Methane: Fire in the sky

While driving from Santa Fe to the southern Gulf Coast of Texas in the spring, we passed through the Permian Basin. Oil and gas wells, pipelines and tanks filled the horizon. Continuing into West Texas, we saw a flame burning bright in the daylight sky miles ahead. As we approached, we saw, heard and smelled a roaring flame reaching 100 feet into the air. In this time of human-caused global warming and climate change, it was shocking to see the volume of heat and pollution spewing into our atmosphere.

Later, I learned about methane flaring. Methane, a product of fracked gas and oil drilling, can be captured by pipeline or compressed storage tank.

This natural gas can be used to heat our homes or generate our electricity instead of being burned off as waste, a common practice in the industry.

Methane is a highly reactive greenhouse gas responsible for a large share of global warming. Yet engineers estimate that two-thirds of methane leaks and flaring can be eliminated, and this gas used for productive energy. They further estimate the costs to accomplish this are minimal.

This month the Environmental Protection Agency, under the Biden administration, is formulating nationwide methane safeguards through the Clean Air Act. If written with strong monitoring and enforcement rules, this regulation can help reduce methane caused climate change. Here is something that we can do to protect our climate and the people, plants and animals depending on it. Write your message of support to the EPA for strong new rules to cut methane pollution in the oil and gas industry, and to require independent monitor and enforcement of the industry at www.sc.org/methane.

Dave Weymouth Santa Fe