{"id":360112,"date":"2025-01-02T16:10:40","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T15:10:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=360112"},"modified":"2025-01-02T16:10:42","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T15:10:42","slug":"can-state-lawfare-contain-the-fictional-methane-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=360112","title":{"rendered":"Can State Lawfare Contain the Fictional Methane Crisis?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"
Lt. Gen.\u00a0Russel\u00a0L. Honor\u00e9 (Ret.) <\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Watts Up With That?<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Essay by<\/strong> Eric Worrall<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A former army officer is leading a green lawfare attack on gas extraction companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

Methane leaks are supercharging the climate crisis \u2014 here\u2019s what we must do, now <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY RUSSEL L. HONOR\u00c9, OPINION CONTRIBUTOR   \u2013 12\/31\/24 12:00 PM ET<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the fight against climate change, the focus is usually on carbon dioxide, or CO2<\/sub> \u2014 and for good reason. It\u2019s a greenhouse gas that remains in the atmosphere for years, trapping in heat for generations to come. Yet there is an even more potent planet-warming gas whose destructive powers have long gone hidden \u2014 until now. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The fossil fuel industry has been drilling and refining oil and its byproducts<\/a> for over 150 years, and it has left behind a legacy of pollution and dodged accountability<\/a>. So-called \u201corphaned\u201d wells, or wells that have been abandoned by the oil companies that originally drilled them, litter the United States, including my home state of Louisiana. When these wells aren\u2019t abandoned outright, ownership is transferred to a shell company<\/a>without the funding to clean them up. They can remain uncapped for generations, leaking carcinogens and other toxic chemicals into the surrounding area and unleashing plumes of methane into the atmosphere. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The industry\u2019s process for extracting gas through fracking, moving it through pipelines, liquefying it and shipping it overseas is an energy intensive and wasteful process. From the well head through the pipeline to the export terminal and beyond, methane is leaked into the atmosphere<\/a>. To regulate pressure along the pipeline and in the liquefaction plant, companies flare, or burn off the excess, just above ground level, releasing methane along with any other particulate matter.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here too, the fossil fuel industry needs to be held to account. Sending a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere while marketing it as a \u201cgreen\u201d alternative to oil is dishonest.<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Gen.\u00a0Russel\u00a0L. Honor\u00e9 (Ret.) is a former commanding officer of the U.S. First Army. He\u00a0led Joint Task Force Katrina in New Orleans following the devastating Category 5 hurricane. He is currently head of The Green Army; an organization dedicated to finding solutions to pollution.<\/em>\u00a0Read more:\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/thehill.com\/opinion\/energy-environment\/5060288-methane-emissions-climate-change\/<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

There are a few parts to unpack in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lt. Gen Honor\u00e9<\/a> is someone with a serious commitment to serving his country. He served his country in the military, he led a major part of the Hurricane Katrina relief effort, and I believe he now sincerely believes he is still serving his country by his participation in The Green Army. We have to respect this is someone who has given a great deal to his country, and who still believes he is serving his country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about the gas companies?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There appear to be two parts to Lt Gen. Honor\u00e9\u2019s grievance with gas companies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  1. The suggestion gas companies are using legal tricks to avoid having to clean up old well sites.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. The suggestion gas companies need to be held to account for their contribution to global warming.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Part 1, the suggestion gas companies are using sharp practices to avoid cleaning up pollution. Looking at Lt. Gen Honor\u00e9\u2019s Green Army website<\/a> this mostly appears to relate to grievances over local issues in Louisiana. I don\u2019t know the situation on the ground in Louisiana, so I\u2019m not going to pass judgement on this issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Obviously, I have a big problem with the second part of Lt Gen. Honor\u00e9\u2019s concerns about global warming, because that concern is false. There is no evidence low level methane leaks are or will in the future cause any measurable harm to human health.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
    Methane: Much Ado About Nothing<\/a><\/blockquote>