GEOLOGY WITH JEFF SIMPSON
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Federal study: New climate law to slice carbon pollution 40%

9/1/2022

 
 - AP News
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Switching to clean energy would save over 100,000 US lives, American Lung Assn.

4/19/2022

 
If the United States switched completely to cleaner energy vehicles and power plants, it would not only benefit the environment but also save an estimated 110,000 lives and $1.2 trillion in health costs over the next 30 years, the American Lung Association says in a new report. “These numbers are enormous," said Will Barrett, the national senior director of advocacy, clean air, for the American Lung Association. "It's hard to wrap your head around. $1.2 trillion in public health benefits and 100,000 lives saved." - ABC News

AZ regulators deny SRP gas plant expansion, citing community impacts and insufficient supporting evidence

4/13/2022

 
​The Arizona Corporation Commission on Tuesday voted 4-1 to deny an 820-MW expansion at a gas plant proposed by Salt River Project. Regulators said there was insufficient evidence in the record to make a decision, and the expansion would put too much pressure on the nearby, historically-Black community of Randolph. - Utility Dive

SRP’s baffling, costly natural gas expansion (Op-Ed)

4/7/2022

 
The U.S. power generation market has changed dramatically over the past five years. Natural gas has been bleeding market share to cheaper sources of electricity, which include solar, wind, and even nuclear. At roughly $5 per MMbtu, the price of natural gas today is more than double what it was just two years ago. Even at half of that price, natural gas has been unable to compete with solar in the Southwest. - AZ Capitol Times
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Europe's Biggest Lie - (2-Part Documentary Videos)

3/29/2022

 
This is offered without vetting. It seemed worth inclusion for somebody to review. If you review this, please let me know what you think, what questions you have.  JS

Told by people in the UK and the Netherlands, this two-part series reveals the scale and life-threatening impact of the pollution we breathe in every day, as well as the inaction of our governments. - WaterBear Films
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Gas Prices May Be Rising But You’re Still Not Paying for the True Cost of Driving

3/26/2022

 
But nonetheless, as politicians try to bring down the cost of gas, I want to take a moment to reflect on the true cost of driving. That cost includes not just the price of a vehicle and filling up the tank but also the costs that operating it impose on society, including pollution that drives climate change. Calculating the damage done by pollution and other factors such as traffic and accidents—what economists call externalities—is a fraught process, and economists don’t necessarily agree about all the variables. But one thing is true under any reasoned consideration: driving costs society much more than you’re paying to do it. - Yahoo / Time
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Microsoft heads up $34M investment in software platform to cut cargo ship emissions

3/16/2022

 
Hundreds of cargo ships already use Nautilus’ software system to monitor and optimize their voyages, according to the company. That includes vessels owned or operated by the French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies, Eastern Pacific Shipping and Emirates Shipping Line. So far, Nautilus clients have saved up to 12 percent on fuel costs per voyage, with the overall savings potential expected to reach as high as 30 percent. - Canary Media
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No Breathing Easy for City Dwellers: Particulates

3/15/2022

 
Air pollution is the fourth leading risk factor for death around the world. But one type of pollutant is particularly harmful: fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These small, inhalable particles (less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter) result from direct emissions into the air, as well as interactions among other pollutants. PM2.5 is the leading cause of death among air pollutants, contributing to cardiovascular and respiratory disease and millions of premature deaths worldwide each year.  - NASA
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A Century of Oil & Gas Development Has Devastated the Ponca City Region of Northern Oklahoma

3/5/2022

 
When Earl “Trey” Howe III returned home here after four years of military service, the first thing he noticed was the smell. Howe grew up in and around Ponca City, the site of the Phillips 66 refinery, one of the oldest and largest crude oil refineries and tank farms in the country. The smell from the plant—a sulfur-rich odor somewhere between rotten eggs and freshly paved asphalt—was so constant, he’d never even noticed it. But now, it seemed to follow him everywhere. "Depending on which way the wind is blowing, I’ll get a stronger whiff on some days than others,” Howe, 51, the former chairman of the Ponca Tribe of Oklahoma, said. “It’s overpowering sometimes.” - Inside Climate News
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Satellites have located the world’s methane ‘ultra-emitters’

