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In Germany's Hunsrück village of Schorbach, numerous photovoltaic systems are installed on house roofs, on Sept. 19, 2019. Thomas Frey / Picture Alliance via Getty Images
Germany's target for renewable energy sources to deliver 65% of its consumed electricity by 2030 seemed on track Wednesday, with 52% of electricity coming from renewables in 2020's first quarter. Renewable energy advocates, however, warned the trend is imperiled by slowdowns in building new wind and solar plants.
<p>The federal BDEW energy and water federation and Baden-Württemberg state's ZSW solar and hydro research center observed a 7% percent renewables jump from 44.4% in the same period last year, in comparison to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> consumption.</p><p>Wind, especially offshore wind turbines, solar panels and other sources generated 77 billion kilowatt-hours (kWh) compared to 67 kWh in the first quarter of 2019.</p><p>Using the standard EU's electricity consumption measurement, Germany's total, also from conventional <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">gas</a> and <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear" target="_self">nuclear</a> plants, amounted to 148 billion kWh.</p>
<p><br>The 7% jump in renewables came despite conventional plant closures and pandemic impacts on industry, officials said, while also noting "special effects" such as record winds in February and plentiful sun in March that benefited turbines and voltaic panels.</p><p>That trend could, however, not be extrapolated for the whole of 2020, warned the BDEW and ZSW, pointing to local objectors and current investor indecision.</p><p>Some residents, arguing on health and scenic grounds, resist the building of more wind turbines and the laying of extra arterial power lines to transmit electricity captured at North Sea wind farms to Germany's industrial south.</p>
<p>The record figures stand in contrast to investment deterrents, which if not quickly removed would make Germany's target of 65% self-sufficiency unreachable, said BDEW head Kerstin Andreae.</p><p>Germany's pandemic-induced economic woes compounded the situation, Andreae added.</p><p>Given the current downturn, ZSW executive board member Frithjof Staiss contended that investors would turn to renewable energy projects that were less fraught with risk than the current "volatile share market."</p><p>The renewables record, noted the BDEW and ZSW, was achieved despite the shutdown of Germany's Philippsburg 2 nuclear power plant at the end of 2019 and the placing of brown coal power plants on standby to cover emergencies.</p><p>Using another measure, gross electricity produced, the two groups calculated that with exported electricity included in their calculation, renewable sources made up 49% of Germany's gross electricity production in the first quarter of the year.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/renewables-make-up-over-half-of-germanys-power-mix/a-52986924?maca=en-VAM_volltext_ecowatch-28485-html-copypaste" target="_blank">DW</a>.</em></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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As the coronavirus spreads, so do startling satellite images showing a dramatic decrease in air pollution over quarantined areas.
<p>Satellite data <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/coronavirus-china-pollution-2645356657.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">shared in early March</a> showed a steep decline in nitrogen dioxide levels over <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/china" target="_self">China</a> between January and February as the epidemic's epicenter of Wuhan went into lockdown. Now, images <a href="https://www.esa.int/ESA_Multimedia/Videos/2020/03/Coronavirus_nitrogen_dioxide_emissions_drop_over_Italy" target="_blank">shared by the European Space Agency (ESA)</a> suggest that a similar thing happened in Italy, which has reported the second highest number of cases after China.</p><p>"The decline in nitrogen dioxide emissions over the Po Valley in northern Italy is particularly evident," ESA's Copernicus Sentinel-5P mission manager Claus Zehner said. "Although there could be slight variations in the data due to cloud cover and changing weather, we are very confident that the reduction in emissions that we can see, coincides with the lockdown in Italy causing less traffic and industrial activity."</p>
<p>The ESA published an animation Friday based on data from its Copernicus Sentinel-5p satellite that shows fluctuations in nitrogen dioxide pollution over Europe between Jan. 1 and March 11. The decline in emissions over Italy coincided with <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/italy-coronavirus-lockdown-2645446927.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">lockdown measures</a> announced by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte March 9 that prohibited public gatherings and non-essential travel. This followed a decision the day before to lockdown the country's North, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/07/world/europe/coronavirus-italy.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. The North has been the region hardest hit by the virus and where the pollution decline has been most evident.<br></p><p>Nitrogen dioxide emissions are largely driven by cars, power plants and industry. While they are not a major contributor to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>, they do tend to correlate with greenhouse gas emissions, <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2020/03/13/italy-emissions-coronavirus/?arc404=true" target="_blank">The Washington Post explained</a>. Because Italy has made significant strides in reducing its emissions and powers itself mostly with natural gas and renewable energy, experts think the decline is down to a decrease in driving.</p><p>"I guess this is mostly diesel cars out of the road," Georgia Tech University climate economics expert Emanuele Massetti told The Washington Post.</p><p>The lockdown has also decreased water pollution. The canal in Venice, now free of gondolas and cruise ships, is crystal clear, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6683226/climate-change-coronavirus/" target="_blank">Global News reported</a>.</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-1237862630649290758" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1237862630649290758&created_ts=1583964424.0&screen_name=FolinAlberto&text=I+canali+di+Venezia+senza+traffico+di+barche%21%21%0AIl+risultato%3F+Acqua+limpidissima%0APh.+Venice+pictures+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FKGsKWNd56u&id=1237862630649290758&name=Albert+Folaz" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="CYDP8Z1584471911"></iframe><p>The decline in tourism has brought "back the lagoon waters of ancient times, those of the post-war period, when it was even still possible to bathe in the waters of the canals," local newspaper La Nuova di Venezia e Mestre wrote.</p><p>But COVID-19 has taken a significant human toll on Italy. The country reported 368 new deaths from the virus on Sunday, <a href="https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/spain-france-tighten-curbs-coronavirus-fight-live-updates-200312054153018.html" target="_blank">Al Jazeera reported</a>. More than 2,100 people have died in total, and the country had 27,980 cases as of Monday, <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/public-global-health/487850-italy-announces-an-additional-3000-coronavirus-cases" target="_blank">The Hill reported</a>.</p><p>"This is not the way to reduce emissions!" University of Tuscia professor Riccardo Valentini told The Washington Post.</p>
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Crude oil extraction pump pulling crude oil up to the surface and pushing it into pipelines in the Permian Basin in West Texas on May 27, 2018. ©Studio One-One / Moment / Getty Images
ExxonMobil is a company capable of contradictions. It has been lobbying against government efforts to address climate change while running ads touting its own efforts to do so.
