PBS NewsHour: The challenge of tracking methane emissions

/in , , , /by

PBS NewsHour: The COP27 climate negotiations in Egypt put a spotlight on the problem of methane emissions, which are responsible for more than a quarter of the warming on the planet today. More countries are pledging to reduce those emissions, but methane leaks remain a serious problem. Science correspondent Miles O’Brien reports.  ( The piece features Sharon Wilson with Earthworks, and uses footage from the field in the Permian Basin).

Watch a video, read a transcript and learn more

on PBS NewsHour site.

Sister Joan Brown: New BLM Rules on Methane Fall Short

/in , , , /by

The Interior Department has proposed rules to reduce methane leaks from oil and gas drilling on public lands, in the Biden administration’s latest move to aggressively tackle emissions of the climate-warming greenhouse gas.

The rules by the Interior’s Bureau of Land Management would impose strict monthly time and volume limits on flaring, the process of burning excess natural gas at a well, and require payment for flaring that exceeds those limits.  Read more in this artice

Here is a comment from Sister Joan Brown

“We all have an ethical and moral responsibility to care for our land, water, air, and communities, which are sacred gifts. The BLM also has a legal responsibility to eliminate the waste of public resources, and its draft waste rule has important provisions but ultimately falls short of that obligation. The rule must require oil and gas operators to eliminate routine venting and flaring for the good of Our Common Home and those who are most vulnerable.”
– Sr. Joan Brown, osf, New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light

Join a Webinar on IRA resources for nonprofits/houses of worship

/in , , /by

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that was signed into law last August was the most sweeping clean energy and climate legislation in history. The climate care provisions in the IRA are historic and are imperative in addressing the urgent moral issue of climate justice. 

Included in the IRA, are clean energy tax credits for wind and solar, EVs, efficiency upgrades, heat pumps, and much more for nonprofits, which includes houses of worship.

As people of faith and conscience, reducing the climate impact of our houses of worship is an opportunity to help bring about a just transition to a clean energy economy based on the values we all share: caring for one another and for our common home.

Federal agencies are still in the process of developing the guidance and programs for the Inflation Reduction Act. But join Interfaith Power & Light and the Environmental and Energy Study Insitute for this briefing on what benefits were included in the IRA for nonprofits and houses of worship, and learn when we can expect to see them become available.

Register here

for Webinar on Thursday, Dec. 8, at 2:00 p.m. Mountain Time