Mountains of produce, including eggs, milk and onions, are going to waste as the COVID-19 pandemic shutters restaurants, restricts transport, limits what workers are able to do and disrupts supply chains. United States government work
By Emma Charlton
Gluts of food left to rot as a consequence of coronavirus aren't just wasteful – they're also likely to damage the environment.
<p>Mountains of produce, including eggs, milk and onions, are going to waste as the COVID-19 pandemic shutters restaurants, restricts transport, limits what workers are able to do and disrupts supply chains. And as that food decays, it releases methane, a powerful greenhouse gas.</p><p>Fresh milk and eggs have been dumped, and some ripe crops reploughed back into fields, according to reports in the <a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/closed-due-to-coronavirus-restaurants-clear-out-their-pantries-11586005203?mod=article_inline" target="_blank">Wall Street Journal</a> and the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html" target="_blank">New York Times</a>. While consumer demand for some supermarket items has risen as a result of lockdowns, it's unlikely to offset steep declines elsewhere, such in restaurants and school and workplace canteens.</p>
Methane on the Rise
<p>Not only is this a tragic waste of food at a time when many are going hungry, it is also an <a href="https://donatedontdump.net/2014/07/07/the-effects-of-food-waste-on-the-environment-by-junemy-pantig/" target="_blank">environmental hazard</a> and could contribute to global warming. Landfill gas – <a href="https://www.epa.gov/lmop/basic-information-about-landfill-gas" target="_blank">roughly half methane and half carbon dioxide (CO2)</a> – is a natural byproduct of the decomposition of organic material.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQyOTEyMi9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MTcwMDk1N30.slz3kbtXUU6Mc9Xau2elvdvY0ycJzocFbAlB71-GjoI/img.png?width=980" id="7fe9f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="48f85bf45b5f3ba2648a87bedab555bc" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="448" data-height="448" />
Food decay leads to production of greenhouse gases, methane and carbon dioxide. EPA
<p>Methane is a potent greenhouse gas, 28 to <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/site/assets/uploads/2018/02/SYR_AR5_FINAL_full.pdf" target="_blank">36 times more effective than CO2 at trapping heat</a> in the atmosphere over a 100-year period, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.</p><p>"Many export-oriented producers produce volumes far too large for output to be absorbed in local markets, and thus <a href="https://unctad.org/en/pages/newsdetails.aspx?OriginalVersionID=2333" target="_blank">organic waste levels have mounted substantially</a>," says Robert Hamwey, Economic Affairs Officer at UN agency UNCTAD. "Because this waste is left to decay, levels of methane emissions, a greenhouse gas, from decaying produce are expected to rise sharply in the crisis and immediate post-crisis months."</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMzQyOTE3Ny9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY3MDY5NTEzNH0.oeC5wrQEcJQ_GP9UtrWWVsPAegugJGF8gVXGu3YZxjA/img.png?width=980" id="c0d57" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6fe3b382949cce9971508db403d0973d" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="512" data-height="505" />
Food supply chains are easily disrupted. UN FAO
<p>Dumping food was already a problem before the crisis. In America alone, <a href="https://www.refed.com/?sort=economic-value-per-ton" target="_blank">$218 billion is spent growing, processing, transporting</a> and disposing of food that is never eaten, estimates ReFED, a collection of business, non-profit and government leaders committed to reducing food waste. That's equivalent to around 1.3% of GDP.</p><p>Since the pandemic took hold, <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52267943" target="_blank">farmers are dumping 14 million liters</a> of milk each day because of disrupted supply routes, estimates Dairy Farmers of America. A chicken processor was forced to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/11/business/coronavirus-destroying-food.html" target="_blank">destroy 750,000 unhatched eggs a week</a>, according to the New York Times, which also cited an onion farmer letting most of his harvest decompose because he couldn't distribute or store them.</p>Food Prices Collapsing
<p>The excess has also seen prices collapse. The <a href="http://www.fao.org/worldfoodsituation/foodpricesindex/en/" target="_blank">FAO Food Price Index</a> (FFPI) averaged 162.5 points in May 2020, down 3.1 points from April and reaching the lowest monthly average since December 2018. The gauge has dropped for four consecutive months, and the latest decline reflects falling values of all the food commodities – dairy, meat, cereal, vegetable – except sugar, which rose for the first time in three months.</p><p>All this while the pandemic is exacerbating other global food trends.</p><p>"This year, some 49 million extra people may fall into extreme poverty due to the COVID-19 crisis," said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the UN. "The number of people who are acutely food or nutrition insecure will rapidly expand. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGhLKAbNDiY&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">Even in countries with abundant food, we see risks of disruptions in the food supply chain</a>."</p><div id="c20f1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="9bd104b5fbd7a34965124f57f3c1357a"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1271747397002067968" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Our food systems are failing us. And #COVID19 is making things worse.
We must invest in the future & transform our… https://t.co/uV8Kkn78Q1</div> — FAO (@FAO)<a href="https://twitter.com/FAO/statuses/1271747397002067968">1592043182.0</a></blockquote></div><p>The World Economic Forum has launched its <a href="https://www.weforum.org/great-reset/about" target="_blank">Great Reset initiative</a>, which urgently calls for global stakeholders to cooperate in managing the consequences of the COVID-19 crisis. It calls on policymakers to put the environment at the heart of plans to rebuild as we emerge from the pandemic.</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/06/covid-19-food-waste-mountains-environment/" target="_blank">World Economic Forum</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
- Food Waste Set to Increase by 33 Percent Within 10 Years - EcoWatch ›
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A neighborhood that flooded during Hurricane Harvey near the Motiva refinery flaring in Port Arthur, Texas on Aug. 26, 2020. Michael Stravato / for The Washington Post via Getty Images
By Brett Wilkins
Texas oil refineries released hundreds of thousands of pounds of pollutants including benzene, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfur dioxide into the air as they scrambled to shut down during last week's deadly winter storm, Reuters reported Sunday.
<p>Winter storm Uri, which <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2021/02/19/texas-power-outage-winter-storm-deaths/" target="_blank">killed</a> dozens of people and cut off power to over four million Texans at its peak, also disrupted supplies needed to keep the state's refineries and petrochemical plants operating. As they shut down, refineries flared — or burned off — gases in order to prevent damage to their processing units.</p><p>According to the Texas Commission on Environment Quality, the five largest refiners emitted nearly 337,000 pounds of pollutants in this manner.</p>
<p>ExxonMobil's Baytown Olefins plant in Baytown released 68,000 tons of carbon monoxide and nearly a ton of benzene in what it called a "safe utilization of the flare system."</p><p>Critics noted, however, that benzene is harmful to bone marrow, red blood cells, and the immune system.</p><p>"There is no safe amount of benzene for human exposure," Sharon Wilson, a researcher at the advocacy group Earthworks, told Reuters.</p>
<div id="c9b47" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8e087bc318806cfd5b8a2494c188f447"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1363487660971597828" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The five largest U.S. oil refiners emitted tons of pollutants into the skies over Texas this week, including benzen… https://t.co/yZtlbByZ6U</div> — Reuters (@Reuters)<a href="https://twitter.com/Reuters/statuses/1363487660971597828">1613915765.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Motiva's Port Arthur refinery released 118,100 pounds of pollutants into the air between Feb. 15 and Feb. 18. This was triple the amount of excess emissions the plant reported to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for the entire year of 2019.</p><p>Valero's refinery in Port Arthur flared 78,000 pounds of pollutants over 24 hours beginning Feb. 15, while Marathon Petroleum's Galveston Bay refinery released 14,255 pounds in less than five hours that same day.</p><p>Hilton Kelly, who lives in Port Arthur, told Reuters that there were "six or seven flares going at one time."</p><p>Wilson said that the flaring "could have been prevented" by winterizing the refineries.</p><p>"We need someone in the Texas legislature to file a bill requiring the oil and gas industry to thoroughly winterize all their equipment," Wilson <a href="https://earther.gizmodo.com/texas-oil-and-gas-plants-quadruple-air-pollution-as-sys-1846299152" target="_blank">told</a> Earther. "The bill probably won't pass in Texas, but that will create some more scrutiny about it."</p>
<div id="86ff1" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8fd2fac7710d8b3f605704c950e6e4b0"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1363528659458400256" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">“If [the industry] had winterized their equipment, this wouldn’t be happening."