<p>And while the oil giant has been responsible for massive methane releases, Exxon has now proposed a new <a href="https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/~/media/Global/Files/newsroom/publications-and-reports/Mitigating-Methane-Emissions-from-the-Oil-and-Gas-Industry-Model-Regulatory-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">regulatory framework</a> for cutting emissions of this powerful greenhouse gas that it hopes regulators and industry will adopt. As Exxon put it, the goal is to achieve "<a href="https://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/121215-exxonmobil-urges-energy-industry-policymakers-to-embrace-methane-oversight" target="_blank">cost-effective and reasonable methane-emission regulations</a>."</p>
<p class=""><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/03/16/exxon-write-rules-regulating-methane-emissions">DeSmog</a>.</em></p>
<p>So, why is Exxon asking to be regulated?</p><p>The answer may be simply that Exxon is very good at public relations. As industry publication <a href="https://www.naturalgasintel.com/articles/121215-exxonmobil-urges-energy-industry-policymakers-to-embrace-methane-oversight" target="_blank">Natural Gas Intelligence reported</a>, this announcement "comes as energy operators face increasing pressure from lenders and shareholders to engage in decarbonization by following environmental, social, and governance standards."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-1234997313581375490" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1234997313581375490&created_ts=1583281279.0&screen_name=exxonmobil&text=ExxonMobil+is+proposing+new+rules+to+cut+methane+emissions.+We+think+it+makes+sense+for+industries+to+work+together%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FNnLNZ2yO5O&id=1234997313581375490&name=ExxonMobil" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="A0CFO81584454354"></iframe><p>Exxon's proposed regulations have three main objectives: finding and detecting leaks, minimizing the direct venting of methane as part of oil and gas operations, and record keeping and reporting.</p><p>Casey Norton, Exxon's Corporate Media Relations Manager, explained to DeSmog that Exxon's proposal was not expected to be adopted as-is by regulatory agencies. "This is a starting point for conversations with policy makers and other regulators," he said. "For example, New Mexico, Argentina, the EU, who are all considering new regulations for methane emissions."</p><p>Under President Trump, the federal government last year rolled back Obama-era rules for oil and gas companies to report methane emissions and <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/18/climate/trump-methane-rollback.html" target="_blank">for restricting these emissions during drilling</a> on public lands.</p><p>This isn't Exxon's first foray into voluntary regulations of methane. The corporation's natural gas subsidiary XTO started a <a href="https://news.exxonmobil.com/press-release/exxonmobil-expands-methane-emissions-reduction-program" target="_blank">voluntary methane emissions</a> program in 2017. In June 2018, XTO noted that the voluntary program, which was mostly about replacing leaking valves, had reduced <a href="https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180625005080/en/ExxonMobil%25E2%2580%2599s-XTO-Energy-Announces-Progress-Methane-Emissions" target="_blank">methane emissions by 7,200 metric tons since 2016</a>.</p>
<p>However, leaking valves are not the biggest source of methane emissions. In February 2018, four months before XTO was touting the success of its methane reduction program, the company experienced the second largest methane leak in U.S. history. A gas well it operated in Ohio suffered a blowout, releasing huge amounts of the heat-trapping gas.</p><p>Did XTO's voluntary program accurately report this? As The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/16/climate/methane-leak-satellite.html" target="_blank">New York Times reported</a>, "XTO Energy said it could not immediately determine how much gas had leaked."</p><p>But a group of scientists using satellite data eventually did pin down the amount released — 120 metric tons an hour for 20 days. That adds up to roughly 50,000 metric tons more released than the 7,200 metric tons in reductions XTO was claiming months later. That one leak was estimated to be more than the methane emissions of the total oil and gas industry of countries like Norway.</p><p>As <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/03/11/future-exxon-permian-flaring-crisis-air-pollution" target="_blank">DeSmog reported</a>, XTO is also <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/01/29/fracking-industry-gas-flaring-problem" target="_blank">flaring </a>the most natural gas of any company in the Permian oil field (natural gas is almost 90 percent methane). While flaring isn't as bad for the climate as directly venting the methane into the atmosphere, it is increasing the levels of carbon dioxide and toxic air pollutants and is another problem the industry is saying it will address even as the practice <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-11/permian-s-gas-burning-black-eye-is-30-worse-than-thought" target="_blank">continues on a large scale</a>.</p>
<p>And now the same company is recommending that the rest of the industry and regulators <a href="https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/~/media/Global/Files/newsroom/publications-and-reports/Mitigating-Methane-Emissions-from-the-Oil-and-Gas-Industry-Model-Regulatory-Framework.pdf" target="_blank">adopt their approach</a> to regulating methane emissions.</p><p>"It is not target-based, it is not volume-based," Exxon's Norton said. "Again, it's starting a conversation, saying these are things that you can look at."</p><p>Robert Howarth, <a href="https://ecologyandevolution.cornell.edu/robert-warren-howarth" target="_blank">a biogeochemist at Cornell University</a> whose work focuses on methane emmissions in the oil and gas industry, drew attention to areas of Exxon's framework he thought were lacking. For starters, he pointed out that the proposed framework does not mention emissions from "imperfect well casings and from abandoned wells," which Howarth says "can be significant." He also noted that the proposal does not describe "a methodology for characterizing any of these emissions; there are techniques for doing so, but there is not much demonstrated use of these techniques by industry."</p><p>Finally — and this is the real danger with any sort of industry self-regulation — Howarth said there must be some type of independent oversight to assess actual emissions instead of relying on the industry to self-report. XTO's well blowout in Ohio is an excellent example of why this third-party verification is critical. Without oversight, the "system is ripe for abuse," according to Howarth.</p><p>Sharon Wilson of environmental advocacy group Earthworks <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/01/30/sharon-wilson-methane-leaks-permian-basin-oilfields" target="_blank">documents</a> the oil and gas industry's current widespread practices of <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/11/14/methane-sharon-wilson-earthworks-permian-basin-fracking" target="_blank">flaring and venting methane. </a>Sharing her concerns about Exxon's methane emissions proposal, she told DeSmog,"Exxon's recent announcement is too little too late when it comes to the climate crisis they've help cause and are still making worse. Reducing methane emissions by any percentage is not enough when Exxon continues to expand sources of the same climate pollution." </p><p>Wilson called for the company to support federal and state rules to cut methane.</p>
Trump Administration Reversed Existing Methane Regulations
<p>Methane emissions have become <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/08/14/fracking-shale-gas-drilling-methane-spike-howarth" target="_blank">a much bigger issue</a> in the last decade since the <span style="background-color: initial;">U.S.</span> boom in shale <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil-and-gas">oil and gas</a> produced by <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking" rel="noopener noreferrer">fracking</a>. Despite <a href="https://money.cnn.com/2016/07/21/investing/trump-energy-plan-obama-oil-boom/index.html" target="_blank">overseeing a huge rise in oil and gas production</a>, the Obama administration acknowledged the methane problem and <a href="https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/blog/2016/05/12/administration-takes-historic-action-reduce-methane-emission-oil-and-gas-sector" target="_blank">proposed and adopted new methane emissions regulations</a>, which the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/09/10/key-facts-trump-epa-plan-obama-methane-leaks-rule" target="_blank">Trump administration has since repealed</a>.</p><p>The Trump administration has staffed regulatory agencies with former industry executives and lobbyists who have been quite successful at rolling back environmental, health, and safety rules.</p><p>Last August former coal lobbyist and current administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/andrew-wheeler" target="_blank">Andrew Wheeler</a> <a href="https://www.epa.gov/newsreleases/epa-proposes-updates-air-regulations-oil-and-gas-remove-redundant-requirements-and-1" target="_blank">explained the reasoning</a> for removing the Obama methane rules.</p><p>"EPA's proposal delivers on President Trump's executive order and removes unnecessary and duplicative regulatory burdens from the oil and gas industry," Wheeler said. "The Trump administration recognizes that methane is valuable, and the industry has an incentive to minimize leaks and maximize its use."