Look West: Public lands and energy news from the Center for Western Priorities


** New research finds huge methane leakage in New Mexico
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Friday March 25, 2022
A pipline system used to move oil product from New Mexico's Permian Basin to transfer stations, B ([link removed]) LM New Mexico, Flickr ([link removed])

Even more methane is leaking from New Mexico's Permian Basin than previously thought, according to a new study conducted by ([link removed]) Stanford University ([link removed]) researchers ([link removed]) and underwritten by the fossil fuel industry. ([link removed])

The study used aerial data to examine over 90 percent of the wells ([link removed]) in the New Mexico portion of the Permian Basin. It found those wells are releasing 194 metric tons per hour ([link removed]) of methane, a planet-warming gas many times more potent than carbon dioxide. That is more than six times ([link removed]) as much as the latest estimate from the EPA.

“The bad news is that emissions in this time and this region were as high as they are,” said Evan Sherwin ([link removed]) , co-author of the study and a research fellow at Stanford University’s department of energy resource engineering. “The good news is it was only about 1,000 sites out of 26,000 active wells.”

The EPA has proposed new regulations ([link removed]) to eliminate venting at new and existing oil wells as well as require companies to capture and sell gas whenever possible, and New Mexico recently adopted its new rules ([link removed]) to limit most venting and flaring to reduce methane emissions. But it can— ([link removed]) and should ([link removed]) —do more.
Quick hits


** Oil company profit-gouging began with the CARES Act
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American Prospect ([link removed])


** Biden may invoke Defense Production Act for minerals critical to renewable energy
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The Intercept ([link removed])


** BLM may open up 27.5 million acres of federal land in Alaska for Alaska Native veterans to claim
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E&E News ([link removed])


** Los Angeles City Council passes resolution to protect 1 million acres of land in California
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NBC Los Angeles ([link removed])


** Oil companies profit as gas prices rise
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Utah Public Radio ([link removed])


** As wildfire season approaches, Nevada in worst drought in 1,200 years
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Nevada Public Radio ([link removed])


** Navajo leaders request more consultation on Chaco Canyon protections
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Arizona Public Radio ([link removed]) | Navajo Times ([link removed])


** Snow pileup damages Alaska pipeline company’s massive Valdez oil tanks
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Anchorage Daily News ([link removed])


** How one Wyoming mule deer won friends and influenced science
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High Country News ([link removed])
Quote of the day
” Protecting these lands is a step toward remedying historical wrongs and reducing the environmental justice implications of forcing tribes to bear the disproportionate burden of national defense training.”
—Nevada tribes on the proposed Numu Newe National Monument, Huff Post ([link removed])
Picture this


** @D ([link removed]) enaliNPS ([link removed])
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The wind has sculpted tiny ocean waves out of snow near Mountain Vista. These glittering waves are just inches tall and easy to miss if not seen from the right angle. Sometimes it’s the unexpected small surprises that become the best part of a day spent exploring the park.

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