Latest news with #methane
E&E News
17 hours ago
- Politics
- E&E News
As EPA mulls air permit decision, Zeldin met with xAI
EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin met with xAI last month as EPA officials are considering granting a permit to the artificial intelligence company owned by Elon Musk. EPA did not immediately respond to questions about who at xAI met with Zeldin, or what was discussed at the May 22 meeting. But the company has multiple pending air pollution issues before the agency. XAI has been under fire from Memphis community groups over its use of 35 methane turbines — without Clean Air Act permits or pollution controls — to power its first supercomputer. The company has been operating dozens of the turbines for nearly a year without permits, but this winter finally applied for Clean Air Act permits for 15 of the machines. Advertisement At the same time, xAI has indicated it may be interested in bringing 40 to 90 additional gas turbines to a second Memphis location. The company submitted pre-application documents to EPA about that proposal in March. It is not clear whether either of those projects were discussed at Zeldin's meeting. Asked about the meeting, EPA pointed to previous agency actions to support AI. In April, EPA relaxed pollution rules limiting how long reciprocating internal combustion engines can run without a permit, something the agency says will help boost the technology. The engines are commonly used to power pumps and compressors in power and manufacturing plants, often during emergency events. New EPA guidance would allow some of those engines to operate for longer periods of time in an effort to ensure data centers have reliable power. Zeldin himself has broadly spoken of his support for AI. Indeed, boosting the industry is one of four agency 'pillars' he announced in February. 'Those looking to invest in and develop AI should be able to do so in the U.S., while we work to ensure data centers and related facilities can be powered and operated in a clean manner with American-made energy,' Zeldin said at the time. 'Under President [Donald] Trump's leadership, I have no doubt that we will become the AI capital of the world.' Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson (D), who represents the area of South Memphis where xAI is located, said he is 'disappointed' that EPA has not yet stepped in to deny xAI's permit. 'It concerns me when EPA says one of its goals is the expansion of data centers and it's not saying its responsibility is to make sure everyone has the ability to breathe clean air,' he said. 'I remain hopeful that the EPA will do its part to stop the illegal pollution of our lungs, and I'm also cautious that this admin has not done things that are helpful for people in the communities I represent.' Reporter Miranda Wilson contributed. Reach the reporter on Signal at Awitt.40
Irish Times
a day ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Scientists accuse Ireland and New Zealand of using ‘accounting trick' to justify livestock emissions
Leading climate scientists have accused politicians in New Zealand and Ireland of using an 'accounting trick' to back their sheep and cattle industries, warning their support for methane-emitting livestock could undermine global efforts to fight climate change . In an open letter shared with the Financial Times, 26 climate scientists from around the world warned that New Zealand's proposed new methane targets risk setting a dangerous precedent. Scientists have separately raised concerns about Ireland's approach. Governments with large livestock sectors, including those of Ireland and New Zealand, are increasingly using a new method for calculating methane's effect on climate change, which estimates its contribution to warming based on how emissions are changing relative to a baseline. This differs from the long-established approach, which compares the total warming impact of a given mass of methane to the same mass of CO₂ over a 100-year period. READ MORE Proponents argue the newer method, known as global warming potential star (GWP*), better reflects methane's shortlived nature in the atmosphere compared to the long-lasting effects of CO₂. But scientists warn that some governments are misapplying it to justify 'no additional warming' targets, which allow emissions to remain flat rather than decline — potentially enabling high levels of methane emissions and climate damage to continue. 'It's like saying 'I'm pouring 100 barrels of pollution into this river, and it's killing life. If I then go and pour just 90 barrels, then I should get credited for that',' said Paul Behrens, global professor of environmental change at Oxford university and a signatory of the letter. Drew Shindell, professor of climate science at Duke University and another signatory, said assessing future emissions purely in terms of the difference from current levels can amount to an 'accounting trick' when misused. That 'lets you off the hook, and 'grandfathers in' any emissions that are already going on', he said. New Zealand and Ireland are among the world's highest per capita agricultural methane emitters, largely due to their export-focused meat and dairy industries. In New Zealand, agriculture accounts for nearly half of total greenhouse gas emissions, primarily from livestock. Ireland's agriculture sector is its largest emitter, with dairy cows producing significantly more methane per animal than beef cattle. The scientists' letter argues the approach preferred by Dublin and Wellington could set a precedent, allowing other countries to justify minimal reductions in methane emissions and jeopardising commitments under the 2015 Paris Agreement as well as the Global Methane Pledge, which was launched in 2021. Paul Price, a climate change researcher at Dublin City University, said Ireland needs sharp near-term cuts in agricultural methane to have any chance of limiting warming to 1.5°C, as called for under the Paris Agreement. Instead, he said, the country is expanding production — 'exactly the opposite' of what's needed. While herd sizes have declined elsewhere in Europe, the number of dairy cows in Ireland has increased over the past 15 years, according to the country's state agricultural research agency. New Zealand is expected to formalise new methane targets later this year, following a government-commissioned review suggesting reductions of 14 to 24 per cent by 2050 would suffice under the 'no additional warming' goal. This is lower than the 35-47 per cent cuts recommended by the country's Climate Change Commission. The governments of Ireland and New Zealand did not respond to requests for comment. Myles Allen, professor of geosystem science at Oxford university's physics department and one of the scientists behind GWP*, said governments — not scientists — must decide whether farmers should undo past warming from herd growth. He supported separate targets for methane and CO₂, calling the older approach 'a dodgy speedometer' that overstated the warming impact of constant methane emissions and was slow to reflect the impact of changes. But scientists behind the letter said that the weaker methane target could act as a tool to justify richer and higher-emitting countries failing to lead the way in cutting emissions. 'If you're a rich farmer that happens to have a lot of cows, then you can keep those cows forever,' said Shindell. This approach 'penalises anybody who's not already a big player in agriculture', including 'poor farmers in Africa that are trying to feed a growing population'. —Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2025
Yahoo
a day ago
- Climate
- Yahoo
A chance to spot rare and mysterious noctilucent clouds
It's time to watch for the beautiful cloud formations known as noctilucent clouds. Latin for 'night shining', noctilucent clouds are seasonal and become visible in the northern hemisphere from late spring/early summer. Although unpredictable, when they do appear they will be seen in the western sky about half an hour after the sun sets. As the sky darkens into night, they will shine with an extraordinary electric blue colour. Part of the appeal of these rare clouds is that their origins are still mysterious. They are the highest known clouds in Earth's atmosphere, condensing at an altitude of about 80km (50 miles). This is virtually the edge of space. Their extreme altitude is what allows them to catch the last rays of the setting sun, even when Earth's surface beneath them is already in darkness. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the clouds is that there are no recorded sightings of them before 1885. Some suggest the clouds are therefore caused by industrial pollutants to which water vapour freezes, or by the rise of the greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere, which promotes water vapour production in the upper atmosphere. In the southern hemisphere, the noctilucent cloud season begins around October.
