One more time: Natural gas is not good for the environment (yet)
Methane leaks are becoming a national emergency. And the EPA needs to get on it yesterday.
As I've written before, one of the most environmentally damaging — and least publicized — consequences of drilling for natural gas is the release of methane. Natural gas burns cleaner than any other traditional fuel, but is composed mostly of methane, which is a much more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide if it leaks before it can be burned. Now there are indications that the situation is worse than we thought. Researchers just finished a new study on methane leaks in Pennsylvania natural gas wells, and the results are very, very bad:
This is just one study, of course. But it confirms previous measurements, and provides yet another reason to err on the side of caution when it comes to methane and climate change.
What to do? Well, barring strong legislation aimed at rolling back climate change generally, the EPA is about our only hope. The agency is working on new methane emissions rules now, but reportedly won’t have them in place until 2016. Furthermore, the administration has not even begun to study the impact of methane leaks from oil and gas production. That’s far too long. We need these rules in place yesterday.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
However, there are two reasons that we can be confident that some EPA rules on methane leaks will be implemented.
First, the powerful U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is now much more favorable to tough federal regulations. Ever since Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) deployed the nuclear option and implemented long-overdue filibuster reform, all the vacancies on that court (which oversees federal regulations) have been filled. These new judges aren't tree-loving hippies by any stretch of the imagination, but any new rules will have a much better chance before this court than the previous, reactionary-dominated version that spent the past five years eviscerating scores of regulations on the thinnest of pretexts.
Second, this kind of rule might not even inspire a strong legal challenge. Leaking methane is fundamentally different from most other kinds of pollution, which are usually byproducts of some process (carbon dioxide is an inescapable consequence of burning coal, for example). Methane is precisely the kind of stuff you don't want escaping during the extraction process, since it's a major part of what is being sold in the first place. It’s not inconceivable that a stiffer rule could end up making natural gas companies money, since with the proper fitting and tightening they could capture more of their valuable product.
Of course, it would be foolish to bet against litigation. It's likely that there will be some kind of lawsuit, just as it's likely that a new rule could hurt the bottom line of drilling companies at least a little. But rules that do not fundamentally threaten a business model are a lot less likely to inspire an enraged backlash than ones that do.
So if there’s any way the EPA can streamline and speed up its rule-making process, now would be an extremely good time to do so.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.
-
'Biden is smart to keep the border-security pressure on'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Bird flu worries mount as virus found in milk, cows
Speed Read The FDA found traces of the virus in pasteurized grocery store milk
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Palazzo Durazzo Suites in Genoa: a palatial gem in northern Italy
The Week Recommends Live your Italian dream in this astonishing and recently restored palace in the heart of the city
By Nick Hendry Published
-
Arizona court reinstates 1864 abortion ban
Speed Read The law makes all abortions illegal in the state except to save the mother's life
By Rafi Schwartz, The Week US Published
-
Trump, billions richer, is selling Bibles
Speed Read The former president is hawking a $60 "God Bless the USA Bible"
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The debate about Biden's age and mental fitness
In Depth Some critics argue Biden is too old to run again. Does the argument have merit?
By Grayson Quay Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
'Rwanda plan is less a deterrent and more a bluff'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By The Week UK Published
-
Henry Kissinger dies aged 100: a complicated legacy?
Talking Point Top US diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize winner remembered as both foreign policy genius and war criminal
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
Trump’s rhetoric: a shift to 'straight-up Nazi talk'
Why everyone's talking about Would-be president's sinister language is backed by an incendiary policy agenda, say commentators
By The Week UK Published
-
More covfefe: is the world ready for a second Donald Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question Republican's re-election would be a 'nightmare' scenario for Europe, Ukraine and the West
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published