3/1/2022

 
A small number of “ultra-emitters” of methane from oil and gas production contribute as much as 12 percent of methane emissions from oil and gas production every year to the atmosphere every year — and now scientists know where many of these leaks are. Analyses of satellite images from 2019 and 2020 reveal that a majority of the 1,800 biggest methane sources in the study come from six major oil- and gas-producing countries: Turkmenistan led the pack, followed by Russia, the United States, Iran, Kazakhstan and Algeria. Plugging those leaks would not only be a boon to the planet, but also could save those countries billions in U.S. dollars, climate scientist Thomas Lauvaux of the University of Paris-Saclay and colleagues report in the Feb. 4 Science. - Science News
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Fossil Fuel Industry Emitting 70% More Methane Than Official Numbers Show

2/25/2022

 
The fossil fuel industry has a big methane problem, and we’re only just beginning to realize how serious it is. The IEA released a new analysis finding that methane emissions from energy production are being severely undercounted and are up to 70% higher than official estimates provided by countries around the world. While methane stays in the atmosphere for a much shorter time than carbon dioxide, it packs a real punch while it’s up there - about 80X more potent over a 20-year period. Reducing methane emissions as soon as possible is key to warding off the worst impacts of climate change. The oil and gas industry is responsible for a big chunk of methane emissions, from processes during production including venting and flaring—releasing excess gas into the atmosphere—as well as leaks (that can be substantial) along the supply chain.- Gizmodo

Fossil Fuel ‘Flares’ Excess Natural Gas - Burning Money & Bad for the Environment

2/25/2022

 
When fossil fuel companies flare fossil gas, they do more than burn natural gas. They burn money. Every year, U.S. oil and gas companies set fire to billions of cubic feet of natural gas and directly vent an additional unknown amount. These processes, known as flaring and venting, don’t just waste resources; they also pollute the atmosphere with hazardous, global-warming gases, such as methane. Companies argue that they flare and vent for safety and maintenance and because selling or reusing the gas is not financially feasible. The industry and its regulators even refer to this gas as “waste.” But experts say a valuable resource is being squandered because of weak regulations, ineffective tracking of flaring and venting, and a lack of economic incentives to capture and sell the gas.  - Inside Climate News
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Coal Seam Fires Burn Beneath Communities in Zimbabwe

2/18/2022

 
As Zimbabwe’s coal industry expands, residents around the western town of Hwange are experiencing the effects of underground coal seam fires. Residents, particularly children, and livestock are at risk from falling into the smoldering fires beneath unstable ground. Unfenced areas above the fires are often used as outdoor toilets, playgrounds, and grazing areas. Victims suffer burned legs, and in one case, a young girl died of her burn injuries. “The [Hwange] community is living in fear of these fires as the number of people getting burned increases by each passing day. Livestock, especially in the Madubasa, Hwange area, have also fallen victim to these fires,” said Fidelis Chima, coordinator of Greater Whange Residents Trust. - EOS


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Study: Accusations of 'greenwashing' by big oil companies are well-founded

2/17/2022

 
Four major oil companies aren't taking concrete steps to live up to their pledges to transition to clean energy, new research has found. The study, published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, found that Chevron, ExxonMobil, BP and Shell used terms like "climate," "low-carbon" and "transition" more frequently in recent annual reports and devised strategies around decarbonization. But their actions on clean energy were mostly pledges and the companies remain financially reliant on fossil fuels. "We thus conclude that the transition to clean energy business models is not occurring, since the magnitude of investments and actions does not match discourse," the researchers at Tohoku University and Kyoto University in Japan said. The four major oil companies the study focuses on account for more than 10% of global carbon emissions since 1965, the researchers said. - NPR
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US Emissions Surged in 2021: Here’s Why in Six Charts

