Oil and Gas Industry Faces Its Methane Problem
An EPA decision on tougher rules is coming, but some companies aren't waiting to tackle emissions.
This month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will decide on new rules aimed at the oil and gas industry's emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas that often comes from leaky or inefficient equipment. But as the industry awaits possible rules, it is also taking some steps of its own to reduce emissions.
President Barack Obama seeks to reduce all greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and hydrofluorocarbons, by 17 percent from 2005 levels, and switching from coal or oil to natural gas has been a main component of the plan. But according to Mark Brownstein of the Environmental Defense Fund, the switch itself is not enough.
"Natural gas is being marketed to people as a cleaner, lower-carbon alternative to coal and
