Death by Methane

By
Dr. Luis Contreras
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834

EPA wants to kill you, but they want your opinion

Last week, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), held a hearing in Dallas, Texas to allow increased methane emissions. Questions were not allowed. The hearing gave the public an opportunity to share their thoughts on health and climate. The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) attending the 8-hour hearing had five minutes to speak.

If this seems insane, it is. “It is in the national interest to promote clean and safe development of our Nation’s vast energy resources, while at the same time avoiding regulatory burdens that unnecessarily encumber energy production, constrain economic growth, and prevent job creation …,” says the May 2017, Trump executive order.

Something for nothing

Regulations are needed to promote good behavior. They are not free, but they protect the common good. Rolling back regulations is done for profit – a monkey can do it.

Honest and corrupt

EPA staff are honest guys helping with public comments. They are not responsible for the proposed Methane Rule, EPA-HQ-OAR-2017-0757. I can’t say the same of Andrew Wheeler, the Coal Lobbyist head of EPA.

Senators Chris Murphy (D) and Susan Collins (R), Reps. Scott Peters (D) and Matt Gaetz (R), sent a letter saying, “We urge the Administration to rescind the proposed EPA rule and to work with Congress. Reducing methane emissions is the low-hanging fruit to slow climate change. The Oil and Gas (O&G) sector are already investing, and eager to continue investing, in leak and repair technology to reduce emissions.”

“The proposal abdicates EPA’s duty to address the urgent threat of climate change and endangers the health of Americans living near O&G facilities,” said EDF at the Dallas hearing. “The current proposal appears to be an attempt to prevent any federal oversight of pollution from more than 850,000 existing oil and gas facilities across the country.”

“A repeal of the Bureau of Land Management methane venting and flaring rule is necessary to protect our economy, the constitution, and the American people.” In February 2017, Rep. Bruce Westerman (R), spoke in the U.S. Congress on behalf of the Oil & Gas industry, trying to allow methane venting and flaring at will. His reference to the Constitution was about Congress having power over executive rules.

Rise up

Do you know what “emission standards for new, reconstructed, and modified sources review,” means? EPA has all the information you need but they speak in code. Please send comments before November 25, 2019. Get some help: Call the Citizens Climate Lobby, the Fayetteville OMNI Center for Peace, Justice, & Ecology, a Sierra Club Chapter, or your Pastor.

Call your state or national representative and schedule a meeting. Ask them to help you comment on the impact to Arkansans. We pay $9 million per year for the services of the Congressional Delegation. Thirty-six field offices will be waiting for your call. I will contact their DC office to give them time to prepare.

O&G secrets

The EPA methane rule would eliminate O&G liabilities. Drilling for oil in shale formations releases methane and other toxic gases. 2019 Colorado studies found that people living within 2,000 feet of fracking sites are exposed to benzene, toluene, and ethyltoluene, highly toxic gases that increase cancer risks.

The myth of Energy Dominance is wrecking the economy and global geopolitical security. There is a glut of natural gas from over-fracking. Subsidies and unique tax benefits keep wealthy investors deep in a bottomless pit, creating an unsustainable debt economy.

Natural gas is worse than coal, fracking is not a clean energy solution. Coal arriving at a power station does not create carbon dioxide emissions while traveling or in storage. Burning natural gas has lower carbon dioxide emissions than burning coal, but methane leaks from the well to the power station are ignored. Abandoned wells left unplugged are the main sources of methane, abandoned coal mines have no emissions. Total emissions must be compared between fuels.

The proposed EPA methane regulation will only benefit Big Oil. It will lower the cost of exporting a barrel of crude, reduce their liabilities, and increase their profits. It will kill you.

Dr. Luis Contreras

9 COMMENTS

  1. The title, Death by methane, may seem an exageration.

    Unfortunately, the new EPA rollbacks under the GOP administration have caused nearly 10,000 premature deaths in 2018, at a cost of $89 billlion, according to the NBER report dated October 2019.

    These deaths caused by increased air pollution are a clear indictment on the “new” EPA, abusing its power to rollback over 80 regulations, and the fracking madness destroying the US economy.

    October 2019, NBER Working Paper No. 26381

    “After declining by 24.2% from 2009 to 2016, annual average fine particulate matter (PM2.5) in the United States in counties with monitors increased by 5.5% between 2016 and 2018. Increases occurred in multiple census regions and in counties that were in and out of attainment with National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS).”

    “The health implications of this increase in PM2.5 between 2016 and 2018 are significant. The increase was associated with 9,700 additional premature deaths in 2018. At conventional valuations, these deaths represent damages of $89 billion.”

    https://www.nber.org/papers/w26381

  8. EPA does not like to hear about your family, your dog, or your neighbors – the EPA staff has instructions to ignore personal issues – they will ignore most of the comments unless you mention the information on Death by methane,,,, put it in your own words, they have a copy of the article

    Here is a checklist if you want to stop Oil & Gas: Tips for effective comments
    https://www.epa.gov/dockets/commenting-epa-dockets

  9. Please use this link for additional EPA information – it won’t make much sense to you unless you have a law degree

    Then, call your Congressional representative, they will be happy to explain what, how, when, and why Oil & Gas want to kill your family.

    On August 28, 2019, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) signed proposed amendments to the 2012 and 2016 New Source Performance Standards (NSPS) for the Oil and Natural Gas Industry that would remove regulatory duplication and save the industry millions of dollars in compliance costs each year, while maintaining health and environmental protection from oil and gas sources that the Agency considers appropriate to regulate. The proposed amendments are estimated to save the oil and gas industry $17 to 19 million a year, for a total of $97 to $123 million from 2019 through 2025. Comments must be received on or before November 25, 2019.

    https://www.epa.gov/controlling-air-pollution-oil-and-natural-gas-industry/proposed-policy-amendments-2012-and-2016-new

Comments are closed.