Just because we’re in the middle of a crisis that’s already killed 170,000 Americans doesn’t mean Donald Trump has lost sight of the bigger picture—the bigger picture being his role in a crisis that could kill us all.
On Thursday, Trump continued his sustained attack on the only planet where humans live (despite what QAnon supporters believe) by making it known that he would remove even more regulation over methane gas. When released into the atmosphere, methane is one of the most potent greenhouse gases. It only lasts a few decades before degrading, but in the time that it’s present, it’s 84% more efficient in trapping heat than CO2. That’s why spills of methane gas are a real concern, and oil and gas companies have to be careful about leaks and blowouts that release enormous quantities of methane into the air. Since these leaks are especially common in the modern era when most wells involve fracking and where gas is shipped hundreds of miles through pipelines, oil and gas companies have to have detectors and inspectors making frequent checks for gas leaks. Except, make that “had.” Because Dr. Trump is about to give tell the fossil fuel industry to spill all they like; no reason to clean it up.
As The Guardian reports, coal lobbyist and EPA administrator Andrew Wheeler is preparing to inform oil and gas companies that they no longer have to be concerned about spilling methane by the blimp-full. Under the new regulations—or lack thereof—oil companies wouldn’t have to bother fixing leaks, so they also wouldn’t have to bother detecting leaks. The result will be not just more methane emitted into the atmosphere, but no real idea of how much more is being released because it’s not being measured.
Larger gas companies have actually appreciated the rules requiring the detection of methane. Since they’re well aware of methane’s greenhouse potential, they’re also aware that when it comes to competing for space in the public utility sector, it’s important for them to be able to say that they limit methane spills. That evidence of “good citizenship” is a vital part of competing with solar and wind, and with proving natural gas is less ecologically harmful than coal.
Rolling back these regulations don’t just mean that more methane will be spilled into the atmosphere, it means that natural gas will be less “clean” versus other forms of energy. Though Trump is expected to announce this change under the pretense of doing something for the already-glutted U.S. energy market, the likely effect of deregulating methane spills at this point is that it makes natural gas less competitive in new projects, and less attractive for utilities looking to close aging coal plants. Of course, it also makes coal more competitive against natural gas. Which Wheeler—and Trump—may actually see as a positive.
If it was not already August of 2020, the sure loser from all this would be the climate. However, it’s dead certain that as soon as Trump is gone from the White House, this rule change will be reversed. So it seems quite likely that companies drilling new wells at this point are likely to install methane monitoring equipment in any case, whether Trump requires it or not.
Just about everything Trump does at this point, other than destroying the Postal Service and the election, is really more of a gesture than an action. But it does say something that, even with his own end looming, Trump is still determined to take the world down with him.