ICYMI: oil & gas "pollution event"… https://t.co/5jHzhVhW2d</div> — Earthworks (@Earthworks)<a href="https://twitter.com/Earthworks/statuses/1363528659458400256">1613925540.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>Earther reports that between Feb. 11 and Feb. 18, there were 174 so-called "emissions events" from fossil fuel facilities in Texas, compared to between 37 and 46 such events in weeks before the storm.</p><p>In addition to the previously mentioned pollutants, chemicals released from Texas facilities include over 6,500 pounds of the <a href="https://ntp.niehs.nih.gov/ntp/roc/content/profiles/isoprene.pdf" target="_blank">carcinogen</a> isoprene from a Shell plant in Deer Park near Houston, as well as an indeterminate amount of methane, which is <a href="https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-other-important-greenhouse-gas" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">84 times more harmful</a> to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over the short term.</p><p>Wilson told Earther that "in Texas we don't count methane" in pollution reports.</p><p>The release of large amounts of dangerous pollutants during Uri stands in stark contrast with <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/17/he-lying-people-are-dying-calls-texas-governor-resign-he-blames-power-outages-wind" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">claims</a> by Texas Gov. Greg Abbott that alternative energy sources such as solar and wind are responsible for Uri's deadly power outages and that the Green New Deal would be a "deadly deal" for the United States.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2021/02/21/no-safe-amount-environmentalists-sound-alarm-over-texas-refineries-release-hundreds" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em><br/></p>
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If you're looking to cut down on your single-use plastic consumption, refusing to-go cutlery is an easy switch to make. In this article, we'll show you three of the best bamboo utensils and cutlery sets for eating on the go.
<h2>Why use bamboo utensils?</h2><p>There are a few reasons we recommend tossing bamboo utensils in your pocket or purse. As takeout and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/air-pollution-food-delivery-plastic-waste-2648454324.html" target="_self">food delivery</a> is becoming increasingly popular, the use (and disposal) of plastic <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/biodegradable-straws-cutlery-2647876041.html" target="_self">to-go cutlery</a> is on the rise. According to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/lauratenenbaum/2019/07/16/plastic-cutlery-is-terrible-for-the-environment-and-we-dont-need-to-have-it-delivered/?sh=6e3312f74019" target="_blank">Forbes</a>, in the U.S. alone, it's estimated that 40 billion individual plastic utensils are wasted every year.</p><p>Many times, it's not just a single fork or spoon but a whole set wrapped in a disposable plastic bag, complete with a napkin and even single-serve salt and pepper packets. More often than not, people only use the one utensil they need and toss the rest without a second thought.</p><p>By carrying reusable utensils with you, you can refuse the single-use cutlery. But with so many options — metal, bamboo, or sturdy plastic — it can be difficult to narrow down the best set for you.</p><p>Here are a few reasons we recommend going with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/bamboo-building-2641420012.html" target="_self">reusable bamboo</a> utensils over metal or plastic alternatives:</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li><strong>Lightweight:</strong> Bamboo is lighter than both plastic and metal, making it more convenient to carry for everyday use.</li><li><strong>Odorless: </strong>Some materials, especially plastic, can take on the smell of the foods you've eaten. Bamboo doesn't trap odors, so you don't have to worry about them getting funky.</li><li><strong>Compostable and biodegradable: </strong>If your bamboo utensils get worn out, they can be composted at the end of their life, so they'll never end up in a landfill or waterway.</li></ul><h2>Best bamboo utensil sets</h2><p>Based on our market research and firsthand use, these are the three best bamboo utensils and eco-friendly bamboo cutlery sets available:</p><p><em>Each product featured here has been independently selected by the writer. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission.</em></p>
<p class="">Whether it be bringing your own utensils, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/eco-friendly-straws-2571689759.html" target="_self">reusable straw</a>, or a takeout container from home, finding ways to reduce your plastic consumption when out to eat is key to leading a more sustainable life. With any of these three bamboo utensil sets, you can feel good about being able to refuse single-use plastic on the go.</p><p><em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/about-ecowatch-2641507575.html?rebelltitem=47#rebelltitem47" target="_self">Melissa Smith</a> is an avid writer, scuba diver, backpacker, and all-around outdoor enthusiast. She graduated from the University of Florida with degrees in journalism and sustainable studies. Before joining EcoWatch, Melissa worked as the managing editor of Scuba Diving magazine and the communications manager of The Ocean Agency, a non-profit that's featured in the Emmy award-winning documentary Chasing Coral.</em></p>
Most Sustainable: To-Go Ware Bamboo Utensil Set With Carrying Case
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY2MTE1NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODcxNzc0NX0.Hhrok0N7KqE2MvxtupO40adJitu3eS3-hTEqPO5fTqU/img.jpg?width=980" id="da412" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="da83d259d32c6fae8c884f82fcd6f5b3" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="400" data-height="400" /><p>The <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Go-Ware-Bamboo-Travel-Utensils/dp/B002BFIH2U/ref=sr_1_25?dchild=1&keywords=bamboo+utensils&qid=1608141073&sr=8-25" target="_blank">To-Go Ware Bamboo Utensil Set</a> includes a fork, spoon, non-serrated knife, and chopsticks. It comes in a handy carrying case that's made from 100% post-consumer <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/plastic-recycling-europe-2646085302.html" target="_self">recycled plastic bottles</a>, so not only are you preventing plastic from entering the waste stream, but you're also helping to reduce the amount of existing plastic clogging our landfills and oceans.</p> <p>The company itself, a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/exclusive-b-corps-matter-2507063576.html" target="_self">certified B Corp</a>, has a steadfast commitment to the planet. Aside from using sustainable materials, it collaborates with eco-friendly brands like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/patagonia-vote-climate-deniers-2647697498.html" target="_self">Patagonia</a> and 4ocean and has employee programs such as a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/zero-waste-cities-2646926686.html" target="_self">zero-waste pledge</a> and community clean-ups to reduce its environmental footprint.</p> <p><strong>Customer Rating:</strong> 4.7 out of 5 stars with over 1,500 Amazon reviews</p><strong>Why Buy: </strong>Sleeve made from 100% post-consumer recycled plastic bottles; Certified B Corp; Climate Neutral Certified; Supports 1% For the Planet; Fair Labor Association member
$14
Most Convenient: Bambu Reusable Bamboo Sporks
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY2MTE2NS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzMDM3MDU1OX0.IOZYR4FjNBzsPDtpK_byFwJ7JbzzPnD8Bpg3RFlqA7c/img.jpg?width=980" id="d6700" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="56eb8186f68d96f0c6c11df3c6c0943b" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="400" data-height="400" /><p>If a full bamboo cutlery set is too bulky to carry, consider the compact <a href="https://www.amazon.com/bambu-Organic-Bamboo-Sporks-Set/dp/B00WO85PCO/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=bambu+spork&qid=1613143126&s=home-garden&sr=1-2" target="_blank">Bambu Reusable Bamboo Spork</a>. This merges two bamboo utensils into one convenient tool that's small enough to fit in your pocket yet still large enough to hold in your hand and comfortably eat with.</p> <p>Bambu products are sourced from the "bamboo belt" of Eastern China and sustainably handcrafted in family-operated workshops near the raw material source for minimal environmental impact. It's certified organic by a number of international organizations, including the USDA, LETIS, and CERES.</p> <p><strong>Customer Rating: </strong>4.7 out of 5 stars with over 50 Amazon reviews</p><p><strong>Why Buy:</strong> Certified USDA Organic and Biobased Product; Certified B Corp; Carbon<em>free</em>® Product Certified; Supports 1% For the Planet</p>
$13
Best For Travel: Waves of Change Reusable Bamboo Utensil Set
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTY2MTE3Ni9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNjE0MTk2Mn0.yD-3WyiWU1uA7ebVN_FZXK-oIdfw6UV5ieGVAxTu7Gw/img.jpg?width=980" id="94190" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="517e913db9c23e8e9ac544d704c03caa" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="400" data-height="400" /><p>The Waves of Change line from Full Circle Home features ocean-inspired products to make meals away from home more sustainable, including <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wave-Change-WC19304V-Reusable-Recycled/dp/B0813GY18R/ref=sr_1_72?dchild=1&keywords=bamboo%2Butensils&qid=1608142155&sr=8-72&th=1" target="_blank">insulated lunch bags</a>, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wave-Change-WC19304V-Reusable-Recycled/dp/B0813GDSSC/ref=sr_1_72?dchild=1&keywords=bamboo%2Butensils&qid=1608142155&sr=8-72&th=1" target="_blank">sandwich</a> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wave-Change-WC19304V-Reusable-Recycled/dp/B0813GY176/ref=sr_1_72?dchild=1&keywords=bamboo%2Butensils&qid=1608142155&sr=8-72&th=1" target="_blank">snack pouches</a>, and a <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Wave-Change-WC19304V-Reusable-Recycled/dp/B0813GY176/ref=sr_1_72?dchild=1&keywords=bamboo%2Butensils&qid=1608142155&sr=8-72&th=1" target="_blank">reusable bamboo utensil set</a>.</p> <p>These eco-friendly bamboo utensils come in a zippered pouch for extra cleanliness while traveling or commuting. Whether you choose the wave or whale design, each pouch is made with a recycled fabric that's produced from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/world-plastic-waste-leader-us-2648607158.html" target="_self">plastic waste</a> and certified by the Global Recycled Standard (GRS).</p> <p><strong>Customer Rating:</strong> 4.5 out of 5 stars with over 200 Amazon reviews</p><strong>Why Buy: </strong>Sleeve made from GRS-certified recycled fabric; Certified B Corp; Plastic Neutral company; Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certified; USDA Certified Biobased Product
$15
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Biodegradable, Carbon-Negative Straws and Cutlery Could Help Stop Plastic Pollution
03 October 2020
Business
Newlight's Air Carbon cutlery is made of methane and degrades in the ocean the way cellulose would. Newlight
Newlight Technologies, a California biotech company, has set its sights on curbing greenhouse gas emissions and marine plastic pollution simultaneously. The startup uses ocean bacteria to create a new material that is made of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, and that can replace many single-use plastics and leathers.
