Letter to the EPA

Methane emissions are 84 times worse for global climate change than the same amount (by mass) of carbon dioxide emissions. While major methane leaks have occurred, they’re also a stealthy emission, occurring at different points of the oil and gas industry supply chain. It’s in the best interest of the industry to limit those emissions, of course, because each pound of methane that’s emitted is a pound of methane they can’t sell as natural gas. And it’s in the best interest of the environment.

So limiting methane emissions is a win-win, right? It defies economic and environmental logic to hear that the administration is halting its rules to reduce methane leaks from oil and natural gas drilling wells.

Today, I wrote a letter to the Scott Pruitt, the EPA head, asking him to reconsider his reconsideration and put the rules back in place. I responded to a request from the Environmental Defense Fund, but I used my only language to stress the economic importance of the move to America.