texas. Ken Lund ([link removed]) , CC BY-SA 2.0 ([link removed])

Despite promises from oil and gas companies, venting and flaring of natural gas is on the rise during the Trump administration. In 2018, Exxon Mobil burned off 70 percent more gas than it did the year before, according to an analysis by The New York Times ([link removed]) . The practice releases carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, exacerbating climate change.

Venting and flaring from the Permian Basin in Texas alone consumed more natural gas last year than entire states like Arizona and South Carolina use in a year, the Times reported. Last year, oil and gas companies across the Bakken, Permian, and Eagle Ford basins burned or released a combined 320 million cubic feet of gas, an increase of more than 40 percent in five years—and 2019 is on pace to be even higher.

The Trump administration is attempting to eliminate Obama administration rules that would have required drillers to fix leaks and reduce flaring.

The Times reported that the practice varies wildly across the industry. Marathon Oil now vents or flares more than half of the gas produced at its wells in the Bakken, surpassing Exxon Mobil as the most wasteful. Chevron, by contrast, has a venting and flaring rate of less than three percent, apparently driven by internal rules that discourage drilling in areas that would make it difficult to recover natural gas.
Quick hits


** Climate activists travel to Texas for sole hearing on EPA plans to roll back methane standards
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Dallas Morning News ([link removed])


** Colorado public health study finds elevated risks for people living within 2,000 feet of fracking sites
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Denver Post ([link removed]) | Newsweek ([link removed])


** Feds give Navajo uranium cleanup contract to firm with history of data manipulation
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High Country News ([link removed])


** Acting BLM head scorned 'deep state,' 'Pocahontas,' ESA 'hammer'
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Future of Zinke's international hunting council uncertain
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The Hill ([link removed])


** Opinion: Wind and solar power to replace coal at Colorado steel mill
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New York Times ([link removed])


** Sensors show Colorado 14ers are more popular than ever
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CBS Denver ([link removed])


** Exploring the Wheeler Geological Area, one of Colorado's lost national monuments
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GearJunkie ([link removed])
Quote of the day
This study is the first of its kind because it used actual emissions data to model potential exposure and health risks. While we pursue further research, we won’t delay enacting stricter emissions standards for chemicals that cause human effects, ozone pollution and climate change. This study reinforces what we already know: We need to minimize emissions from oil and gas sources.”
—John Putnam, Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Denver Post ([link removed])
Picture this


** @BLMNational ([link removed])
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Happy #EarthScienceWeek ([link removed]) and #NationalFossilDay ([link removed]) ! Jurassic Park may be fiction but Jurassic-age #fossils ([link removed]) are very real! This discovery from the Ojito Wilderness is the first evidence that prehistoric crocodiles lived in what is now #NewMexico ([link removed]) .
@BLMNewMexico ([link removed])
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