<p>Newlight has been exploring ways to make use of greenhouse gas emissions for more than a decade. "AirCarbon," its latest creation, is made with ocean microbes, air and waste greenhouse gases. The new biomaterial, which can be shaped into anything from straws to office chairs to frames for glasses, is durable, completely biodegradable in the ocean and carbon-negative, the company's <a href="https://www.newlight.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">website</a> explained.</p><p>"We asked the question, how can we take carbon that would otherwise go into the air, and turn it into useful materials," Mark Herrema, CEO of Newlight, told <a href="https://www.fastcompany.com/90551498/these-carbon-negative-ocean-degradable-straws-and-forks-are-made-from-greenhouse-gasses" target="_blank">Fast Company</a>. "As we looked around nature, we discovered pretty quickly that nature uses greenhouse gas to make materials every day."</p>
<p>Herrema's team found inspiration in nature-based processes that take in methane and carbon dioxide. Researchers honed in on a certain strain of ocean microbes that consume methane as food and produce AirCarbon as a byproduct.</p><p>"After they eat that gas, [the microbes] then convert that into a really special material inside themselves," he told Fast Company. "It's a meltable energy storage material, which you can purify and then form into various parts and shapes and pieces."</p><p>Newlight replicated the process in land-based production tanks by combining saltwater containing the ocean microorganisms with air and methane from an abandoned coal mine, to create AirCarbon within the bacteria, <a href="https://www.esquire.com/lifestyle/a34127608/newlight-covalent-restore-straws-leather-goods-review/" target="_blank">Esquire</a> reported. Researchers extracted the resultant substance and processed the material into a fine white powder which could be melted and molded into different shapes.</p>
<p>The methane used would otherwise have been emitted into the atmosphere, so the products are helping to sequester the greenhouse gas, <a href="https://www.optimistdaily.com/2020/09/these-eco-friendly-biodegradable-straws-are-made-out-of-methane-by-bacteria/" target="_blank">Optimist Daily</a> noted. That makes them "carbon-negative," Esquire pointed out, and "every product they create is pollution that didn't end up in the air and water." The products are actually "regenerative" because the production process for AirCarbon captures or destroys more greenhouse gases than it emits, the magazine added. A Newlight <a href="https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/newlight-technologies-aircarbon-material-has-been-certified-carbon-negative-by-the-carbon-trust-301138193.html" target="_blank">press release</a> stated that "for every one kilogram of AirCarbon produced in Newlight's production process using methane seeping from abandoned coal mines, 88 kilograms of CO2e are sequestered."</p><p>Because AirCarbon is produced naturally by the microbes, it also decomposes completely and naturally, the way a leaf would on the forest floor, reported <a href="https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/biodegradable-carbon-negative-straws-and-forks-made-from-methane/" target="_blank">Good News Network</a>. Luckily, it won't decompose unless faced with the same type of ocean microorganisms that created it, which means that AirCarbon products are durable, washable and reusable, Esquire noted.</p>
<p>Now, after a decade of refining their research, Newlight's first AirCarbon products are coming to market, Fast Company reported. The company is launching with single-use straws and cutlery, which look and feel like plastic but degrade like paper in ocean water.</p><p>In a separate offering, Newlight has also created carbon-negative "leather" made from AirCarbon, which it is turning into wallets and handbags. Unlike natural leather, the material won't peel or crack and doesn't require lots of greenhouse gases in its production; unlike synthetic leather, it can be easily recycled, reported Fast Company. Finally, Newlight will also offer carbon-negative eyewear.</p><p>All products will be stamped with a "Carbon Date" that consumers can plug into a website to view how the greenhouse gases in that item moved through the production process, Esquire described. The innovative blockchain technology tracking will also allow consumers to know exactly how much carbon impact their purchase had and which independent third party calculated and certified it, Newlight's website said.</p><p>According to the company press release, AirCarbon was named "Biomaterial of the Year" by the Nova Institute and "Innovation of the Year" by Popular Science. The World Economic Forum called Newlight a "Technology Pioneer" and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency awarded Newlight the Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Award.</p><p>According to Esquire, "As you hold each [AirCarbon] product, what you're holding is a chunk of pollution that could have gone into the atmosphere but is instead a fashionable and/or functional product."</p>
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A mass methane release could begin an irreversible path to full land-ice melt. NurPhoto / Contributor / Getty Images
By Peter Giger
The speed and scale of the response to COVID-19 by governments, businesses and individuals seems to provide hope that we can react to the climate change crisis in a similarly decisive manner - but history tells us that humans do not react to slow-moving and distant threats.
<p>Our evolution has selected the "fight or flight" instinct to deal with environmental change, so rather like the metaphor of the frog in boiling water, we tend to react too little and too late to gradual change.</p><p>Climate change is often described as global warming, with the implication of gradual changes caused by a steady increase in temperatures; from heatwaves to melting glaciers.</p><p>But we know from multidisciplinary scientific evidence - from geology, anthropology and archaeology - that climate change is not incremental. Even in pre-human times, it is episodic, when it isn't forced by a human-induced acceleration of greenhouse gas emissions and warming.</p><p>There are parts of our planet's carbon cycle, the ways that the earth and the biosphere store and release carbon, that could trigger suddenly in response to gradual warming. These are tipping points that once passed could fundamentally disrupt the planet and produce abrupt, non-linear change in the climate.</p>
A Game of Jenga
<p>Think of it as a game of Jenga and the planet's climate system as the tower. For generations, we have been slowly removing blocks. But at some point, we will remove a pivotal block, such as the collapse of one of the major global ocean circulation systems, for example the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC), that will cause all or part of the global climate system to fall into a planetary emergency.</p><p>But worse still, it could cause runaway damage: Where the tipping points form a domino-like cascade, where breaching one triggers breaches of others, creating an unstoppable shift to a radically and swiftly changing climate.</p><p>One of the most concerning tipping points is mass methane release. Methane can be found in deep freeze storage within permafrost and at the bottom of the deepest oceans in the form of methane hydrates. But rising sea and air temperatures are beginning to thaw these stores of methane.</p><p>This would release a powerful greenhouse gas into the atmosphere, 30-times more potent than carbon dioxide as a global warming agent. This would drastically increase temperatures and rush us towards the breach of other tipping points.</p><p>This could include the acceleration of ice thaw on all three of the globe's large, land-based ice sheets – Greenland, West Antarctica and the Wilkes Basin in East Antarctica. The potential collapse of the West Antarctic ice sheet is seen as a key tipping point, as its loss could eventually <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/324/5929/901" target="_blank">raise global sea levels by 3.3 meters</a> with important regional variations.</p><p>More than that, we would be on the irreversible path to full land-ice melt, causing sea levels to rise by up to 30 meters, roughly at the rate of two meters per century, or maybe faster. Just look at the raised beaches around the world, at the last high stand of global sea level, at the end of the Pleistocene period around 120,0000 years ago, to see the evidence of such a warm world, which was just 2°C warmer than the present day.</p>Cutting Off Circulation
<p>As well as devastating low-lying and coastal areas around the world, melting polar ice could set off another tipping point: a disablement to the AMOC.</p><p>This circulation system drives a northward flow of warm, salty water on the upper layers of the ocean from the tropics to the northeast Atlantic region, and a southward flow of cold water deep in the ocean.</p><p>The ocean conveyor belt has a major effect on the climate, seasonal cycles and temperature in western and northern Europe. It means the region is warmer than other areas of similar latitude.</p><p>But melting ice from the Greenland ice sheet could threaten the AMOC system. It would dilute the salty sea water in the north Atlantic, making the water lighter and less able or unable to sink. This would slow the engine that drives this ocean circulation.</p><p><a href="https://www.carbonbrief.org/atlantic-conveyor-belt-has-slowed-15-per-cent-since-mid-twentieth-century" target="_blank">Recent research</a> suggests the AMOC has already weakened by around 15% since the middle of the 20th century. If this continues, it could have a major impact on the climate of the northern hemisphere, but particularly Europe. It may even lead to the <a href="https://ore.exeter.ac.uk/repository/handle/10871/39731?show=full" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">cessation of arable farming</a> in the UK, for instance.</p><p>It may also reduce rainfall over the Amazon basin, impact the monsoon systems in Asia and, by bringing warm waters into the Southern Ocean, further destabilize ice in Antarctica and accelerate global sea level rise.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNTUwNjQ0MS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTgwMjY2MX0.IvCzVigFTmY5avYrfi_Muh47dXM1TvLwTPFv5Zs95Pk/img.png?width=980" id="b580e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="491f17ca2d159ebbc564d9c4a6771983" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" data-width="1222" data-height="1324" />
The Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation has a major effect on the climate. Praetorius (2018)
Is it Time to Declare a Climate Emergency?
