Fuel gas

Earlier this week, a new satellite launched to track methane as it emanates from oil and gas fields across the world, hoping to expose major producers of the greenhouse pollutant and hold them accountable for their commitment to lower emissions.Prime Day Ain't That 'Green'MethaneSAT launched on board a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket on Monday as part of the Transporter-10 rideshare mission, along with 52 other payloads. The emissions monitor is designed to detect methane from 300 targets worldwide, which account for 80% of global…

Texas could add tens of thousands of jobs if the state seriously commits itself to driving down its methane emissions, finds a report from the Texas Climate Jobs Project released Wednesday. But state leadership has thus far refused funding from the federal government for anti-methane measures.Prime Day Ain't That 'Green'Methane lasts for less time in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, but it’s much more intenseand can do some serious damage while it’s around. As we increasingly run out of time to right the ship and keep…

New York has become the first state in the country to ban gas hook-ups in new buildings. A section of the state’s recently passed, long-delayed 2024 budget includes a policy known as the All Electric Buildings Act. Under the law, signed by Governor Kathy Hochul on Wednesday, New York is headed for a climate-friendlier future.Republicans Create Culture War Over… Stoves The legislation follows a rise in restrictions on gas in buildings nationwide but is historic in its scale and scope. Its impacts could reverberate far…

This story was originally published by Grist. Sign up for Grist’s weekly newsletter here.How Can You Be a Steward of Good Tech in 2023? | Gizmodo InterviewWhen the city of Berkeley, California passed the country’s first ban on the use of natural gas in new buildings in the summer of 2019, environmental advocates celebrated the move as an important precedent for other cities to follow. And follow they did: There are now at least 99 similar ordinances in place across the country, the vast majority of which require…

Photo: Justin Sullivan (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.Wastewater treatment plants are typically overlooked when it comes to reducing greenhouse gasses, but new research from Princeton University reveals the plants emit twice as much methane as previously thought.Methane is a particularly potent greenhouse gas and the treatment plants should be part of any plan to reduce emissions, according to the study released last week.“Wastewater treatment…

Photo: Scott Olson (Getty Images)This story was originally published by Grist. You can subscribe to its weekly newsletter here.Newly uncovered documents reveal that the gas industry understood that its stoves were polluting the air inside homes 50 years ago — and then moved to conceal that information. It stands in stark contrast to the industry’s denial of the health dangers posed by gas stoves today.In a draft report on natural gas and the environment in January 1972, the American Gas Association included a section on…

If you’re watching HGTV or Netflix, there’s a chance that you might run into a show hosted by an influencer who shills for the natural gas industry. An industry group is using federally sanctioned funds that are supposed to go to consumer education to pay for influencers and celebrities to promote natural gas and smear home electrification, the New York Times reported last week.Documents obtained by the New York Times and the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog group, show that the Propane Education and Research…

Photo: Tim Boyle (Getty Images)The federal government may consider a ban on gas stoves thanks to mounting concerns about the health impacts of the appliances, Bloomberg reported Monday.In an interview with Bloomberg, Richard Trumka, Jr., a commissioner at the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, saidthe agency would consider a range of options, including restricting manufacturing or importing gas stoves and/or putting emissions standards on the products, to better protect U.S. consumers.“This is a hidden hazard,”…

Photo: Shutterstock (Shutterstock)New research points to an under-appreciated cause of childhood asthma: gas stoves. The study estimates that about one in every eight cases in the U.S. can be attributed to the indoor pollution emitted by gas stoves. The findings are only the latest to highlight the harmful effects of this ubiquitous way of cooking.Gas stoves have been around since the 1800s, and over 40 million homes in the U.S., or more than one third of households, are thought to still rely on them today. For several…

Europe has turned a surprising corner in preparation for the continent’s much-discussed impending energy crisis. The European Union now has more liquefied natural gas than it needs, according to reports from Bloomberg and the New York Times.Ports are reportedly backed up, with tankard ships waiting to offload their gas supply to countries already flush with fuel, said the NYT. The E.U.’s gas storage has reached 93.6% capacity overall,with Germany storage at 97.5% full, according to Bloomberg. And natural gas prices have…