</p><p>The problem with this free-market assumption is that Wheeler is wrong about the industry's financial incentive to limit methane emissions.</p><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-1113551571755982855" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1113551571755982855&created_ts=1554326358.0&screen_name=JavierBlas&text=The+unreal+natural+gas+prices+in+the+%23Permian+get+even+more+unreal%3A%0A%0ANat+gas+at+the+Waha+hub+%28near+El+Paso%29+have+ho%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FZfj0XfXIJh&id=1113551571755982855&name=Javier+Blas" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="72W83E1584454354"></iframe><p><a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2020/03/11/us-natural-gas-lng-export-chesapeake-financial-struggle" target="_blank">There is too much natural gas</a>, aka methane, flooding world energy markets right now. Current prices to buy it are lower than the costs to produce it. The methane currently produced in Texas' Permian Basin spent a good portion of last year at negative prices. There is no financial incentive for producers in the Permian to voluntarily cut methane emissions in the current market environment.</p><p>That is why Permian producers <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/01/29/fracking-industry-gas-flaring-problem" target="_blank">are flaring</a> (openly burning) it at record levels as well as directly releasing (venting) methane into the rapidly warming atmosphere. So much for letting the free market address the issue.</p>
Even the Remaining Regulations Are Controlled by Industry
<p>While the Trump administration has rolled back many regulations for the oil and gas industry, the regulatory system in the U.S. was already designed to protect industry profits — not the public or environment. When the federal government creates regulations, the process can be heavily influenced by industry lobbyists, and if they don't agree with the regulations, there are many ways they can get them revised to favor their companies.</p><p>While Exxon <a href="https://www.axios.com/exxon-epa-regulate-methane-emissions-oil-gas--0befdde6-e0fe-49db-a200-38299853b43d.html" target="_blank">did publicly say </a>in 2018 that it didn't support repealing the existing methane regulations, the company also wrote to the <span style="background-color: initial;">EPA</span> voicing support for certain aspects of the <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/american-petroleum-institute" target="_blank">American Petroleum Institute's</a> (<span style="background-color: initial;">API</span>) comments on the issue, and the <span style="background-color: initial;">API</span> <a href="https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2019/08/oil-gas-lobby-split-by-trump-rollback-of-methane-rules/" target="_blank">approved removing the regulations.</a> In that letter Exxon used the same language it is now using with its propsed regulations, saying any rules need to be "cost-effective" and "reasonable." But if the regulations are cost-effective, will they actually be effective in reducing methane emissions in a meaningful way?</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjg4MDY3NS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY0NjAyNjM1NH0._FkQjtD7IdxsBjyG4C48LKbFNnq5d0dj7n6kYoadYjw/img.png?width=980" id="ef457" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6a80e7ae5ddbf00618b6efbabd60441f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Excerpt from Exxon letter to EPA about methane regulations. ExxonMobil
<p><a href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/when-safety-rules-on-oil-drilling-were-changed-some-staff-objected-those-notes-were-cut-11582731559" target="_blank">The Wall Street Journal</a> recently highlighted the influence that the oil and gas industry and its major U.S. trade group the American Petroleum Institute can have over regulations. After the deadly 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the federal government put into place new safeguards known as the "well control rule" in order to prevent another disaster during deepwater offshore drilling.</p><p>In 2019, the Trump administration revised the rule, <a href="https://www.npr.org/2019/05/03/720008093/trump-administration-moves-to-roll-back-offshore-drilling-safety-regulations" target="_blank">weakening it</a>, even though, as the Journal reported, federal regulatory staff did not agree "that an industry-crafted protocol for managing well pressure was sufficient in all situations, the records show." The staff was ignored. (And the move is <a href="https://www.maritime-executive.com/article/suit-filed-over-well-control-rule-repeal" target="_blank">undergoing a legal challenge</a>.)</p><p>Industry crafted protocol. Just the thing Exxon is now proposing.</p><p>This type of industry control over the regulatory process was also brought to light after two Boeing 737 MAX planes crashed and killed 346 people. Boeing had fought to make sure that pilots weren't required to undergo expensive and lengthy training to navigate the new plane.</p><p><a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-boeing-737max/designed-by-clowns-boeing-employees-ridicule-737-max-regulators-in-internal-messages-idUSKBN1Z902N" target="_blank">Reuters reported </a>on internal communications at Boeing which revealed the airplane maker simply would not let simulator training be required by regulators:</p><p>"I want to stress the importance of holding firm that there will not be any type of simulator training required to transition from NG to MAX," Boeing's 737 chief technical pilot said in a March 2017 email.</p><p>"Boeing will not allow that to happen. We'll go face to face with any regulator who tries to make that a requirement."</p><p>Boeing got its way. And 346 people died.</p><iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-1236300589262405632" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1236300589262405632&created_ts=1583592004.0&screen_name=thedailybeast&text=Nearly+a+year+after+a+second+crash+of+a+Boeing+737+MAX+that+led+to+its+grounding%2C+the+full+extent+of+the+company%E2%80%99s%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2FuUHyItbBrD&id=1236300589262405632&name=The+Daily+Beast" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="BGIMBL1584454354"></iframe><p>For the past six years, I have reported on the failed regulatory process governing the moving of dangerous crude oil by rail (and even <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2019/07/09/bomb-trains-oil-rail-threat-book" target="_blank">wrote a book about it</a>). The only meaningful safety regulation that resulted from a multi-year process was requiring oil trains to have modern electronically controlled pneumatic brakes.</p><p>As <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/12/10/trump-admin-repeal-oil-train-safety-rule-electronically-controlled-pneumatic-brakes" target="_blank">I reported</a>, shortly after this regulation was enacted, Matthew Rose, CEO of the largest oil-by-rail company BNSF, told an industry conference that "the only thing we don't like about [the new regulation] is the electronic braking" and "this rule will have to be changed in the future." As per the wishes of Matthew Rose, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/12/10/trump-admin-repeal-oil-train-safety-rule-electronically-controlled-pneumatic-brakes" target="_blank">that rule was repealed </a>despite the substantial evidence clearly showing this modern braking system greatly increases train safety. </p><p>A recent op-ed from an editor at the trade publication Railway Age referred to these oil trains as a "<a href="https://www.railwayage.com/regulatory/double-trouble-in-saskatchewan/" target="_blank">clear and present danger</a>." Nevertheless, these trains hauling volatile oil through North American communities are still operating with braking systems engineered in the late 1800s.</p>
Exxon Touts 'Sound Science' Despite Its History
<p>Exxon's methane proposal states that any regulations should be based on "sound science." This statement is coming from a company whose scientists <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/content/Exxon-The-Road-Not-Taken" target="_blank">accurately predicted the impacts of burning fossil fuels</a> on the climate decades ago and yet has spent the time since then <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2017/09/03/study-finds-exxon-misled-public-withholding-climate-knowledge" target="_blank">misleading the public</a> about that science.</p><p>The current regulatory system in America does not protect the public interest. Letting Exxon take the lead in the place of regulators doesn't seem like it's going to help.</p><p>Megan Milliken Biven is a former federal analyst for the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the federal agency that regulates the oil industry's offshore activity. Milliken Biven explained to DeSmog what she saw as the root cause of the regulatory process's failure.<br><br>"Regulatory capture isn't really the problem," Milliken Biven said. "The system was designed to work for industry so regulatory capture isn't even required."</p>From Your Site Articles
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A First Nations protester walks in front of a train blockade in Tyendinaga, near Belleville, Ontario, Canada on Feb. 21, 2020. LARS HAGBERG / AFP via Getty Images
An indigenous rail blockade that snarled train travel in Canada for more than two weeks came to an end Monday when police moved in to clear protesters acting in solidarity with another indigenous community in British Columbia (B.C.), which is fighting to keep a natural gas pipeline off its land.