<p>At what stage, and at what rise in global temperatures, will these tipping points be reached? No one is entirely sure. It may take centuries, millennia or it could be imminent.</p><p>But as COVID-19 taught us, we need to prepare for the expected. We were aware of the risk of a pandemic. We also knew that we were not sufficiently prepared. But we didn't act in a meaningful manner. Thankfully, we have been able to fast-track the production of vaccines to combat COVID-19. But there is no vaccine for climate change once we have passed these tipping points.</p><p><a href="https://www.weforum.org/reports/the-global-risks-report-2021" target="_blank">We need to act now on our climate</a>. Act like these tipping points are imminent. And stop thinking of climate change as a slow-moving, long-term threat that enables us to kick the problem down the road and let future generations deal with it. We must take immediate action to reduce global warming and fulfill our commitments to the <a href="https://www.ipcc.ch/sr15/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Paris Agreement</a>, and build resilience with these tipping points in mind.</p><p>We need to plan now to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions, but we also need to plan for the impacts, such as the ability to feed everyone on the planet, develop plans to manage flood risk, as well as manage the social and geopolitical impacts of human migrations that will be a consequence of fight or flight decisions.</p><p>Breaching these tipping points would be cataclysmic and potentially far more devastating than COVID-19. Some may not enjoy hearing these messages, or consider them to be in the realm of science fiction. But if it injects a sense of urgency to make us respond to climate change like we have done to the pandemic, then we must talk more about what has happened before and will happen again.</p><p>Otherwise we will continue playing Jenga with our planet. And ultimately, there will only be one loser – us.</p>From Your Site Articles
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A gas flare from the Shell Chemical LP petroleum refinery illuminates the sky on August 21, 2019 in Norco, Louisiana. Drew Angerer / Getty Images.
Methane levels in the atmosphere experienced a dramatic rise in 2019, preliminary data released Sunday shows.
<p>The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found that methane levels increased by 11.54 parts per billion (ppb) in 2019 over 2018 levels, the largest increase since 2014. "Last year's jump in methane is one of the biggest we've seen over the past twenty years," Rob Jackson, professor of Earth system science at Stanford University and chair of the Global Carbon Project, told Bloomberg.</p>
<p>"It's too early to say why, but increases from both agriculture and natural gas use are likely. Natural gas consumption surged more than two percent last year." In the United States, the fossil fuel industry is the largest source of methane pollution, and emissions from the oil and gas sector have grown at least 40% over the last decade. </p>
<h4>For a deeper dive:</h4><p><a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-06/methane-emissions-hit-a-new-record-and-scientists-can-t-say-why" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a>, <a href="Renewable%20Sources%20Made%20up%2072%%20of%20New%20Energy%20Added%20in%202019" target="_blank">The Hill</a>, <a href="https://climatenexus.org/climate-change-news/methane-surge/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_source=hs_email&utm_medium=email&utm_content=85944970&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8C0yCNC7TWzjZEJq0igia-QWOy4iub7Sn8fOwOt3QloNO9PwifgZDyoLzWQXRgaT9jHlohnP5UKzH35BKjo9KjuuSd8w&_hsmi=85944970" target="_blank">Climate Signals</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, and sign up for daily </em><a href="http://climatenexus.us4.list-manage1.com/subscribe?u=d1f5797e59060083034310930&id=7c84c08aaa" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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A gas flare burns in the Permian Basin in Texas. Bronte Wittpenn / Bloomberg Creative Photos
The largest oil and gas producing area in the U.S. is emitting more than twice as much methane as previously believed.
<p>The calculations came in a study of the Permian Basin published in <a href="https://advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/17/eaaz5120" target="_blank">Science Advances Wednesday</a> and undertaken by scientists at Harvard University and the <a href="https://www.edf.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Defense Fund</a> (EDF). The findings cast doubt on the argument that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">natural gas</a> is a cleaner energy source than <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a> when it comes to fueling the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p><p>"Our study found that the quantity of methane emitted in the Permian Basin [is] the highest ever measured from any U.S. oil and gas basin. This is a really big deal from a climate standpoint," lead authors Harvard atmospheric scientist Yuzhong Zhang and EDF scientist Ritesh Gautam said in an <a href="https://news.bloomberglaw.com/environment-and-energy/permian-basin-oil-fields-leak-enough-methane-for-7-million-homes" target="_blank">email to Bloomberg Wednesday</a>.</p>
<div id="10cec" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="bb6b222d01cf4c76a45619b2033c42f1"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1254153333079707649" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">New satellite study: "There's so much methane escaping from Permian oil and gas operations that it nearly triples t… https://t.co/WBc9ADUjxT</div> — Fred Krupp (@Fred Krupp)<a href="https://twitter.com/FredKrupp/statuses/1254153333079707649">1587848430.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>The Permian Basin, which straddles West Texas and New Mexico, produces more than a third of the country's oil and 10 percent of its natural gas, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/methane-permian-basin-oil-gas-climate-change/?fbclid=IwAR2TIwNX6rZpo3ErIXu8O4fc0A7Uu07oWEA7WRpXyZsk3jyNX_EHJLyE4nM" target="_blank">CBS News</a>. The researchers used 200,000 individual readings from the European Space Agency's TROPOMI satellite instrument to determine the field was leaking 3.7 percent of the methane it produces, <a href="http://blogs.edf.org/energyexchange/2020/04/22/satellites-and-state-regulators-new-data-spotlights-extreme-emissions-and-need-for-action-in-nations-largest-oilfield/?utm_source=twitter&utm_campaign=fkrupp_none_upd_marcomm&utm_medium=social-media&utm_id=1587752428" target="_blank">EDF reported</a>. That's more than two times the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimate, according to <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/22042020/permian-basin-methane-emissions-texas-new-mexico" target="_blank">InsideClimate News</a>. It's also enough wasted gas to power 7 million Texas homes and as much greenhouse gas pollution as the carbon dioxide emissions of all U.S. homes, the study found.</p><p>What's more, it nearly triples the climate impact of the natural gas produced in the region over the last 20 years, according to EDF, challenging the argument that natural gas can be a cleaner bridge fuel in the transition from coal to renewable energy.</p>
<p>"The most <a href="https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ese3.35" target="_blank">up-to-date thinking</a> is that for comparing coal and natural gas to generate electricity, gas is worse than coal if the methane emission rate is greater than 2.7%," Cornell University methane expert Dr. Robert Howarth, who was not involved in the study, told CBS News. At 3.7 percent, the Permian Basin leakage rate definitely fits the bill.</p><p>Methane is so dangerous for the climate because it is around 28 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at warming the planet over 100 years and more than 80 times more powerful over 20 years, according to <a href="https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/methane/" target="_blank">National Geographic</a>. Because it only stays in the atmosphere for 12 years, however, reducing its emissions can have a more immediate impact on fighting global warming, InsideClimate News pointed out.</p><p>The increased emissions are partly linked to the rise of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/" target="_self">fracking</a>, which, along with horizontal drilling, has driven the increase in U.S. oil and gas production since 2005, according to CBS News.</p><p>"After staying level for the first decade of the 21st century, methane emissions have been rising quickly over the past decade," Howarth told CBS. "My <a href="https://www.biogeosciences.net/16/3033/2019/" target="_blank">research</a> indicates that shale gas development in the U.S. is responsible for at least one-third of the total increase in these emissions globally."</p>
<p>The study's authors had several recommendations for how oil and gas producers could reduce methane emissions, such as improving design, management, regulation and infrastructure.</p><p>However, the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump-administration" target="_self">Trump administration</a> is making it easier for the industry to sidestep improvements.</p><p>"Trump's EPA has proposed to substantially weaken or even eliminate regulations, adopted during the Obama administration, to control methane emissions from oil and gas facilities," Romany Webb, a senior fellow at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law at Columbia Law School, told CBS.</p><p>There is also the question of how the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/oil-prices-fall-below-zero-2645784342.html" target="_self">fall in oil demand</a> prompted by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coronavirus" target="_self">coronavirus</a> pandemic will impact methane emissions. The data in the study was collected over 11 months in 2018 and 2019, when production and demand was normal.</p><p>"There is going to be a lot less wells being drilled, probably less gas being flared, even wells [that] will [probably] be shut in," study coauthor and EDF scientist David Lyon told InsideClimate News. "If that is done properly, then I think you will have less emissions. At the same time, I wouldn't be surprised if a lot of operators cut back on their environmental staff and they do [fewer] leak inspections and other activities that would reduce emissions. They may have less ability to respond to malfunctions and things that cause emissions."</p>
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Cycling and using public transport are two ways to lower one's carbon footprint. Jordan Siemens / Getty Images
There's no doubt that tackling the climate crisis will require drastic action on a global scale. But there are also some personal changes you can make to curb your carbon footprint in the new year.
