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Landmark paper underestimated methane leaks from gas production, study says
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on August 5th, 2015
InsideClimate: A dispute between two environmental scientists is creating a controversy over how much methane is leaking from natural gas production and is contributing to global warming. In a new report, Touché Howard, a methane gas expert and air quality consultant, says the flaws he found in a commonly used methane detector caused an acclaimed 2013 study to underestimate the amount of methane emitted by natural gas production. Howard's paper was published today in the peer-reviewed journal Energy Science &...
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Flawed methane monitor underestimates leaks at oil and gas sites
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on May 6th, 2015
InsideClimate: A popular scientific instrument used to measure methane leaks from oil and gas operations severely underestimates emissions under certain conditions, a preliminary study found. The results could have major implications for federal policies as the Obama administration moves to regulate methane from the natural gas industry.
The research paper raises serious questions about the validity of existing methane data. Measurements taken by the instrument are frequently used by the Environmental Protection...
Fate of Exxon’s Burst Pegasus Pipeline To Be Decided in 2014
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on January 2nd, 2014
InsideClimate: Industry analysts and others who have wondered whether ExxonMobil will restart the broken Pegasus pipeline that leaked Canadian oil across an Arkansas suburb should get their answer in 2014. The 65-year-old pipeline hasn't shipped any oil since it ruptured on March 29, costing Exxon as much as $450,000 a day in lost revenue, or up to $124 million as of Jan. 1. It's unclear when exactly the company might resume pumping oil through the 858-mile line that crosses dozens of waterways, farms and residential...
In 2013, Exxon Spill Showed Dangers Pipelines Buried Under Backyards
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on December 24th, 2013
InsideClimate: When a 65-year-old ExxonMobil pipeline ruptured on March 29 [3] and spilled 210,000 gallons of oil in Mayflower, Ark., it opened the nation's eyes to the potential dangers lurking in the thousands of miles of aging and overlooked pipelines buried beneath neighborhoods and farms.
The spill also brought fresh attention to the debate over the proposed Keystone XL pipeline and the inherent risks of transporting Canadian tar sands across America's heartland. Exxon's Pegasus pipeline was carrying dilbit...
What’s Behind Surging Ozone Pollution in Texas? Study to Weigh Role of Fracking in Health Hazard
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on October 23rd, 2013
InsideClimate: When ozone pollution skyrocketed in the tiny town of Boulder, Wyo., in 2008, it was relatively easy to identify the culprit as oil and gas drilling, the only major industry in the rural area. Today, a similar situation in San Antonio, Texas, will be more difficult to resolve. The city has violated federal ozone standards dozens of times since 2008, but with so much industrial activity in and around the city—including the Eagle Ford shale drilling boom south of San Antonio—local officials are waiting...
Narrow and Flawed, Federal Pipeline Safety Study Fails to Settle Controversy
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on June 26th, 2013
InsideClimate: Diluted bitumen, a controversial form of heavy Canadian oil, poses no more risks to pipelines than conventional oil, according to a long-awaited report released Tuesday by the National Academy of Sciences.
But environmentalists and pipeline watchdogs said the study's scope was so narrow and its methodology so flawed that it does little to settle the controversy over whether diluted bitumen, or dilbit, is more dangerous to humans and the environment than the light, conventional crude oil that most...
TransCanada Digging Up Defective Segments of New Pipeline, Angering Landowners in Texas
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on June 5th, 2013
InsideClimate: A Canadian company is repairing dozens of defects along the newly laid southern leg of the Keystone XL—the section of the oil pipeline that does not need approval from the U.S. State Department and is already under construction. The Oklahoma-to-Texas pipeline is not yet operational, but landowners worry that the repairs hint at more serious problems that could someday lead to oil spills. The project will carry primarily Canadian oil—including diluted bitumen from Alberta's oil sands—from Cushing,...
Canada: After Upset Election, Route for Tar Sands to Pacific Doesn’t Close
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on May 16th, 2013
InsideClimate: Environmentalists suffered a setback on Tuesday when British Columbia re-elected a premier who left the door open for approval of two oil pipelines that would carry tar sands oil across B.C. to the Pacific Coast, where it could be exported to the world market. Despite trailing in the polls, incumbent Christy Clark, the leader of B.C.'s Liberal Party, defeated Adrian Dix and his New Democratic Party. Dix had opposed both pipelines, and environmental groups had hoped his win would signal the end of...
Rep. Griffin Wants Exxon Pipeline Relocated, but Keystone Is a ‘No-Brainer’
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on May 9th, 2013
InsideClimate: Rep. Tim Griffin, a staunch supporter of the proposed Keystone XL pipeline, recently asked ExxonMobil to move another, smaller oil pipeline away from a major water source in his home state of Arkansas.
It's a contradiction that grates on opponents of the Keystone, which would run through a critically important aquifer that supplies irrigation and drinking water to Nebraska and seven other states.
"What's good for Arkansas is good for Nebraska," anti-Keystone activist Jane Kleeb said in an email....
Arkansas Residents Sick From Exxon Oil Spill Are on Their Own
Posted by InsideClimate: Lisa Song on May 8th, 2013
InsideClimate: For more than a month, residents of Mayflower, Ark. have been told not to worry about lingering fumes from a March 29 oil spill that shut down a neighborhood and forced the evacuation of 22 homes. "Overall, air emissions in the community continue to be below levels likely to cause health effects for the general population," Arkansas regulators wrote on a state-operated website [3] that tracks Mayflower's air monitoring data. Despite these reassurances, residents have suffered headaches, nausea...