<p><br>Ten members of the Tyendinaga Mohawk nation were arrested for participating in the rail blockade on their own territory near the town of Belleville, Ontario, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/feb/24/canada-police-indigenous-anti-pipeline-activists-rail-blockade" target="_blank">The Guardian reported</a>. After warning them they faced arrest, police rushed and tackled protesters before cuffing them. Remaining demonstrators then heeded community leaders' calls to stand down.</p><p>"The video is pretty damning to watch," University of Manitoba native studies associate professor Niigaan Sinclair told <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-mohawk-tyendinaga-blockades-solidarity-1.5473552?__vfz=medium%3Dsharebar&fbclid=IwAR3OpHNYNubGxuOI7Rphirix0u5XBsu2ia1Ly53rlowIFhNdlx6UvCTyO-Q" target="_blank">CBC News</a> of the arrest footage. "It's a video of dozens of police officers armed to the teeth, lined up with paddy wagons, prepared to throw individuals who are standing on their own territory into them."</p>
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<p>The blockade <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/pipeline-protests-canada-indigenous-2645171362.html" target="_self">first went up Feb. 6</a> in response to another police raid. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) had cleared a protest camp set up by the Wet'suwet'en to block the construction of the $6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline in B.C. While elected Wet'suwet'en councils have approved the pipeline, hereditary chiefs oppose its construction on land they never ceded to the Canadian government.</p><p>The police action came after the rail blockade had disrupted travel for 103,000 Canadians and led to temporary layoffs of rail workers, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/24/world/canada/rail-blockade-protest.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. Weeks of solidarity demonstrations across the country have involved both indigenous groups and non-indigenous protesters who oppose <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> pipelines.</p>
<p>Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at first urged dialogue with indigenous protesters, but took a firmer tone on Friday.</p><p>"Everyone involved is worried," Trudeau said, as <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trudeau-incident-response-group-friday-1.5471095" target="_blank">CBC News reported</a>. "Canadians have been patient, our government has been patient. But it has been two weeks and the barricades need to come down now."</p><p>He ruled out calling on the army, but his words were interpreted as a greenlight for police to move against the blockade, according to The New York Times.</p><p>Monday's police action has set off other demonstrations, however. Wet'suwet'en hereditary Chief Woos has said protests would likely continue until the RCMP and pipeline workers left his nation's territory, according to The Guardian.</p>
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<p>Protesters set up a new rail blockade in Hamilton hours after the Belleville arrests, <a href="https://globalnews.ca/news/6590842/hamilton-rail-blockade/" target="_blank">Global News reported</a>. Demonstrations in B.C. also succeeded in canceling West Coast Express trains from Vancouver to Mission Monday, as well as blocking the Port of Vancouver and the steps of the B.C. legislature, <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/demonstrators-blocking-entrance-port-vancouver-1.5474332" target="_blank">CBC News reported</a>.</p><p>In Manitoba, around 100 stopped traffic on Portage Avenue with a "die-in" outside RCMP headquarters, while another group occupied part of the Trans-Canada Highway in the afternoon.</p><p>"They're just trying to support our relatives across Turtle Island," Metis student Carter Graveline, who represents Indigenous Youth and Allies for Wet'suwet'en, told CBC News of the protests. "When one of our nations is under attack it's like we all are."</p>
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A pipeline that ruptured in Mississippi Saturday, forcing hundreds to evacuate. Yazoo County Emergency Management Agency
More than 300 people were forced to evacuate and 46 were sent to the hospital after a gas pipeline ruptured in Mississippi Saturday.
<p>The pipeline was used by the company Denbury Enterprises to transport carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide for oilfield operations, according to <a href="https://www.yazooherald.net/front-page-slideshow-news/satartia-gas-leak-likely-caused-heavy-rainfall#node-5668" target="_blank">The Yazoo Herald</a>. It ruptured around 8 p.m. near the town of Satartia in Yazoo County, according to the <a href="https://www.msema.org/news/pipe-ruptures-in-yazoo-county-dozens-hospitalized/" target="_blank">Mississippi Emergency Management Agency</a> (MEMA).</p><p>"Residents in the area complained of green gas and a noxious odor," MEMA said.</p>
<p>People near the leak experienced headaches and dizziness, and some lost consciousness, the <a href="https://www.vicksburgnews.com/first-responders-going-door-to-door-in-satartia-seeking-gas-leak-victims/" target="_blank">Vicksburg Daily News reported</a>. The leak overwhelmed Yazoo County emergency rooms and at least five of those injured had to be transferred to Warren County. Among the injured were three people discovered non-responsive in a vehicle near the leak site by emergency workers just before 10 p.m.</p><p>Those taken to the hospital were expected to recover, and evacuees were allowed to return to their homes after 9:30 a.m. Sunday, <a href="https://weather.com/news/news/2020-02-23-yazoo-mississippi-ruptured-gas-line-evacuations" target="_blank">The Weather Channel Reported</a>.</p>
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<p>Denbury shut off the gas as soon as it learned of the rupture, according to The Weather Channel.</p><p>"[T]he affected area of the pipeline was isolated within minutes, and the leak site was evacuated as a precaution," the company said in a statement reported by <a href="https://time.com/5789425/pipe-rupture-mississipi/" target="_blank">TIME</a>.</p><p>An initial investigation suggests the rupture was a result of recent heavy rainfall in Mississippi.</p><p>"It appears the ground caved into a ravine damaging the 24-inch pipe," MEMA said.</p><p>Parts of the state near the rupture have seen 23 inches of rain since Jan. 1, the Weather Channel reported. Jackson, the state's capital, has had its wettest start to the year on record as of Feb. 22. Its Pearl River crested at 37 feet Feb. 17, its third highest water level in recorded history, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/us/mississippi-flood-jackson.html" target="_blank">The New York Times reported</a>. More than 2,400 structures are likely to have been damaged by the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/flooding" target="_self">flooding</a>, authorities estimate.</p>
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<p>This February's rains have been "400 percent of normal," Tennessee Valley Authority spokesman Jim Hopson told <a href="https://apnews.com/43543e5a265ebaed46472216ddf38e38" target="_blank">The Associated Press</a>, "and we have more coming in this week. It's kind of a never-ending battle." Extreme rainfall events are on the rise in the Southeast, according to the <a href="https://nca2018.globalchange.gov/chapter/19/" target="_blank">Fourth National Climate Assessment</a>. And heavy precipitation is expected to increase in the region due to the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate crisis</a>.</p>
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Six Democratic primary candidates participated in the ninth debate in Las Vegas Wednesday. Mario Tama / Getty Images
The climate crisis got its moment in the sun during the ninth Democratic primary debate in Las Vegas Wednesday.