<p><a href="https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fp.dw.com%2Fp%2F3mnzj%3Fmaca%3Den-Facebook-sharing" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"></a></p>
<p class="">
<em>Reposted with permission from </em><em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/environment-6-eco-friendly-pledges-for-2021/g-55960935?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/r/entryeditor/2649747379#/" target="_self"></a>
</p><script type="text/Javascript"></script>
Go Car Free
<p>Instead of taking the car, consider using public transport or cycling — even just one day a week. Emissions from the transport sector make up a fifth of CO2 emissions, with the largest contributors being road vehicles like cars and buses. According to the Center for Research into Energy Demand Solutions (CREDS), going car-free can save an average of 2.04 tons of CO2 equivalent per person annually.</p>Fly Less
<p>When traveling long distances, take a train rather than a plane. Aviation contributes up to 2.5% of the world's global carbon emissions. And taking one fewer long-haul return flight per year can save 1.68 tons of CO2 equivalent per person per year, according to CREDS. If you can't avoid flying, you could also offset your emissions by donating to sustainable projects.</p>Eat Less Meat
<p>One way to lower your footprint is by eating less red meat in favor of plant-based alternatives, or swapping it for pork or poultry. Food production is responsible for about a quarter of global emissions — and the meat and dairy sectors are major contributors. A 2018 study found that producing a kilo of beef emits 60kg of greenhouse gases, compared to 6kg for poultry, or just 1kg for peas.</p>Cut Down on Waste
<p>About one-third of food produced globally is lost or wasted, contributing up to 10% of carbon emissions, according to the UN. When it ends up in landfills and rots, it produces the potent greenhouse gas methane. Households are responsible for a large portion of this waste. So you can curb your footprint in 2021 by planning meals, buying only what you need, and by freezing and reusing leftovers.</p>Start a Garden
<p>Why not introduce some new plants to your balcony or garden? Another way to reduce the amount of methane ending up in the atmosphere is by composting food waste in a bin and using it to nourish your plants. You don't need much space to grow veggies, and doing so can cut the footprint of your food. Adding insect-friendly plants to the mix will also attract pollinators like butterflies or bees.</p>Avoid Fast Fashion
<p>Making a pledge to buying fewer clothes in 2021 is another way to limit your carbon footprint. If you do need a new item, look for options that are second hand, or consider swapping or renting. According to the UN, the fashion industry produces about 10% of global carbon emissions. A main culprit is "fast fashion" — cheap clothes that are rapidly bought and thrown out as trends change.</p>From Your Site Articles
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The ExxonMobil refinery in Baytown, Texas, seen across the Houston Ship Channel from Lynchburg Landing. Roy Luck / CC BY 2.0
By Andrea Germanos
ExxonMobil's Monday announcement of new targets for addressing greenhouse gas emissions was met with derision by climate advocates who called the plan "too little, too late."
<p><br/></p>
<p>The targets cover the next five years, include "input from shareholders," and — according to the fossil fuel company — are in line with the goals of the Paris climate accord.</p><p>While some aspects of the plan, like a reduction in "<a href="https://westernvaluesproject.org/report-methane-pollution-from-venting-and-flaring-on-public-lands-up-51/" target="_blank">flaring</a>" of natural gas, were <a href="https://www.axios.com/exxon-new-emissions-curbs-a0045a5b-c3bf-471b-ab5d-64cba2277a27.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">welcomed</a>, others, like Exxon's goal of reducing emissions intensity — not absolute emissions — came in for sharp scrutiny.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/exxon-mobil-carbon/update-4-exxon-mobil-under-pressure-on-climate-aims-to-cut-emissions-intensity-by-2025-idUSL4N2IU31O" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">According to</a> Reuters<em>,</em></p><blockquote>Exxon said it would start reporting so-called Scope 3 emissions in 2021, a large category of greenhouse gases emitted from fuels and products it sells to customers, such as jet fuel and gasoline.<br>By 2025, Exxon would reduce the intensity of its oilfield greenhouse gas emissions by 15% to 20% from 2016 levels. It did not set an overall emissions target, however, and reducing intensity means that emissions still could rise if oil and gas output grows.<br>The reduction would be supported by a 40%-50% decrease in methane intensity and a 35%-45% decrease in flaring intensity across Exxon's global operations, with routine natural gas flaring eliminated within a decade, the company said.<br></blockquote><p>Youth-led climate group Sunrise Movement declared the targets "grossly insufficient" and took the company to task for not announcing an end to "exploration or extraction" or "lobbying against climate action."</p>
<div id="bafdb" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e4a0abb8aa2bd6be6c7f8c4eb8c5a060"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1338565025305403392" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Oil company executives (this you, @exxonmobil?) say they want to be a part of the solution.
Just not if doing so r… https://t.co/TqmUUtH4ZM</div> — Sunrise Movement 🌅 (@Sunrise Movement 🌅)<a href="https://twitter.com/sunrisemvmt/statuses/1338565025305403392">1607973746.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p>"ExxonMobil's newly announced five-year plan is too little, too late," <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/about/news/exxonmobils-five-year-emissions-reduction-plan-too-little-too-late" target="_blank">said</a> Kathy Mulvey, accountability director in the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists.</p><p>Rejecting Exxon's description, Mulvey said the pledges "fall far short of what is needed to meet the principal goal of the Paris agreement." She further accused the company dodging "its responsibility for heat-trapping emissions resulting from the burning of its oil and gas products."</p><p>"ExxonMobil now says it will disclose these emissions, which make up the lion's share — roughly 80 to 90 percent — of company emissions," she continued. "However, in the same breath ExxonMobil attempts to shift their responsibility to the consumers using its products exactly as the company intends them to be used."</p><p>Mulvey further pointed to Exxon being "the fourth leading contributor of global carbon dioxide and methane emissions from fossil fuel and cement industries over the last 50 years, during which time the company undeniably knew about its products' harmful climate impacts. This bait-and-switch, along with ExxonMobil's decades-long record of lying to consumers about the climate risks of its products, are reminiscent of the tobacco industry's tactics."</p><p>"Any company that fails to keep pace with what science demands," Mulvey continued, "threatens its future while endangering the rest of us with escalating climate impacts and systemic risks to the global economy."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2020/12/14/grossly-insufficient-exxonmobil-lambasted-over-emissions-reduction-plan-pledges-no" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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U.S. President Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office as he signs a series of orders at the White House in Washington, D.C. on January 20, 2021. Jim Watson / AFP / Getty Images
President Joe Biden officially took office Wednesday, and immediately set to work reversing some of former President Donald Trump's environmental policies.
