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Enlarge / Measuring Beaufort Sea methane aboard the R/V Ukpik. (credit: John Kessler Lab) The Earth responds to climate change in interesting ways, sometimes producing what we call “feedbacks,” which can either amplify global warming or dampen it. Some of the feedbacks that can amplify warming have behavior that is hard to predict in the […]
Published time: 1 Aug, 2017 05:00 A federal court has granted a request from environmental groups that would require the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to start enforcing methane pollution rules that were drafted under former President Barack Obama. In an order issued Monday, a majority of the full US Court of Appeals for the District […]
Enlarge / In some cases, stray methane is burned to limit how much escapes into the atmosphere. (credit: Lawrence Berkeley Lab) The Trump administration suffered a legal blow on Monday when the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia ruled (PDF) that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) must enforce methane emissions rules that were […]
Published time: 4 Jul, 2017 04:23 The Environmental Protection Agency’s 90-day suspension of new emission standards on oil and gas wells has been struck down by a US appeals court. EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt has long sought a repeal of the Obama-era rules. A three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District […]
Enlarge / Craters and mounds on the floor of the Barents Sea. (credit: K. Andreassen/CAGE) It’s not that hard to understand the changes that have controlled the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere during past climate changes. But methane (a potent greenhouse gas itself) does some mysterious things. A lot of it is secreted away […]
Methane as a greenhouse gas isn’t all that eco-friendly when used for power, but scientists might have a way to keep the damage to a minimum. Penn State researchers have crafted microbial fuel cells that can convert methane into electricity right at the well, without leaking loads of gas into the atmosphere by sending it […]
Enlarge / One example of a methane seep (off the coast of Virginia, in this case). (credit: NOAA Okeanos Explorer Program) Reports of methane bubbling up from the bottom of the East Siberian Sea may have induced some climate change anxiety. In recent years, plumes of methane bubbles rising up from what was once dry permafrost have […]
Enlarge The US Senate declined to overturn an Obama-era rule that requires oil and gas companies to limit their methane emissions if they’re drilling on federal and tribal lands. The outcome of the 51-49 vote was surprising given that Congress has thus far opted 13 times to use the Congressional Review Act (CRA) to overturn […]
The House voted to roll back rules on methane flaring this week. (credit: WildEarth Guardians) Last week was a busy one for people watching the federal government’s rules on energy and the environment. With the opening of a new administration, the Republican-dominated Congress has been quick to kill regulations from the previous administration and enact new […]