<p>The six qualifying candidates discussed the issue for a full 16 minutes, <a href="https://grist.org/politics/climate-was-public-enemy-no-2-after-mike-bloomberg-at-nevadas-democratic-debate/" target="_blank">Grist reported</a>. The debate also marked the first time that a climate journalist was numbered among the moderators: Telemundo climate correspondent Vanessa Huac, who has covered environmental issues for more than 20 years.</p><p>"People in the United States and all over our planet are realizing that climate change is one of the most important issues of our times," <a href="https://news.wbfo.org/post/first-time-climate-journalist-will-moderate-presidential-debate" target="_blank">Huac told NPR Tuesday ahead of the debate</a>. "So, this is a great opportunity to really raise this issue and raise important questions to the candidates to see what are the plans, what are the proposals, how are they planning to face this existential crisis that we're facing."</p><p>This sense of public urgency around the issue is reflected in the pool of Nevadans who are likely to participate in the Democratic caucus Saturday. Eighty-six percent of them rated climate and the environment as very important or the most important issue of 2020, according to a <a href="https://www.lcv.org/" target="_blank">League of Conservation Voters</a> and <a href="https://nevadaconservationleague.org/" target="_blank">Nevada Conservation League</a> <a href="https://www.lcv.org/article/new-nevada-poll-climate-change-defining-issue-caucusgoers-especially-latinos/" target="_blank">poll released last week</a>. The poll also found that the issue came second to health care for most voters when deciding who to vote for. But for Latinx voters, who make up 20 percent of the Nevada voting block, climate was even more important than health care and immigration, <a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/18022020/nevada-caucus-climate-change-among-latino-voters-vanessa-hauc" target="_blank">InsideClimate News reported</a>.</p>
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<p>So how did the candidates address voters' concerns?</p><h3>Climate Solutions</h3><p>Wednesday's climate discussion was kicked off by Jon Ralston of the Nevada Independent, who pointed out that Reno and Las Vegas were among the fastest-warming cities in the country. He then directed his first question at former Vice President Joe Biden.</p><p>"What specific policies would you implement that would keep Las Vegas and Reno livable, but also not hurt those economies?" he asked, according to an <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/full-transcript-ninth-democratic-debate-las-vegas-n1139546" target="_blank">NBC debate transcript</a>.</p><p>Biden first focused on technical solutions, saying he would invest $47 billion in renewable energy and battery technology. He also said he would reverse President Donald Trump's environmental rollbacks and install 500,000 new electric vehicle charging stations in every highway his administration built or repaired.</p><p>"And I would invest in rail, in rail. Rail can take hundreds of thousands, millions of cars off the road if we have high-speed rail," Biden said.</p>
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<p><br>Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, meanwhile, touted his success shuttering 304 of 530 <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal" target="_self">coal</a> plants in the U.S. as part of his<a href="https://beyondcoal.bloomberg.org/" target="_blank"> Beyond Coal</a> campaign with the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>. He also said he would rejoin the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement" target="_self">Paris agreement</a>.</p><p>Senator <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/elizabeth-warren" target="_self">Elizabeth Warren</a> (D-Mass.) repeated her argument that addressing climate change requires addressing corruption in government.</p><p>"The first thing I want to do in Washington is pass my anti-corruption bill so that we can start making the changes we need to make on climate," she said. "And the second is the filibuster. If you're not willing to roll back the filibuster, then you're giving the fossil fuel industry a veto overall of the work that we need to do."</p>
<h3>Fracking</h3><p>One major point of disagreement between the candidates was on whether or not to ban <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/fracking/" target="_self">fracking</a>.</p><p>Both Sen. Amy Klobuchar, (D-Minn.) and Bloomberg argued that <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">natural gas</a> is a "transitional fuel" between dirtier fuels like coal and renewable energy. Klobuchar said she would review every natural gas permit on a case-by-case basis and only approve them if they were safe. Bloomberg also said it was important to make sure natural gas extraction was done properly to not release excess methane. But he said it was not possible to abandon the fuel.</p><p>"We want to go to all renewables. But that's still many years from now," Bloomberg said.</p><p>Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bernie-sanders" target="_self">Bernie Sanders</a> (I-Vt.), on the other hand, has called for a fracking ban within the next five years, and addressed concerns that such a ban would hurt jobs. Sanders said the moment was too urgent not to act, and that the Green New Deal he supports would create as many as 20 million well-paying jobs.</p><p>"This is a moral issue, my friends. We have to take the responsibility of making sure that the planet we leave our children and grandchildren is a planet that is healthy and habitable," he said. "That is more important than the profits of the fossil fuel industry."</p>
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<p>Also on the issue of jobs, Warren was challenged on her plan to ban mining and drilling on public lands, which is an important industry in Nevada. Public lands are also potential sources of minerals like lithium and copper necessary for renewable energy technology.</p><p>Warren said she would make an exception for minerals that are needed to transition away from fossil fuels.</p><p>"If we need to make exceptions because there are specific minerals that we've got to have access to, then we locate those and we do it not in a way that just is about the profits of giant industries, but in a way that is sustainable for the environment," she said.</p>
<h3>China</h3><p>Another point of disagreement was how to respond to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/china" target="_self">China</a>, which is currently the world's No. 1 emitter of greenhouse gases.</p><p>Bloomberg argued that it was important not to "go to war" with China on emissions but rather to negotiate.</p><p>"What you have to do is convince the Chinese that it is in their interest, as well. Their people are going to die just as our people are going to die. And we'll work together," he said.</p><p>But Former South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg argued for the need for "hard tools" to ensure emissions fell worldwide.</p><p>"I'm a little skeptical of the idea that convincing is going to do the trick when it comes to working with China," he said. "America has repeatedly overestimated our ability to shape Chinese ambitions."</p>
<h3>Environmental Justice</h3><p>Both Biden and Warren, unprompted, raised the issue of environmental justice.</p><p>"[M]inority communities are the communities that are being most badly hurt by the way in which we deal with climate change," Biden said while answering a question about his plans to hold fossil fuel executives accountable for their pollution. "They are the ones that become the victims. That's where the asthma is, that's where the groundwater supply has been polluted. That's where, in fact, people, in fact, do not have the opportunity to be able to get away from everything from asbestos in the walls of our schools."</p><p>Warren later spoke up to "make sure that the question of environmental justice gets more than a glancing blow in this debate."</p>
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<p>She touted her $1 trillion dollar plan to repair the environmental damage that had already been done to communities of color.</p><p>"We have to own up to our responsibility," she said. "We cannot simply talk about climate change in big, global terms. We need to talk about it in terms of rescuing the communities that have been damaged."</p>
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Land defenders and protestors gather for a direct action on the second largest rail classification yard in Canada on Feb. 15, 2020. Jason Hargrove / Flickr
Anti-pipeline protests have shut down major rail networks across Canada as indigenous rights and environmental activists act in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en people of British Columbia, who are fighting to keep a natural gas pipeline off their land.