<p><br>As he did on his campaign and transition website, Biden emphasized the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a> as one of the major challenges facing his administration, along with the coronavirus pandemic and systemic racism.</p><p>"A cry for survival comes from the planet itself," Biden said in his <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/speeches-remarks/2021/01/20/inaugural-address-by-president-joseph-r-biden-jr/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inaugural address</a>. "A cry that can't be any more desperate or any more clear."</p><p>Hours after his inauguration, Biden signed a total of 17 executive orders, memorandums and proclamations, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/us/biden-executive-orders.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. Some of these orders had important implications for the climate and environment.</p>
<h3><br>1. Rejoining the Paris Agreement</h3><p>Biden honored a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-climate-agreement-biden-2648649350.html" target="_self">campaign promise</a> by <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/20/paris-climate-agreement/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">rejoining</a> the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris Agreement</a> on his first day in office.</p><p>The agreement recommits the U.S. to reducing greenhouse gas emissions enough to limit global warming to well below two degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. Under Trump, the U.S. officially exited in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/paris-agreement-us-withdrawal-2648618695.html">November 2020</a>.</p><p>Biden's reversal means the U.S. will now rejoin the agreement 30 days from Jan. 20.</p><h3>2. Cancelling the Keystone XL Pipeline</h3><p>Biden also signed a massive order titled "<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis</a>." This order included revoking Trump's 2019 permit for the controversial <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/keystone-xl" target="_self">Keystone XL</a> pipeline.</p><p>The 1,700-mile pipeline would have carried around 800,000 barrels of oil a day from Alberta, Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-alberta-2fbcce48372f5c29c3ae6f6f93907a6d" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Associated Press reported</a>. The Obama administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/breaking-president-obama-rejects-keystone-xl-pipeline-1882117930.html" target="_self">revoked the permit in 2015</a>, but the Trump administration <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-dakota-access-pipeline-2211697835.html" target="_self">reversed course</a>.</p><p>Construction on the controversial project halted Wednesday in light of Biden's action, The Associated Press reported.</p>
<h3><br>3. Reversing Trump's Rollbacks</h3><p>The same executive order also empowered agencies to review Trump's many environmental rollbacks. It established commitments to listen to science, protect public health and the environment and conserve sites of national interest. Additionally, the order asked federal agencies to review any Trump regulations that violated these commitments.</p><p>The order specifically highlighted four rollbacks to be halted, altered or revoked: <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-methane-emissions-regulations-2646947182.html" target="_self">methane emissions</a> in the oil and gas sector, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-fuel-efficiency-proposal-2592345279.html" target="_self">fuel efficiency standards</a> for cars and light trucks, energy efficiency standards for appliances and buildings, and air pollution controls, including the decision to limit <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/epa-secret-science-rule-health-2649767248.html" target="_self">certain scientific studies</a> for setting public health policies.</p><p>Further, Biden called for a review of the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/shrinking-bears-ears-grand-staircase-escalante-2645172719.html" target="_self">shrinking</a> of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase Escalante National Monuments and the opening the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-commercial-fishing-2646161692.html" target="_blank">commercial fishing.</a> Biden also paused <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/anwr-oil-lease-fail-2649791991.html" target="_self">oil and gas leasing</a> in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.</p>
<h3>4. Stopping Border Wall Construction</h3><p>Biden also signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/proclamation-termination-of-emergency-with-respect-to-southern-border-of-united-states-and-redirection-of-funds-diverted-to-border-wall-construction/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">executive order</a> stopping construction of the wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.</p><p>While the order did not mention the environment, several conservation groups have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-border-wall-endangered-species-2410320620.html" target="_self">opposed the wall</a> for its <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-bulldozer-arizona-organ-pipe-2640888439.html" target="_blank">impacts</a> on wildlife and ecosystems. One <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-endangered-species-2642927676.html" target="_self">study</a> found that wall construction could threaten eight species with extinction. It also imperils the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/border-wall-national-butterfly-center-2638893129.html" target="_self">National Butterfly Center in Texas</a>, home to important pollinators.</p><p>Biden's initial actions prompted excitement from world leaders and environmental groups.</p><p>"Welcome back to the Paris Agreement!" French President Emmanuel Macron <a href="https://twitter.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1351955511814615042" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">tweeted</a>.</p><p>However, everyone, including Biden, acknowledged that more work remained.</p>
<p>"They are just executive actions. They are important but we're going to need legislation for a lot of the things we're going to do," Biden said according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/20/climate/biden-paris-climate-agreement.html" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>.</p><p>Biden's climate plan calls for a zero-emissions electricity sector by 2035, and zero emissions across the board by 2050. The plan will likely require approval from Congress, and some Republicans are already fighting Biden's actions. Montana Senator Steve Daines said he would introduce legislation requiring the president to get Senate approval for rejoining the Paris agreement. Daines also plans to introduce legislation that would approve the Keystone XL pipeline.</p><p>Meanwhile, Indigenous groups praised Biden's action on Keystone XL but called for him to revoke the permits of other pipelines.</p><p>"It is imperative that we keep the pressure on President Biden to put an end to ALL fossil fuel infrastructure and projects, making the ones that are near or on Indigenous territories of top priority," Tasina Sapa Win Smith, co-founder of Cheyenne River Grassroots Collective, said in a <a href="https://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1414959334" target="_blank">statement</a> from the Indigenous Environmental Network.</p>
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A three-dimensional portrait of methane concentrations around the world is helping researchers to understand the complex gas, which constitutes the second largest contributor to greenhouse gas (GHG) warming after carbon dioxide.
<p>Methane is an important GHG that is emitted during the production and transport of coal, natural gas and oil as well from agricultural practices like rice cultivation and the raising of livestock, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases" target="_blank">EPA</a>). Once lofted into the atmosphere, high-altitude winds can transport methane far beyond its source, disproportionately impacting communities around the world.</p><p>"There's an urgency in understanding where the sources are coming from so that we can be better prepared to mitigate methane emissions where there are opportunities to do so," <a href="https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/2020/new-3d-view-of-methane-tracks-sources-and-movement-around-the-globe" target="_blank">said</a> research scientist Ben Poulter at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.</p>
<p>During extraction processes, if methane leaks into the air before being used, a single molecule can trap the sun's heat and warm the atmosphere, according to the <a href="https://www.edf.org/climate/methane-other-important-greenhouse-gas" target="_blank">Environmental Defense Fund</a>. The largest source of man-made methane production is attributed to the oil and gas industry; about 10 percent of all GHG emissions from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuels</a> in the U.S. can be attributed to methane. Though methane has a shorter lifetime with lower concentrations in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, the gas is eighty-four times more potent and needs to be considered when evaluating the impact of global <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-change">climate change</a>.</p>
<p>"It is estimated that up to 60 percent of the current methane flux from land to the atmosphere is the result of human activities," said Abhishek Chatterjee, a carbon cycle scientist with Universities Space Research Association based at Goddard.</p><p>"Similar to carbon dioxide, human activity over long time periods is increasing atmospheric methane concentrations faster than the removal from natural 'sinks' can offset it. As human populations continue to grow, changes in energy use, agriculture and rice cultivation [and] livestock raising will influence methane emissions. However, it's difficult to predict future trends due to both lack of measurements and incomplete understanding of the carbon-climate feedbacks."</p>
<p>To determine methane's role on Earth's carbon cycle and its impact on the climate system, researchers at NASA combined multiple data sets from self-reported fossil fuel producers, government overseers and satellite observations. These were put into a high-resolution computer model to simulate the global movement of methane emissions based on known processes in certain environments while accounting for weather models and natural processes that break down the gas.</p>
<p>Methane's global movements through space and landscapes are complex and can vary depending on many factors. Of note, the impacts of methane are felt disproportionately around the planet.</p><p>Europe was shown to be the only region to show a decrease in methane emissions over the last two decades, which may largely be due to measures prioritizing the use of <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> in a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/25-of-europe-quits-coal-1891078241.html" target="_self">shift</a> from fossil fuels like coal.</p><p>In South America, the Amazon River Basin and its associated wetlands flood seasonally, which creates oxygen-deprived environments that contribute a significant source of methane. Researchers estimate that around 60 percent of wetland methane emissions come from the tropics.</p><p>In Asia, more than 85 percent of methane emissions comes from human activities, with rice cultivation and livestock being the driving sources. Additionally, China's economic expansion and increasing population have driven the demand for energy and resources.</p><p>"<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/agriculture">Agriculture</a> is responsible for about 20% of global methane emissions and includes enteric fermentation, which is the processing of food in the guts of cattle, mainly, but also includes how we manage the waste products that come from livestock and other agricultural activities," said Poulter.</p><p>Arctic and high-latitude regions account for about one-fifth of global methane emissions.</p><p>"What happens in the Arctic doesn't stay in the Arctic," said Ott, adding that the region is not currently a strong pulse of methane but "that could change dramatically over time."</p><p>The findings will help to inform future field and satellite missions, as well as policy decisions.</p>
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President Joe Biden signs executive orders in the State Dining Room at the White House on Jan. 22, 2021 in Washington, DC. Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post via Getty Images
By Andrew Rosenberg
The first 24 hours of the administration of President Joe Biden were filled not only with ceremony, but also with real action. Executive orders and other directives were quickly signed. More actions have followed. All consequential. Many provide a basis for not just undoing actions of the previous administration, but also making real advances in public policy to protect public health, safety, and the environment.
