Pollution

"Mexican state energy company Pemex put off urgent repairs and maintenance at an important offshore platform for months, resulting in methane spewing into the atmosphere, according to internal documents and three sources familiar with the infrastructure."

"Because of lax rules, national inventories reported to the United Nations grossly underestimate many countries’ greenhouse gas emissions. The result, analysts say, is that the world can not verify compliance with agreed emissions targets, jeopardizing global climate agreements."

"A new report highlights the risk 120,000 abandoned oil and gas wells pose to carbon dioxide storage in Louisiana, home to more proposals to pump the greenhouse gas underground than any other state." "With industry planning to inject tens of millions of tons annually, a looming question is whether the climate-warming gas will stay underground."

"A major construction project designed to help clean up one of the most contaminated water bodies in the U.S. is years behind schedule and massively over budget, EPA’s independent watchdog said Thursday."

"President Biden’s new rule cutting emissions from vehicle tailpipes has deepened a partisan battle over automotive technology."

"The natural gas industry pulled off an 11th-hour victory in its campaign to strip climate-friendly rules out of the latest update to the homebuilding guidelines used in most of the United States."

"Democrats’ sweeping Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) has fueled significant progress in the fight against climate change since its passage in 2022. But if former President Trump wins back the presidency in November, he’s likely to undermine those gains — or help a Republican Congress do away with the law entirely."

"The deal would place 40 percent of California’s idle wells in the hands of one operator. Campaigners warn this poses an “immense” risk to the state — which new rules could help to mitigate, depending on how regulators act."

"When the monitors detect unhealthy conditions, people can protect themselves by closing doors and windows and avoiding unmasked time outdoors."