President Donald Trump’s decision to rescind Obama-era rules that reduce the amount of methane that escapes from natural gas plants and pipelines is perplexing even for someone as erratic as the president.
Most big oil companies, who Trump thinks he is aiding by the rollback, oppose lifting the regulations on methane escape.
The decision can only be explained by Trump’s broad-brush attack on regulations of any kind. When he first took office Trump ordered agencies to eliminate two regulations for every one new regulation enacted. Such a simplistic and foolish approach is senseless.
Regulations — from barring children from buying cigarettes to preventing truck drivers from working unlimited hours — are enacted to address recognized problems and dangers. Regulations that prove outdated, unuseful or are not providing the hoped for benefits should be repealed or altered. But setting an arbitrary two-for-one rule makes no sense.
Rolling back limits on methane escape is particularly dangerous. Of all the greenhouse gases, methane is one of the most potent because it so efficiently absorbs heat in Earth’s atmosphere. It is dozens of times greater at warming the Earth than carbon dioxide.
That is why the Obama administration instituted rules that forced oil and gas companies to restrict methane leaks. Large oil companies have accepted the rules and opposed rolling back the rules. That’s because it is inexpensive for oil and gas companies to install the equipment to cut methane release and methane is a valuable commodity that they can sell.
The methane release happens when it accidentally escapes during natural gas drilling, pipeline transmission and storage.
Natural gas has been viewed as a bridge between burning coal — which produces more CO2 emissions — and getting to a point where more renewable energy can power the country. But if methane is allowed to leak from drilling rigs, tanks and pipelines it wipes out the benefits of using cleaner-burning natural gas.
The growing crisis from climate change is clear in more turbulent weather, wildfires and rising oceans. Rolling back rules that cheaply and easily reduce methane leaks is perverse and unnecessary.
— The Mankato (Minn.) Free Press