2/8/2022

 
U.S. carbon dioxide emissions boomeranged toward pre-pandemic levels in 2021, a turnaround from more than a decade of downward trends, and freight transportation and coal are major culprits, according to a report released Monday by the Rhodium Group, an independent research firm. America’s greenhouse gas emissions grew 6.2 percent last year as the American economy largely recovered from pandemic lockdowns, the Rhodium report estimated. In comparison, between 2005 and 2019, U.S. emissions fell nearly 1 percent annually, on average, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The uptick occurred largely due to a 17 percent jump in coal-fired power generation, the first annual increase in coal generation since 2014, and a rapid resurgence of road transportation. Coal’s comeback was driven largely by a hike in natural gas prices, which made coal power more economically attractive. - Inside Climate News
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Gas stoves leak climate-warming methane even when they're off

1/30/2022

 
Your natural gas cooking stove may leak climate-warming methane even when it is turned off, warns a new Stanford University study. That's important because methane is a much more potent greenhouse gas than even carbon dioxide, though it doesn't linger in the atmosphere nearly as long. Stanford scientists measured methane released from gas cooking stoves in 53 California homes. They examined how much methane is leaked each time you turn the knob in that second before the gas lights on fire. They also measured how much unburned methane is released during cooking. And unlike most previous studies, they measured how much methane is released when the stove is off. In fact, it turned out that's when about 80% of methane emissions from stoves happen, from loose couplings and fittings between the stove and gas pipes. - NPR
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Harvard Study Links Fracking Air Pollution to Early Deaths Among Nearby Residents

1/30/2022

 
Western Pennsylvania residents and doctors have been going public for several years with their concerns that fracking for fossil gas has sickened people and may be causing rare cancers in children. Today, a new study out of Harvard links fracking with early deaths of senior citizens. Published in the peer reviewed scientific journal Nature Energy, the team of researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health blames a mix of airborne contaminants associated with what is known as unconventional oil and gas development. That is when companies use horizontal drilling and liquids under pressure to fracture underground rock to release the fossil fuels through a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. The closer people 65 and older lived to wells, the greater their risk of premature mortality, the study found. Those senior citizens who lived closest to wells had an early death risk 2.5 percent higher than people who did not live close to the wells, the researchers found. - Inside Climate News
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US Gas Stoves in the Emit Methane = to Greenhouse Gas Emissions of ½ Million Cars

1/27/2022

 
Natural gas stoves emit far more methane than previously thought, as well as harmful nitrogen oxides in concentrations that can quickly exceed federal safety standards, researchers at Stanford University report. The findings, published Thursday in the journal Environmental Science and Technology, come as a growing number of cities and states look to phase out gas-fueled appliances in homes in favor of more climate-friendly electric alternatives. - Inside Climate News
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How coal holds on in America

1/18/2022

 
David Saggau, the chief executive of an energy cooperative, tried to explain the losing economics of running a coal-fired power plant to a North Dakota industry group more than a year ago.
Coal Creek Station had lost $170 million in 2019 as abundant natural gas and proliferating wind projects had cut revenue far below what it cost to run the plant. After four decades sending electricity over the border to Minnesota, Coal Creek would be closing in 2022, Saggau said, and nobody was clamoring to buy it.
“We made folks aware that the plant was for sale for a dollar,” Saggau, of Great River Energy, told the Lignite Energy Council during an October 2020 virtual meeting. “We’re basically giving it away.” - Washington Post

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US government squandered hundreds of millions on ​‘clean coal’ pipe dream

1/10/2022

 
The GAO summarized its findings on the federal government’s efforts to get carbon capture and storage off the ground at coal-fired power plants across the country. The GAO found that these efforts were tainted by major flaws that led to hundreds of millions of dollars of wasted taxpayer money. Under the Obama administration, the Dep. of Energy poured more than a billion dollars into carbon capture and storage (CCS), money allocated by Congress under the 2009 stimulus bill. While the DOE’s investments in capturing carbon from industrial sites achieved some success, its investments in capturing carbon from coal plants most decidedly did not. The GAO reports that the industrial CCS projects were held to higher standards and subjected to more oversight and scrutiny than the coal-plant projects. “Management directed DOE to bypass some cost controls to help struggling coal projects.” Not a single coal-plant CCS project that DOE invested in is still operating today. Only one of the eight projects it funded was ever completed, and that one was shut down last year.  - Canary Media
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New research finds way to scrub CO2 from factory emissions, make products

