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New Satellite Data Shows Appalachian Basin Emits More Methane than Permian Basin

• Appalachia
• capping well
• coal
• Karryos
• methane
• oil and gas
• Permian Basin
• plugging well
• satellite

The Appalachian Basin discharged more methane last year than the Permian Basin —in Texas and New Mexico — leaving Appalachia the biggest source of greenhouse gases in the nation. Satellite data from Karryos, a global asset observation platform, showed that the Appalachian basin emitted 2.4 million tons of methane in 2020, while the Permian Basin emitted 2 million tons.  

Why this Matters: There are an estimated 538,000 unplugged abandoned oil and gas wells in the Ohio River Valley states of Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Kentucky alone, and plugging them could cost more than $34 billion.

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EDF Launches Major Clean Vehicle Ad Campaign for Earth Day

• #EnvironmentalDefenseFund
• American Jobs Plan
• climate change
• electric vehicles
• greenhouse gas emissions
• oil and gas companies
• vehicles

Just two days before Earth Day, the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) has launched an ad campaign to combat long-running efforts by the fossil fuel industry to undermine clean transportation progress. The campaign will include TV and online ads, social media, and grassroots engagement in Georgia, Michigan, Ohio, Oregon and Pennsylvania, and Washington, DC. 

Why This Matters: Clean vehicles are a key part of the Jobs and Climate plans of the Biden administration.

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Relief Efforts on St. Vincent Undermined By Ongoing Volcanic Activity

• Caribbean
• St. Vincent
• volcanic eruption
• volcano

The Caribbean island nation of St. Vincent has been experiencing a massive power outage after its largest volcano erupted last Friday, forcing widespread evacuations for the island’s 100,000 citizens. As NBC News reported, La Soufriere’s eruption — its first large one since 1979 — transformed the island’s lush towns and villages into gloomy, gray versions […]

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Study Finds That Half of All Methane Emissions Come from Aquatic Ecosystems

• aquatic ecosystems
• climate change
• man-made
• marshes
• methane
• methane gas
• ponds
• reservoirs
• wetlands

By Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer A new paper published Monday in the journal Nature Geoscience found that up to half of the global methane emissions come from aquatic ecosystems and man-made water sources like flooded agricultural land, ponds, wetlands, reservoirs, and salt marshes. Experts say that these emissions have gone uncounted for too long […]

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Biden’s Ambitious New Rail Plan Expands Service Map To New Cities

• Amtrak
• high speed rail
• Infrastructure
• rail
• trains

Right now, Las Vegas, Nashville, and Phoenix all don’t have Amtrak service. That could change if the new Amtrak service map, released last week as part of President Biden’s infrastructure plan, gets built.

Why This Matters: Getting around by train is more energy-efficient than driving or flying, especially if it’s electrified.

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Feds OK Assessment of Congestion Pricing In NYC

• air pollution
• congestion pricing
• Environmental Assessment
• Manhattan
• public transit
• traffic

The Biden administration has greenlit the study of congestion pricing for driving in New York City after years of delays during the Trump administration. A congestion pricing program would charge cars a toll for driving south of midtown Manhattan between 60th Street and Battery Park. 

Why this Matters:  A study conducted by Cornell suggests that a congestion pricing plan could drastically improve both gridlock and air quality in New York City — the study found that traffic congestion could be reduced by up to 40%, while greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 15%.