• Politics

US and EU Partner for Global Methane Reduction

• Biden
• COP26
• international politics
• methane

By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer On Friday, the United States and the EU will convene to announce a global agreement to cut methane emissions. This announcement will occur after a virtual, closed-door climate summit in preparation for the COP26 this November. “We are grateful to be working with the European Union and partner countries […]

• Climate Change

Study Finds Atmospheric Hydrogen Up 70% Over 150 Years

• hydrogen
• ice sheets
• methane

By Natasha Lasky, ODP Staff Writer Earth system scientists have found that molecular hydrogen (H2) in the atmosphere increased by 70%. A coalition between UC Irvine, NOAA, the University of Colorado Boulder, and UC San Diego, studied air confined in layers of Antarctic ice and snow and found that molecular hydrogen increased from 330 to […]

• Climate Change

Greenhouse Gases Hit Highest Level in 800,000 Years

• CO2
• methane
• NOAA

By Natasha Lasky and Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writers Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported that atmospheric greenhouse gas concentrations are the highest concentration ever recorded. CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere reached 412.5 parts per million in 2020–2.5 parts per million higher than in 2019– despite a brief decline in carbon emissions caused by the COVID-19 […]

• Water

Study Finds Many Lakes are Losing Oxygen at an Alarming Rate

• #30x30
• climate change
• freshwater
• lakes
• methane
• oxygen
• warming

Oxygen levels in lakes are declining globally according to a new study, and experts say that it could have dangerous implications for the wildlife and humans that rely on freshwater ecosystems.

Why This Matters: Lakes only cover 3% of the earth’s surface, but are some of the most biodiverse ecosystems in the world, providing food and water for millions of people around the globe.

• Air

EPA Plans to Implement Federal Landfill Standards After Years of Trump Delays

• air pollution
• Biden Administration
• methane

by Amy Lupica, ODP Staff Writer On Monday, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a plan to implement final standards to protect residents from the adverse impacts of municipal landfills. The Trump administration previously tried to delay these protections and waive restrictions on other sources of methane emissions. The EPA’s new standards are just one in a series […]

• Air

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.