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Last fall, satellites operated by the European Space Agency detected enormous methane leaks coming from Yamal pipeline that carries natural gas from Siberia to Europe. As Reuters reported, it was estimated that one leak alone was releasing 93 tons of methane every hour, meaning the daily emissions from the leakage were equivalent to the amount […]
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A study published yesterday in the journal Nature Climate Change found that greenhouse gas emissions are down by 17% globally compared to 2019 levels thanks to strict coronavirus lockdowns, which could result in as much as a 7% decline in emissions for the year.
Why This Matters: We need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 4-7% each year globally for the foreseeable future to keep global temperature increases in check.
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A study by researchers at Harvard and the Environmental Defense Fund published yesterday in the journal of Science Advances found that ail and gas operations in the Permian Basin of Texas are flaring off more than twice the amount of methane emissions than previously estimated, according to CBS News.
Why This Matters: Several industry analysts continue to paint a dark picture for the future of the oil and gas industry.
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This week, in the midst of the global pandemic, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) issued its 2019 annual report assessing a range of so-called global climate indicators such as land temperatures, ocean temperatures, greenhouse gas emissions, sea-level rise and melting ice.
Why This Matters: Every day that goes by we are losing precious time to both keep our warming under control and to prepare for the impacts of the warming that is now inevitable.
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Here in Madrid, the Mayor of Pittsburgh, Bill Peduto, touted his city as a green Phoenix, rising from the ashes of the failed steel and coal industries, with a growing economy based on high tech and health care companies and improved air and water quality — the city is turning a corner. But he pointed out that just up the road Royal Dutch Shell is building a giant, greenhouse gas-spewing plant near Pittsburgh that will (using a process called “ethane cracking”) make tiny plastic pellets that can be turned into items like phone cases, auto parts, and food packaging according to The New York Times.
Why This Matters: The Pittsburgh plant will be allowed to emit each year 2.25 million tons of carbon dioxide, 522 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), and 160 tons of particulate pollution or soot, according to local NGO the Breathe Project.
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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) flew reconnaissance flights over major metropolitan areas on the East Coast – Boston, Providence, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. and found that those cities were emitting nearly 950,000 metric tons of methane gas into the atmosphere, which was more than twice what EPA had estimated.
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Twenty-four governors from across the country, including three Republicans and governors from states that voted for President Trump in 2016, have banded together to oppose one of Trump’s biggest climate policy rollbacks: the weakening of clean-car standards. The governors are calling for the Trump administration to require efficiency standard improvements every year, as well as asserting California’s legal right to implement its own clean air rules.
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The Trump Administration yesterday proposed to replace one of the signature domestic climate change achievements of the Obama Administration — the Clean Power Plan to cut emissions from coal plants — with the “Affordable Clean Energy” or ACE Rule — that essentially gives coal power plants more time and flexibility to cut toxic air emissions, which experts say could give those plants authority to increase their emissions in the short run.
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