Tag
oil and gas industry
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Five Actions EPA Should Take When Issuing Much-Needed Methane Pollution Standards
In January, EPA committed to a series of actions to reduce methane pollution, including setting nationwide methane standards for new and modified oil and gas equipment. Currently, there are no national limits on the amount of methane pollution that the oil and gas industry can release into the air. If…
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Time to Lead: With the U.S. Taking the Helm of the Arctic Council, It’s Time to Take the Lead on Reducing Methane and Black Carbon
Last week, in Iqaluit, Canada, the Chairmanship of the Arctic Council passed from Canada to the U.S., and Secretary of State John Kerry, the new Chairman of the Council, was on hand to set the stage for the U.S.’s leadership term. At the meeting, Secretary Kerry reaffirmed the US’s recent…
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The Wait is Over, But the Job is Not Done: BLM’s New Rules for Fracking
Today, the U.S. Bureau of Land Management released its long-awaited updates of its rules for hydraulic fracturing in oil and gas development. It’s about time. As BLM Director Neil Kornze has put it: “The portfolio of oil and gas wells overseen by the BLM has expanded at the same time…
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Nationwide Standards are Key to Reducing Emissions from Oil and Gas
Recently oil and gas industry lobbyists have been excitedly reporting about how the industry has “substantially reduced methane emissions” through voluntary efforts. For example, Energy in Depth, a project of the Independent Petroleum Association of America (IPAA), has produced an infographictouting reductions in methane emissions from selected oil and gas…
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The Last Climate Frontier: Arctic Council Leadership on Methane and Black Carbon Must Start at Home
Warming from climate change in the Arctic is happening twice as fast as at lower latitudes, and the Arctic is now “ground-zero” in the struggle against climate change. Arctic and near-Arctic emissions of short-lived climate forcing pollutants, including methane and black carbon, have a disproportionate impact on increasing Arctic temperatures…
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Clean Up All Local Gas Distribution Leaks (Not Just Underground!)
The US Department of Energy and EPA’s Inspector General have called attention in the past two weeks to an important issue – harmful methane emissions from the systems that distribute natural gas in cities and towns. There’s been some effort to clean up methane from natural gas systems in recent…
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Flaring in Focus: A Close Look at Natural Gas Flaring in North Dakota
A considerable amount of attention has recently been directed at the high rate of flaring in US oil and gas fields, specifically the Bakken formation in North Dakota. Local residents, state government, and Federal officials have voiced concerns over the volume of flaring, as recent data (from 2013) shows that…
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The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology Has Some Excellent Advice for the President on Climate Change
Two months ago, President Obama’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology issued a nine-page open letter to the President outlining six critical, common-sense pathways for the Administration to address global climate change during his second term. Released without much fanfare, the letter appears to have disappeared from public view,…