The Guardian
a day ago
- Climate
- The Guardian
A chance to spot rare and mysterious noctilucent clouds
It's time to watch for the beautiful cloud formations known as noctilucent clouds. Latin for 'night shining', noctilucent clouds are seasonal and become visible in the northern hemisphere from late spring/early summer. Although unpredictable, when they do appear they will be seen in the western sky about half an hour after the sun sets. As the sky darkens into night, they will shine with an extraordinary electric blue colour. Part of the appeal of these rare clouds is that their origins are still mysterious. They are the highest known clouds in Earth's atmosphere, condensing at an altitude of about 80km (50 miles). This is virtually the edge of space. Their extreme altitude is what allows them to catch the last rays of the setting sun, even when Earth's surface beneath them is already in darkness. Perhaps the most puzzling aspect of the clouds is that there are no recorded sightings of them before 1885. Some suggest the clouds are therefore caused by industrial pollutants to which water vapour freezes, or by the rise of the greenhouse gas methane in the atmosphere, which promotes water vapour production in the upper atmosphere. In the southern hemisphere, the noctilucent cloud season begins around October.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
An Extreme Drop in Oxygen Will Eventually Suffocate Most Life on Earth
For now, complex life flourishes on our planet thanks to its supply of oxygen. But Earth's atmosphere wasn't always like it is today, and scientists predict that in the future, it will revert back to one that's rich in methane and low in oxygen. Breathe easy though. This won't happen for probably another billion years or so. But when the change comes, it's going to happen fairly rapidly, according to research published in 2021. This shift will take the planet back to something like the state it was in before what's known as the Great Oxidation Event (GOE) around 2.4 billion years ago. "For many years, the lifespan of Earth's biosphere has been discussed based on scientific knowledge about the steadily brightening of the sun and global carbonate-silicate geochemical cycle," environmental scientist Kazumi Ozaki from Toho University in Japan said when the study was published. "One of the corollaries of such a theoretical framework is a continuous decline in atmospheric CO2 levels and global warming on geological timescales." The researchers say that atmospheric oxygen is unlikely to be a permanent feature of habitable worlds in general, which has implications for our efforts to detect signs of life further out in the Universe. "The model projects that a deoxygenation of the atmosphere, with atmospheric O2 dropping sharply to levels reminiscent of the Archaean Earth, will most probably be triggered before the inception of moist greenhouse conditions in Earth's climate system and before the extensive loss of surface water from the atmosphere," the team explained in their paper. At that point it'll be the end of the road for human beings and most other life forms that rely on oxygen to get through the day, so let's hope we figure out how to get off the planet at some point within the next billion years. To reach their conclusions, the researchers ran detailed models of Earth's biosphere, factoring in changes in the brightness of the Sun and the corresponding drop in carbon dioxide levels, as the gas gets broken down by increasing levels of heat. Less carbon dioxide means fewer photosynthesizing organisms such as plants, which would result in less oxygen. Scientists have previously predicted that increased radiation from the Sun would wipe ocean waters off the face of our planet within about 2 billion years, but the model here – based on an average of just under 400,000 simulations – says the reduction in oxygen is going to kill off life first. "The drop in oxygen is very, very extreme," Earth scientist Chris Reinhard, from the Georgia Institute of Technology, told New Scientist. "We're talking around a million times less oxygen than there is today." What makes the study particularly relevant to the present day is our search for habitable planets outside of the Solar System. Increasingly powerful telescopes are coming online, and scientists want to be able to know what they should be looking for in the reams of data these instruments are collecting. It's possible that we need to be hunting for other biosignatures besides oxygen to have the best chance of spotting life, the researchers say. Their study was part of the NASA NExSS (Nexus for Exoplanet System Science) project, which is investigating the habitability of planets other than our own. According to the calculations run by Ozaki and Reinhard, the oxygen-rich habitable history of Earth could end up lasting for just 20-30 percent of the planet's lifespan as a whole – and microbial life will carry on existing long after we are gone. "The atmosphere after the great deoxygenation is characterized by an elevated methane, low-levels of CO2, and no ozone layer," said Ozaki. "The Earth system will probably be a world of anaerobic life forms." The research was published in Nature Geoscience. An earlier version of this article was published in March 2021. The Ocean Is Getting Darker, Threatening All That Lives Within Your Salad Could Be Carrying Microplastics From Soil Into Your Body UN Warns: High Odds We'll Exceed 1.5°C Temp Rise by 2029