<p><br/></p>
<p>These first executive orders address huge challenges — the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/biden-coronavirus-executive-actions/2021/01/21/9a4ab954-5b56-11eb-8bcf-3877871c819d_story.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">pandemic</a>, <a href="https://ucsusa.org/about/news/biden-expected-rejoin-paris-agreement-day-one-bring-us-back-international-fold" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate change</a>, <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-advancing-racial-equity-and-support-for-underserved-communities-through-the-federal-government/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">racial justice</a>, and <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/statements-releases/2021/01/22/fact-sheet-president-bidens-new-executive-actions-deliver-economic-relief-for-american-families-and-businesses-amid-the-covid-19-crises/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">economic</a> uncertainty. Among these actions, President Biden also issued a critically important order on "<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/executive-order-protecting-public-health-and-environment-and-restoring-science-to-tackle-climate-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis</a>," which includes some provisions that have received much less attention than they warrant. They go to the heart of much of UCS' work and advocacy.</p>
<p>Section 1 of the order is clear and inspiring:</p><p>"Policy. Our Nation has an abiding commitment to empower our workers and communities; promote and protect our public health and the environment; and conserve our national treasures and monuments, places that secure our national memory. Where the Federal Government has failed to meet that commitment in the past, it must advance environmental justice. In carrying out this charge, the Federal Government must be guided by the best science and be protected by processes that ensure the integrity of Federal decision-making. <em>It is, therefore, the policy of my Administration to listen to the science; to improve public health and protect our environment; to ensure access to clean air and water; to limit exposure to dangerous chemicals and pesticides; to hold polluters accountable, including those who disproportionately harm communities of color and low-income communities; to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; to bolster resilience to the impacts of climate change; to restore and expand our national treasures and monuments; and to prioritize both environmental justice and the creation of the well-paying union jobs necessary to deliver on these goals."</em> (emphasis added)</p>
<p>Music to my ears. Listening to the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/science/">science</a> is not just about the pandemic, it is about serving the needs of the public. For protecting public health and safety in our communities. For worker safety. For protections for all with justice and equity, particularly communities of color and low-income communities that have long suffered much of the burden of pollution and environmental harms. These are exactly the <a href="https://ucsusa.org/resources/roadmap-science-decisionmaking" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">changes</a> that UCS has been advocating for and will pay enormous dividends in improving public health and safety, with specific attention to ensuring those benefits are for all communities.</p><p>As ordered by our president, all agencies and departments in the Executive Branch must immediately review and address actions taken between January 20, 2017 and January 20,2021 that conflict with these policy goals. And suspend, revise, or rescind those found to be in conflict with the new president's policy goals as soon as possible.</p>
<p>For example, these actions will include, but are not limited to:</p><ul><li>Reversing the climate- and health-harming rollback of <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/julie-mcnamara/epa-methane-rollbacks-natural-gas-bridge-becomes-piece-of-crumbling-infrastructure" target="_blank">methane emissions</a> standards.</li><li>Redoing the fuel economy and emissions standards for cars and light trucks that were <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-cooke/trump-administration-finalizes-car-rule-which-will-worsen-economy-public-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">gutted</a> under the <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-cooke/trump-administration-finalizes-car-rule-as-handout-to-fossil-fuel-industry" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">last administration</a>, while also moving forward with <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-cooke/under-biden-administration-a-new-decade-has-dawned-passenger-car-regulations-must-keep-up?_ga=2.51189737.1374580234.1611258477-310247935.1607440719" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">ambitious standards</a> that will dramatically reduce emissions and increase transportation electrification in the future.</li><li>Reconsidering rollbacks of <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/julie-mcnamara/while-you-werent-looking-energy-efficiency-became-one-of-our-nations-top-energy-resources" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">energy efficiency standards</a>.</li><li>Undoing attacks on <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/julie-mcnamara/epas-brazen-mercury-rule-proposal" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">mercury and air toxics</a> standards for coal plants.</li><li>Reconsidering changes to the way <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/julie-mcnamara/manipulation-of-benefit-cost-analysis-hides-bodies-in-the-fine-print" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">costs and benefits</a> are calculated.</li><li>Revoking the rule that <a href="https://ucsusa.org/about/news/epa-rule-restricting-science-puts-agencys-mission-risk-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">limits the science</a> that the EPA can use in rulemaking.</li><li>Reestablishing the interagency working group on the "<a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/rachel-cleetus/the-social-cost-of-carbon-underscores-an-obvious-fact-climate-change-is-costly" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">social cost</a> of greenhouse gas emissions to determine the social benefits of limiting global warming as critical input to evaluating regulatory proposals, and requiring an interim SCC, SCN and SCM within 30 days which will be used until final values are published.</li><li>Erasing the shortcutting of <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/derrick-jackson/environmental-racism-in-action-the-trump-administrations-plans-to-gut-nepa" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">environmental reviews</a> of federal projects under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).</li></ul><p>Within 30 days agencies must submit a full list of actions from the last four years that will be considered for review and revision or cancellation within the next year.</p>
<h3>(Measured) Excitement at UCS</h3><p>I danced around the room with my dogs at the push toward restoring NEPA analyses. Doing a thorough NEPA analysis, which the shortcuts held back, means that agencies must seek public input more extensive than just notice and public comment during the rulemaking process. And critically it means that alternatives to a proposed action must be considered and vetted with the public, with the full analysis available to anyone who wants to understand the ramifications of a particular policy action. That includes, now with the new order, considering the impacts of climate change and on environmental justice. We need these analyses and public discussion — they are a key part of decisionmaking in our constitutional democracy.</p><p>I am definitely not the only one at UCS who gets excited by these wonky, technical pronouncements.</p><p>My colleague <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/author/jonna-hamilton" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Jonna Hamilton</a> raised a glass to toast the drive to more ambitious fuel economy and emissions standards, saying it's time to ensure that the auto companies make the next generation of vehicles that consumers want to drive. Strong standards will help the transition to electric vehicles, which <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/dave-reichmuth/are-electric-vehicles-really-better-for-the-climate-yes-heres-why" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">reduce emissions</a>, no matter where they are charged.</p><p><a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/author/rachel-cleetus" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Rachel Cleetus</a> breathed a sigh of relief that the government will be restoring the use of the social cost of carbon (and the social cost of methane and the social cost of nitrous oxide) for regulatory purposes. And that the Council on Environmental Quality will be updating its guidance on the consideration of greenhouse gases for NEPA analyses. With <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/brenda-ekwurzel/2020-ends-hottest-decade-on-record-decadal-temperature-chart-as-iconic-as-co2-keeling-curve" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">2020 ending the hottest decade on record</a> globally, and bringing a record-breaking <a href="https://www.noaa.gov/stories/record-number-of-billion-dollar-disasters-struck-us-in-2020" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">22 extreme weather and climate related disasters</a> in the US that killed at least 262 people and each cost more than a billion dollars, it's high time we took the costs of climate change seriously!</p><p>And <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/author/gretchen-goldman" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Gretchen Goldman</a>, swinging her young sons in the air in joy, was thrilled to see that revoking the limits on science was named as a top priority of the Biden administration! The so-called Transparency Rule would do <a href="https://ucsusa.org/about/news/epa-rule-restricting-science-puts-agencys-mission-risk-0" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">widespread damage</a> to the EPA's ability to use the best available science on everything from air pollution standards to pesticide regulation. Finding a way to get rid of <a href="https://undark.org/2019/11/21/opinion-trump-epa-transparency-rule/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">this harmful rule</a> will allow the EPA to fully carry out its mission of protecting public health and the environment.</p><p>This order does a lot more to revoke bad policies. It also calls on the Secretary of the Interior to review the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments">national monuments</a> with a view to restoring them to 2017 boundaries. It declares the environmental review of oil and gas leasing in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge inadequate, placing a moratorium on leasing. It revokes the permit for the Keystone XL pipeline because it is inconsistent with the economic and climate goals of the new administration. And part of those stated goals as laid out in the policy section of the order includes respecting the voices of the Indigenous communities whose lands, livelihoods, and culture were given short shrift in the permitting process to date.</p>