<p>Canadian National Railway (CN) said Thursday it would shut down its freight network east of Toronto in response to rail blockades, <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2020/02/14/americas/canada-rail-disruptions-pipeline-protests/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. The same day, VIA Rail, which predominantly uses CN tracks to run passenger trains, said it was suspending the majority of its service. Then, on Sunday, CN announced 1,000 temporary layoffs, <a href="https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-ottawa-rejects-police-intervention-to-put-an-end-to-blockades/" target="_blank">The Globe and Mail reported</a>.</p><p>"It's our future that's going to be destroyed – it's really important for youth," 17-year-old Malika Gasbaoui, an Ojibwa-Métis from the Laurentians in Quebec who visited one of the blockades, told The Globe and Mail.</p>
<p>Gasbaoui was visiting a blockade in the Tyendinaga Mohawk Territory near Belleville, Ontario, which has cancelled train trips for more than 83,000 people since it began. The blockade was launched Feb. 6 in response to a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) raid on camps set up by the Wet'suwet'en to block the construction of the $6 billion Coastal GasLink pipeline, according to <a href="https://www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/mohawks-rails-continues-1.5461971" target="_blank">CBC News</a>. The demonstrators say they will maintain the blockade until the RCMP leave Wet'suwet'en territory.</p><p>Another blockade in the Kahnawake Mohawk Territory outside Montreal has shuttered a commuter rail into the city, The Globe and Mail reported. Anti-pipeline activists also held weekend demonstrations in Vancouver, Vaughan, Ontario and Niagara Falls, Ontario.</p><p>The Vaughan protesters blocked trains en route to London, Hamilton, New York and Michigan Saturday before disbanding around 5 p.m., <a href="https://toronto.ctvnews.ca/anti-pipeline-protesters-block-trains-leaving-vaughan-rail-yard-in-solidarity-with-wet-suwet-en-1.4813635" target="_blank">CTV News reported</a>.</p>
<p>"We are here for as long as we can be disruptive," indigenous land defender Vanessa Gray told CTV News. "We are here in solidarity with the Wet'suwet'en land defenders, the hereditary chiefs that oppose the pipeline, with solidarity with everyone who has faced violence from the police arrests and people who are still faced with surveillance from the police. We are here also to shut down Canada."</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="e52eb9ccffa8ec6db14b4687c6475406"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/LfHOvuNYJQU?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<p>At stake is not just the environmental impacts of the pipeline, but the sovereignty of the Wet'suwet'en Nation. The pipeline company got permission from Wet'suwet'en elected councils to build the pipeline, but not the hereditary chiefs who say they never surrendered their control of the land to the Canadian government, <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-wet-suwet-en-protests-arrests-1.4805620" target="_blank">CTV News explained</a>.</p><p>"These shouldn't be viewed as anti-pipeline protests. These are really demonstrations by Indigenous people all over the country to say we don't want the government using the RCMP to violently take down people who are living on their own territories," indigenous rights activist Pamela Palmater told CTV.</p><p>Both CN and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce have asked the government to remove the blockades, arguing that they were harming the country's economy, CNN reported.</p><p>"Until we have rail service resumed, I would say no level of government is fulfilling its duties to help uphold the rule of law and ensure that commerce can flow freely throughout our country," Ryan Greer, senior director of transportation policy for the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, told <a href="https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/business-group-blasts-government-inaction-on-wet-suwet-en-solidarity-blockade-near-rail-line-1.4809983" target="_blank">CTV Thursday</a>.</p><p>CN did obtain an injunction to end the Belleville blockade, but the police have not enforced it, according to CNN.</p><p>The Canadian government said Sunday it hoped to resolve the tension through dialogue, The Globe and Mail reported. Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller pointed to two raids on indigenous camps in the 1990s that had ended poorly.</p><p>"My question to Canadians, my questions to myself and to fellow politicians regardless of the party, is whether we do things the same old way and repeat the errors of the past, or do we take the time to do it right?" he told The Globe and Mail.</p>
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New Report Details Impacts of Oil and Gas Development on Public Lands
14 February
Insights + Opinion
Despite the industry's claims, oil and gas are far from being clean. Kanenori / Pixabay / The Wilderness Society
By Carla Ruas
The American Petroleum Institute has rolled out a multibillion-dollar public relations campaign stating that oil and gas can help to solve climate change. The association is claiming that expanding the use of fossil fuels can lower climate emissions that are trapping heat on our planet.
