EPA dramatically lowers its estimate of methane leaks during natural gas production

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http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_GAS_DRILLING_METHANE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-04-28-15-54-52

Apr 28, 3:54 PM EDT
EPA methane report further divides fracking camps
By KEVIN BEGOS

PITTSBURGH (AP) -- The Environmental Protection Agency has dramatically lowered its estimate of how much of a potent heat-trapping gas leaks during natural gas production, in a shift with major implications for a debate that has divided environmentalists: Does the recent boom in fracking help or hurt the fight against climate change?

Oil and gas drilling companies had pushed for the change, but there have been differing scientific estimates of the amount of methane that leaks from wells, pipelines and other facilities during production and delivery. Methane is the main component of natural gas...

The EPA said it made the changes based on expert reviews and new data from several sources, including a report funded by the oil and gas industry. But the estimates aren't based on independent field tests of actual emissions, and some scientists said that's a problem.

Robert Howarth, a Cornell University professor of ecology who led a 2011 methane leak study that is widely cited by critics of fracking, wrote in an email that "time will tell where the truth lies in all this, but I think EPA is wrong." ...

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1. Is every agency owned now? Arghhhh. nt