<h3>Another Less Noticed, Even Wonkier, Remarkable Day One Action</h3><p>Another <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing-room/presidential-actions/2021/01/20/modernizing-regulatory-review/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Presidential Directive</a> of critical importance to the mission and work of UCS is titled "Modernizing Regulatory Review." It calls for the Office of Management and Budget, through its Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA), to re-focus the role and content of reviews of regulations proposed by federal agencies.</p><p>The new process OIRA is tasked with designing and implementing in consultation with agencies across the government will:</p><ul><li>Reflect new developments in science.</li><li>Fully account for benefits of regulations that are difficult to quantify.</li><li>Take into account the distributional consequences of regulations to ensure they appropriately benefit, and not inappropriately burden, disadvantaged, vulnerable or marginalized communities.</li><li>Find ways for OIRA to work more proactively and effectively with agencies to obtain the benefits to the public that come with regulatory initiatives.</li><li>Improve efficiency, transparency, and inclusiveness in the interagency review process.</li></ul><p>For example, consider the review of the previous administration's rules that would limit the science that the EPA can use as the basis for implementing public health protections. That rule requires that the underlying data of any study be publicly available to be fully considered by the agency. That would necessarily exclude studies that rely on confidential health information in most cases, or give those studies lower credence, not on the basis of their scientific merit, but because of an artificial barrier labeled as "transparency" concerns. <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/genna-reed/we-told-omb-why-epas-so-called-transparency-rule-is-a-trap" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">OIRA has reviewed</a> both the proposed and final rules and deemed them not economically significant, despite the fact that they affect all of the work that EPA does. Under an improved review process, the rule would have never moved through the process because it will in fact overburden, yet again, vulnerable communities.</p><p>Though OIRA's work is often behind the scenes and rarely fully acknowledged, the agency plays a critical role in either advancing or hindering the regulatory process. In order for the Biden administration to meet its goals on climate, the pandemic, racial justice, and economic recovery, that process has to become better and more effective. OIRA involvement must add real value to the benefit of the public. It is heartening and remarkable that this directive is a Day One action of the new administration.</p>
<h3>Toward Real Action</h3><p>By no means do the first executive orders accomplish the huge tasks before this administration. But it is an extraordinarily good start.</p><p>Now these orders need to turn into real actions from top to bottom in the federal government and in partnership with state and tribal governments as well as internationally. None of the challenges we face will be solved without action at all levels.</p><p>Our excitement at UCS is tempered by the enormous amount of work that needs to turn this promising vision into a reality. We will make our voices heard to hold the administration and Congress to account. Please join us in doing so.</p>
<p><em>Andrew Rosenberg is the director of the UCS Center for Science and Democracy.</em></p><p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/andrew-rosenberg/consequential-biden-actions-nobody-is-talking-about" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a>.</em></p>
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While Texans were burning their furniture and children's toys for warmth, other wider-ranging impacts of the energy crisis precipitated by Arctic temperatures across the U.S. will be felt for years.
<p>In Fulton, Missouri, which serves as a gas utility for its residents, skyrocketing methane gas prices over the last week severely taxed the city's ability to cover the cost. As of Tuesday, the city had spent more than $3 million of its $5 million gas reserve fund. "We know that some of our residents just can't pay these exorbitant prices," a city official told KOMU. </p>
<p>Officials said absent outside relief it will take the city years to replenish the funds. Not everyone is suffering, however. The fracking company owned by Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was able to maintain extraction despite the cold, making the week like "hitting the jackpot," according to its CFO. </p>
<p><strong>For a deeper dive:</strong><br/></p><p>Furniture and toys: <a href="https://www.today.com/news/surreal-photos-capture-dangers-cold-snap-across-south-t209378?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_ZGAWcoOc9ZGh0Pa6ZX9LWAoVMlVaVXtr3tu32H9_rt0L9NeIDh_APEMSCYkZ05XX-A_fL4dr17bnCbXjX4vkG_lLi-A&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NBC</a>, <a href="https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/dallas-fire-rescue-triples-its-call-load-as-winter-storm-devastates-residents/287-82563b24-8c79-4d0d-84c7-7249ca927c53?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_5kIqXD8VvlwUlc6lFJC4Jzd0Px73tBlF7CWsLLOsoq8tBbYPJduU-fz0XnNqsnNyZP4TSv8jDE1s3duJ0asXrlBx0-w&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">WFAA</a>, <a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/mjs538/pictures-of-what-texas-is-like?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9HEfRx46UG4BRA3BgTPZDpY4tOOajmvubdCljwgizWONQvfM7z4BYeI8E7wql4zGpYSTCE6Nbzb9v95Glp9T_5gjDx0Q&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">BuzzFeed</a>; Fulton, MO: <a href="https://www.komu.com/news/midmissourinews/fulton-city-council-to-hold-emergency-meeting-on-natural-gas-and-electricity-costs/article_ebe7ec72-70a6-11eb-b214-43966feef7bd.html?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--oHz6Y5e11Dw2p_CQCqAzW9bVxz0t14m1BBg7Pj2vMT7uyCJ9dFFfDzJuOCg3Xhx2y9A_iAQpYKsIVselU5FwzZk5c3w&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KOMU</a>, <a href="https://abc17news.com/news/fulton/2021/02/16/fulton-facing-financial-disaster-as-natural-gas-prices-skyrocket-because-of-frozen-pipes/?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9rgOIL-y7TmpxvSDkwFXpNztWHgyIILltpelLqLHLH6FrADQ-yCZvyQgsKd-yKhZMyF-Z0KlxoL1nOIUeeasF_eeNvZw&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KMIZ/KOFX</a>, <a href="https://krcgtv.com/news/local/fulton-city-council-meets-amid-natural-gas-price-concerns?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9w-BPleAYVNQdDdQq2oK71HhmlsidlWV_gVr6WQnT40rXjmcxJa4GpvHlkPUHoPwZsyPe_ImctVPjrmeECM_iihwO6qw&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">KRCG</a>; Jackpot: <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/live-updates-winter-storms-2021/2021/02/18/969074414/jerry-jones-company-hits-jackpot-as-harsh-storms-send-natural-gas-prices-surging?utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-8VTgk8Ikg8CXFZ4PD2G7_v7_cum6zcvxz6fD14iGU9sZ9e9kQ_56iYNlwsO6mPBrLS-snBSzfuGcbxFoR47wfgYWUkkA&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">NPR</a>, <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-17/dallas-cowboys-owner-s-gas-driller-hits-jackpot-on-price-surge?sref=oUjKJw8m&utm_campaign=Hot%20News&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=111917289&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_idIts1VOdfm7ypchb-_mAL6FoVDjXbcbUJQWu9_z_aPAzhxy_bCBLYaCOGMGxu09ObgMYDWWK7cVwEi6vhJ47PEA78w&utm_content=111917289&utm_source=hs_email" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bloomberg</a></p><p><em>For more </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/climate-change-news/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>climate change</em></a><em> and </em><a href="http://ecowatch.com/business/renewables/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>clean energy</em></a><em> news, you can follow Climate Nexus on </em><a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateNexus" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Twitter</em></a><em> and </em><a href="https://www.facebook.com/ClimateNexus/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Facebook</em></a><em>, sign up for daily </em><a href="https://www.linktrack.live/hot-news-sign-up" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Hot News</em></a><em>, and visit their news site, </em><a href="https://nexusmedianews.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Nexus Media News</em></a><em>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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