<p>If that sounds fishy, it's because it is.</p><p>The campaign, which includes online ads, airport displays and billboards, credits oil and gas for the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/us-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fell-slightly-in-2019/2020/01/06/568f0a82-309e-11ea-a053-dc6d944ba776_story.html" target="_blank">recent dip of 2.1 percent</a> in the U.S. climate emissions. It also pushes the false narrative that fossil fuels — especially <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" rel="noopener noreferrer">natural gas</a> — are the energy sources of the future.</p>
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="7d16d90420814a091c178db05c8d2eb3"><iframe lazy-loadable="true" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/509RavJhNv0?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span><p>Our new report, <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/sites/default/files/media/file/TWS_The%20Climate%20Report%202020_Greenhouse%20Gas%20Emissions%20from%20Public%20Lands.pdf" target="_blank"><em>The Climate Report 2020: Greenhouse Gas Emissions from Public Lands</em></a>, shows that couldn't be farther from the truth.</p><p>While climate emissions went down slightly in 2018, the decline has more to do with the country's shift away from coal, a notoriously dirty energy source. And although the gap left by coal has been partially filled by oil and gas, to say dirty energy can stave off climate change is just plain wrong.</p><p><a href="https://www.wilderness.org/sites/default/files/media/file/TWS_The%20Climate%20Report%202020_Greenhouse%20Gas%20Emissions%20from%20Public%20Lands.pdf" target="_blank">Our experts found</a> that on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-lands" rel="noopener noreferrer">public lands</a> alone, oil and gas development is set to generate a massive amount of climate emissions. Federal lands leased to the industry in the last three years could produce as much as 5.9 billion metric tonnes of greenhouse gases. That's more than half the emissions that China — the world's largest emitter — releases per year.</p><p>You won't see that number in the industry's advertisements.</p><p>The problem is that oil and gas are far from being clean energy sources. Even the most efficient natural gas plant still emits <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/resources/environmental-impacts-natural-gas" target="_blank">about half of the carbon dioxide emitted by a coal plant</a>. That's still high considering the world needs to <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2019/11/26/climate-emergency-u-n-report-urges-cuts-gas-emissions-immediately/4307991002/" target="_blank">slash carbon emissions</a> to avoid the worst effects of the climate crisis, according to the United Nations</p>
<p>Federal lands leased in the last three years could generate half of China's annual climate emissions.</p><p>That's not all. The extraction of natural gas also releases methane, widely known as a climate change accelerant. The gas is released in smaller quantities than carbon dioxide, but it's <a href="https://www.sightline.org/2019/02/12/methane-climate-change-co2-on-steroids/" target="_blank">87 times more powerful</a> in trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere.</p><p>It's clear that by investing in oil and natural gas instead of coal, we're just replacing one emissions problem with another.</p><p>It's also clear that oil and gas companies are not interested in solving climate change. For instance, methane leaks could be easily cut with cost-effective solutions. But the industry has done the opposite, spending heavily to block the passage of any regulations.</p>
The Federal Government Has the Industry's Back
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjc2NzYzMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU4OTM0MjA4Nn0.HB7aAPpURnfnr9KroEF8iE2nDNb9PSsmSlMvQqKa9sE/img.jpg?width=980" id="e1049" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="5a3fdcc821bb97b7f9406e711f04ba6c" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />The federal government has been supportive of the oil and gas industry. Mason Cummings / The Wilderness Society
<p>As fossil fuel companies attempt to rebrand themselves as "clean" to expand operations, the federal government has been giving them full support. So far, the Trump administration has offered 461 million acres of American public lands and waters for the development of oil and gas — an area technically bigger than the state of Alaska.</p><p>Catering public lands to fossil fuel extraction is highly irresponsible. They already contribute greatly to the climate change problem: Over 20 percent of total U.S. climate emissions come from oil, gas and coal extracted on those lands.</p><p>But from the very beginning, the Trump administration has managed public lands on behalf of corporate interests instead of the public. They have been offering sites to the industry at below-market rates and have <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/trumpemissions" target="_blank">purposely hidden the climate impact</a> of fossil fuel developments.</p><p>As the world strives to solve the climate crisis, we seem to be going in the wrong direction. The results could be catastrophic — especially for lower-income and communities of color that are disproportionately impacted by extreme weather events including hurricanes, floods and wildfires.</p>The Real Solution: Healthy Lands
<p>Instead of putting a band-aid on a bullet wound by investing in dirty energy to solve climate change, we need a long-term plan to reduce climate emissions.</p><p>We can start right here in our backyard: our shared public lands.</p><p>The federal government can easily reduce emissions stemming from public lands. They just have to reinstate limits on methane pollution, restrict the number of acres available for the oil and gas industry and charge a fair price for the land that is leased.</p><p>It gets better.</p><p>We can use this land to build <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/we-need-transition-dirty-clean-energy-heres-why" target="_blank">responsible renewable energy projects</a> such as wind turbines and solar panels. You know, the type that's actually clean. We can also foster natural carbon sinks—magical landscapes like the <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/why-its-important-keep-wildest-forests-free-roads-and-logging" target="_blank">Tongass National Forest in Alaska</a> that have the power to absorb carbon emissions. With this recipe, we can reach net-zero emissions on public lands and waters by 2030.</p><p>What's more, this approach is good for both the environment and people.</p><p>Less fossil fuel development on public lands will reduce air and visual pollution that so often burden local communities. Responsible renewable energy projects will put people to work. And healthy landscapes will strengthen climate resiliency for all and preserve our shared air, lands and waters.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMjc2NzYzMC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTU5ODIzNTM2OX0.EdaSeIoyY7bx-8oPH04nkbOzuorDBM5in9VQP2uUXEw/img.jpg?width=980" id="47882" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="014c05ff934af8d11f0804e7f6ffc61e" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
The Tongass National Forest is a natural carbon sink. Nelson Guda / The Wilderness Society
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://www.wilderness.org/articles/blog/report-oil-and-gas-drilling-definitely-fueling-climate-change" rel="noopener noreferrer">The Wilderness Society</a></em></p>From Your Site Articles
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Coronavirus Jitters Rattle Businesses, Industries, Organizations — 2020 Olympics, Airlines Included
06 February
Business
Medical staff are seen at a makeshift hospital converted from an exhibition center in Wuhan, central China's Hubei Province, Feb. 5. Xinhua / Xiong Qi / Getty Images
Efforts to contain the Wuhan coronavirus and fears that it can spread and form a global pandemic have slowed industries around the world.
Shipping is delayed, cars and electronics are stalled on the assembly line, and commodity markets around the world are predicting losses because of the virus. Fears around the virus even have Olympic officials worried that it could impact Tokyo's planning for the summer games scheduled for the end of July, according to CNN.
<p>In Japan, 45 people have been infected with the novel virus so far, including 20 on a Diamond Princess cruise ship quarantined in Yokohama, Japan. </p>
<p>"I am extremely worried that the spread of the infectious disease could throw cold water on the momentum toward the Games," Toshiro Muto, chief executive of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee, said according to Japanese public broadcaster <a href="https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200205/k10012273461000.html" target="_blank">NHK</a>, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/06/asia/japan-coronavirus-fears-olympics-hnk-intl/index.html" target="_blank">CNN reported</a>. "I hope that it will be stamped out as soon as possible."</p>
<p>While the Olympics are nearly six months away, a more immediate impact is felt in global shipping which has faced a slowdown because of the coronavirus, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/business/shipping-coronavirus-impact/index.html" target="_blank">according to CNN Business</a>.</p>
<p>Nearly 80 percent of the world's goods are transported by sea and China is home to seven of the 10 busiest container ports. Nearby, Singapore and South Korea also have large ports. </p>
