The Patriot Post® · White House Proposes Methane Regs

Barack Obama’s Environmental Protection Agency spent most of its first six years targeting CO₂ emissions. In a move clearly intended to snarl the energy sector, the White House this week formally proposed methane gas regulations, reports The Washington Times: “Obama on Wednesday put forth long-awaited regulations on methane emissions, setting an ambitious goal of reducing those emissions by 45 percent over the next decade and again drawing the ire of many in the energy industry.” There’s no denying that methane, a byproduct of hydraulic fracturing – the technique often used to extract oil or natural gas from the earth – is a far more potent greenhouse gas than CO₂. But as we wrote last month, years before the natural gas boom, environmentalists heralded natural gas as the solution to America’s energy problems. It’s cleaner than oil, it’s plentiful and it’s easy to reach. But now that we are actually harvesting more energy, the environmental lobby wants to shut it down. Moreover, a recent study revealed that there are few methane leaks from fracking. If you’re looking to point a finger, much of the blame lies with, yes, cows passing gas. What are Democrats going to come up with next? A plan to regulate nature? Oh, wait…