Methane emissions from “cows”?
B *Obama targets oil and gas industry, demands massive reduction in methane emissions* By Ben Wolfgang <http://www.washingtontimes.com/staff/ben-wolfgang/> - The Washington Times - *Updated:* 8:58 a.m. on Wednesday, January 14, 2015 Taking direct aim at the oil-and-gas industry, President Obama on Wednesday put forth long-awaited regulations on methane emissions, setting an ambitious goal of reducing those emissions by 45 percent over the next decade. The move comes just days before the State of the Union address and underscores that, in the final two years of presidency, Mr. Obama is looking to cement his legacy on climate-change and environmental issues. Having already targeted power-plant emissions, auto fuel efficiency and other areas, Wednesday's announcement will directly impact the growing oil-and-gas sector, one of the greatest economic success stories of the past decade. Methane, the main component of natural gas, accelerates climate change even more than carbon dioxide, administration officials said Wednesday. "The U.S. is now the largest oil-and-gas producer in the world, providing an abundant source of energy to power and eat American homes and businesses," White House energy and climate change advisor Dan Utech told reportersWednesday morning. "At the same time, methane … is a potent greenhouse gas with 25 times the heat-trapping potential of carbon dioxide." Even though methane emissions are down 16 percent since 1990, the White House says they might rise over the next 10 years unless dramatic actions are taken. Under the plan laid out by the Environmental Protection Agency on Wednesday, the oil-and-gas sector must reduce methane emissions by 40 to 45 percent by 2025. "This strategy will benefit the climate, the economy and public health," Mr. Utech said. The proposed regulations — which will be formally unveiled later this year and are expected to be finalized in 2016 — will apply only to new and modified oil-and-gas production sources. Environmental groups praised the move but said the administration should have gone even further by targeting existing sources of methane emissions. "We cannot afford to wait. Regulating methane directly is a critical step, but [the federal government] must act quickly to reduce methane emissions from all new and existing sources of methane pollution in the oil and gas sector, including the transmission and distribution of natural gas," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. © Copyright 2015 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission. <http://license.icopyright.net/3.7280?icx_id=/news/2015/jan/14/obama-hits-oil-and-gas-industry-demands-massive-re/> __._,_.___ ------------------------------ Posted by: "beowulf" <[email protected]> ------------------------------ Visit Your Group <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmYWM4cjBsBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0MjEyNjYwMDY-> - New Members <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/members/all;_ylc=X3oDMTJnc2xtamQxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2bWJycwRzdGltZQMxNDIxMjY2MDA2> 1 [image: Yahoo! Groups] <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlbzJ1N2lkBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQyMTI2NjAwNg--> • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • Unsubscribe <[email protected]?subject=Unsubscribe> • Terms of Use <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> __,_._,___ -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