<p>The lockdown on certain cities and worries over the virus spreading means factories are shut and dockworkers are staying home. That stops many durables like cars and machinery as well as apparel and other consumer staples from getting shipped around the world, meaning the disruption could reach far beyond China, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/business/shipping-coronavirus-impact/index.html" target="_blank">according to CNN Business</a>. </p>
<p>Car manufacturer Hyundai has already suspended production at a South Korea plant because it can't get the parts it needs.</p>
<p>"A closure of the world's manufacturing hub impacts container shipping at large, as it is a vital facilitator of the intra-Asian and global supply chains," Peter Sand, chief shipping analyst at BIMCO, an international shipping association, <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/05/business/shipping-coronavirus-impact/index.html" target="_blank">said to CNN Business</a>. "This will affect many industries and limit demand for containerized goods transport."</p>
<p>The mobile device industry is already feeling the effects. Just this week, industry giants LG and ZTE both announced that they would skip parts or all of the Mobile World Conference in Barcelona this month, <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/4/21123169/lg-electronics-mwc-2020-cornavirus-cancel-withdraw-outbreak-concern" target="_blank">according to The Verge</a>. </p>
<p>"With the safety of its employees and general public foremost in mind, LG has decided to withdraw from exhibiting and participating in MWC 2020 later this month in Barcelona, Spain. This decision will prevent needlessly exposing hundreds of LG employees to international travel, which most health experts have advised," an LG spokesperson <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/2/4/21123169/lg-electronics-mwc-2020-cornavirus-cancel-withdraw-outbreak-concern" target="_blank">said in a statement given to The Verge</a>.</p>
<p>While global industries try to protect themselves from the coronavirus, it may have a positive effect on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/emissions">emissions</a>. Airlines are cancelling flights between China and the U.S., as well as between Hong Kong and the U.S., <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/02/us/coronavirus-us-travel-restrictions/index.html" target="_blank">according to CNN Travel</a>. There has been a 30 percent decrease in flights to and from China. Key international airlines including British Airways, Lufthansa, American Airlines, United Airlines, Swiss International Air Lines and Austrian Airlines, suspended or reduced flights due to the outbreak, <a href="https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/articles/commodity-tracker-coronavirus-and-commodity-markets" target="_blank">according to S&P Global</a>.</p>
<p>That has led to a decrease in <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/oil">oil</a> demand, sending the price of crude oil plummeting. There has also been sharp declines in the price of liquid <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" rel="noopener noreferrer">natural gas</a>, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/palm-oil" rel="noopener noreferrer">palm oil</a>, <a href="http://ecowatch.com/tag/copper" rel="noopener noreferrer">copper</a> and iron. The reduced demand may actually be a boon to emissions targets.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.spglobal.com/en/research-insights/articles/commodity-tracker-coronavirus-and-commodity-markets" target="_blank">S&P Global noted</a> that even a one percent drop in China's annual CO2 emissions from energy consumption would amount to 96 million metric tons of carbon removed from the atmosphere, which is equivalent to France's annual regulated CO2 emissions.</p>
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New Jersey Will Be First State to Require Building Permits to Consider the Climate Crisis
28 January
Climate
A roller coaster on the Jersey Shore flooded after Hurricane Sandy. Photo credit: Hurricane_Sandy_New_Jersey_Pier.jpg: Master Sgt. Mark C. Olsen / U.S. Air Force / New Jersey National Guard / CC BY 2.0
New Jersey will be the first state in the U.S. to require builders to take the climate crisis into consideration before seeking permission for a project.
<p>Gov. Phil Murphy announced the new regulations Monday as part of the final version of the state's master energy plan, which commits New Jersey to achieving 50 percent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/clean-energy">clean energy</a> by 2030 and 100 percent by 2050, according to <a href="https://www.nj.com/news/2020/01/murphy-just-unveiled-njs-master-plan-for-energy-and-made-a-big-pledge-to-fight-climate-change.html" target="_blank">NJ Advance Media</a>. But while <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/27/nyregion/climate-change-nj-environmental-rules.html?smtyp=cur&smid=fb-nytimes&fbclid=IwAR2eDnV4CTUJJcxqcqgod9JH9wQMZV1FpRDT390gU9NJE13wkyMY6ZydLxs" target="_blank">The New York Times pointed out</a> that other states have adopted a 2050 100 percent <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a> goal, New Jersey will be the first to require that projects seeking Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) permits consider both how their projects' <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/emissions">emissions</a> will contribute to global warming and how climate change will impact their building plans.</p><p>"This is a big deal," director of the water and climate team at the <a href="https://www.nrdc.org/" target="_blank">Natural Resources Defense Council</a> Rob Moore told The New York Times. "For New Jersey to step to the forefront and say, 'We're going to look at future climate impacts, and that it's going to be a driver of our decision-making' — that's exactly what all 50 states need to be doing."</p>
<iframe width="100%" height="150" scrolling="no" id="twitter-embed-1221904844056821761" src="/res/community/twitter_embed/?iframe_id=twitter-embed-1221904844056821761&created_ts=1580159791.0&screen_name=GovMurphy&text=Our+Energy+Master+Plan+will%3A%0A%F0%9F%92%A1Drive+a+world-leading+innovation+economy%0A%F0%9F%8C%8EEnsure+environmental+justice+for+all+reside%E2%80%A6+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F6uSgJIeAUh&id=1221904844056821761&name=Governor+Phil+Murphy" frameborder="0" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="XKXZH61580225310"></iframe><p><a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>New Jersey has a particularly good reason to consider how climate might impact new construction projects. The state has 130 miles of coastline and is especially vulnerable to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/sea-level-rise" target="_self">sea level rise</a>. Murphy cited a Rutgers study that found that the state's sea levels were projected to rise more than one foot by 2030 and two feet by 2050, NJ Advance Media explained.</p><p>"Quite frankly, it will be hard for future generations to create their Jersey Shore memories if the Jersey shore becomes only a memory," Murphy said. "We are not gonna let this keep happening without a fight."</p><p>To lead this fight, Murphy signed an executive order calling on DEP to craft the the Protecting Against Climate Threat (PACT) rules, the <a href="https://eu.dailyrecord.com/story/news/environment/2020/01/27/phil-murphys-plans-reduce-greenhouse-gases-take-another-two-years-complete-climate-change/4587300002/" target="_blank">Daily Record reported</a>. Those rules will include the requirement that the permitting process consider sea level rise and greenhouse gas emissions. PACT will also include new air pollution controls and compile a complete picture of New Jersey's emissions so that it can reduce them to 80 percent below 2006 levels by 2050.</p><p>Murphy asked the DEP to have the new regulations finalized and ready to be implemented by January 2022, The New York Times explained.</p>
<p>However, some environmental groups criticized that timeline, saying it would allow more than a dozen new <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_self">fossil fuel</a> projects to slide in before that deadline, according to the Daily Record.</p><p><a href="http://empowernewjersey.com/" target="_blank">Empower NJ</a>, a coalition of green groups, instead calls for a ban on all new fossil fuel projects.</p><p>"Without a moratorium on all new fossil fuel projects, we are losing precious time — time we don't have to waste in the race against climate change," Tracy Carluccio, deputy director of the<a href="https://www.delawareriverkeeper.org/" target="_blank"> Delaware Riverkeeper Network</a>, told the Daily Record.</p><p>Green groups are also concerned that the 2050 clean energy goal calls for 100 percent "carbon neutral" energy. That means <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/nuclear" target="_self">nuclear</a> plants and offset <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/natural-gas" target="_self">natural gas</a> can still be used.</p><p>"The (plan) still defines clean energy to include incinerators, natural gas, biogas and others," Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a>, told NJ Advance Media. "It does not call for a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects or a 45% reduction of emissions by 2030, and will not get the state to zero carbon by 2050."</p>
<p>However, other groups were pleased with the plan.</p><p>"Governor Murphy's actions today put New Jersey at the forefront of efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build a healthier, more prosperous, clean energy future," Tom Gilbert, campaign director of the <a href="https://www.njconservation.org/" target="_blank">New Jersey Conservation Foundation</a> and <a href="https://rethinkenergynj.org/" target="_blank">ReThink Energy NJ</a>, told the Daily Record.</p>
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