1/5/2022

 
Carbon dioxide can be harvested from smokestacks and used to create commercially valuable chemicals thanks to a novel compound developed by a scientific collaboration led by an Oregon State University researcher. Published in the Journal of Materials Chemistry A, the study shows that the new metal organic framework, loaded with a common industrial chemical, propylene oxide, can catalyze the production of cyclic carbonates while scrubbing CO2 from factory flue gases. - Phys.org


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Residents call for reform after hydrogen sulfide gas leak on Navajo Nation

1/5/2022

 
a It was still dark when Parnell Thomas opened his eyes on the morning of Aug. 10, but he immediately knew something had gone very wrong at the oil and gas field near his home on the northern Navajo Nation. The stench of hydrogen sulfide gas was burning his nostrils and shaking off the sleep was harder than it should have been. “I couldn’t breathe,” Thomas said. “I was coughing and kind of dazed.” He stumbled through the house waking up his kids, who were sleeping on the upper floor with the windows open, and friends who were staying over for the night. Thomas recalls seeing a white haze moving through the house, and by the time he got everyone outside to fresher air, several of the children were vomiting. - Salt Lake Tribune


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Parnell Thomas checks on some gas lines near his home north of Montezuma Creek, on Friday, Sept. 17, 2021.

Termite Fumigation in California Is Fueling the Rise of a Rare Greenhouse Gas

1/3/2022

 
New research has suggested that the nationwide rise of the potent greenhouse gas sulfuryl fluoride comes almost entirely from termite fumigations in the greater Los Angeles area. Sulfuryl fluoride is a common treatment for drywood termites, bedbugs, cockroaches, and other pests. The Dow Chemical Company developed the gas, also known by its brand name Vikane, in 1959. Concentrations of sulfuryl fluoride have grown exponentially worldwide: In 1978, it was 0.3 part per trillion. Today it’s more than 2.5 parts per trillion. The latest research has found that one hot spot in the United States - LA - has the highest emissions of sulfuryl fluoride. In the region, sulfuryl fluoride concentrations have topped 400 parts per trillion at times between 2015 and 2017, said graduate student Dylan Gaeta of Johns Hopkins University. The second-highest emissions came from California’s Bay Area. The rest of the country releases barely any emissions. - EOS
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Maersk spends $1.4 billion on ships that can run on ‘carbon neutral’ methanol

11/13/2021

 
Danish firm Maersk said Tuesday it is ordering eight large, ocean-going vessels able to run on what it called “carbon neutral methanol.”  The world’s largest container shipping firm said the vessels would be built by South Korea’s Hyundai Heavy Industries and have the capacity to carry around 16,000 containers. According to a number of reports, each ship will cost $175 million, making the total cost $1.4 billion. In a video message, Morten Bo Christiansen, Maersk’s head of decarbonization, said the vessels would “hit the waters from early 2024.” He added: “Once they are all out there sailing on green methanol, they will save a million tons of CO2 every year.” - CNBC
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The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S.

11/2/2021

 
It’s not a secret that industrial facilities emit hazardous air pollution. A new ProPublica analysis shows for the first time just how much toxic air pollution they emit — and how much the chemicals they unleash could be elevating cancer risk in their communities. ProPublica’s analysis of five years of modeled EPA data identified more than 1,000 toxic hot spots across the country and found that an estimated 250,000 people living in them may be exposed to levels of excess cancer risk that the EPA deems unacceptable. The agency has long collected the information on which our analysis is based. Thousands of facilities nationwide that are considered large sources of toxic air pollution submit a report to the government each year on their chemical emissions. - ProPublica
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