California Gas Leak Called The Biggest Disaster Since BP
Source: Grist.org
A methane leak in Southern California could be the worst environmental disaster since the BP oil spill, Gizmodo reports.
The leak was discovered outside Los Angeles in late October, at a natural gas storage site owned by Southern California Gas Co. It has been bleeding methane at a rate of up to 110,000 pounds per hour for the past two months.
That much methane in the atmosphere is climate catastrophe: According to the EPA, methane is more efficient at trapping radiation than CO2. Pound for pound, the comparative impact of CH4 [methane] on climate change is more than 25 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year period. To date, the leak has emitted nearly 74,000 metric tons of methane, or the equivalent of burning 700,000,000 gallons of gasoline.
The source of the leak, according to Southern California Gas Co., is an underground storage container near the upscale Porter Ranch neighborhood hood in Los Angeles. Residents there have suffered headaches, nosebleeds, nausea and other symptoms from the escaping gas, reports the AP. Southern California Gas has paid to relocate over 2,000 displaced residents, with 3,000 more in the process of moving. Two schools have also been temporarily closed in response to health concerns.
The company estimates the leak wont be stopped until next spring.
Read more: http://grist.org/article/california-gas-leak-called-the-biggest-disaster-since-bp/
Massive Methane Leak Displaces Thousands in Southern California
Utility officials in Southern California say they have determined the underground location of a pipe leak that has spewed natural gas into the air since late October but it could be months before they are able to fix the rupture that has driven up the state's methane emissions and chased thousands of families from their homes.
Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has called the leak an "environmental disaster," and the Los Angeles Unified School District shuttered two area schools for the rest of the year.
Politicians and environmentalists in California are particularly sensitive to the toll the leak may take on the environment, especially after Gov. Jerry Brown doubled down earlier this year on the state's efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions.
The massive underground leak at a storage facility north of Los Angeles was reported by the Southern California Gas Co. on Oct. 23, and since then has emitted more than 72,000 metric tons of methane, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, which released an aerial video in conjunction with the nonprofit Earthworks that used an infrared camera to make the gas visible.
"Methane is in a category of greenhouse gases known as short-lived climate pollutants," California's Air Resources Board says on its website. "These types of gases remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than longer-lived climate pollutants, such as carbon dioxide (CO2); but when measured in terms of how they heat the atmosphere, their impacts can be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide."
more...
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/12/29/massive-methane-leak-displaces-thousands-in-southern-california.html
proverbialwisdom
(4,959 posts)FreakinDJ
(17,644 posts)I don't know what the writer gets his marching orders but his so called facts are deeply flawed
PSPS
(13,635 posts)Here's just one from 12/8: http://www.democraticunderground.com/10141284425
JDPriestly
(57,936 posts)Considering the importance of this story, we are not seeing nearly enough about it in the news.
rladdi
(581 posts)how they do not regulate or even have building codes to protect communities. A chemical company can build in a community in TX without the people ever knowing it. Republicans say that regulations stop progress and corporate profits. There is no need for a big brother, unless the communities blows up and then the Federal Government is called to fund the cleanup and help the community recover.
I am amazed that California took 2 months to discover the leak. Where were the workers and corporate heads. Did they not know? No instruments to show that a leak was taking place? The overriding issue is that corporate executives are never charged or go to prison, unlike other crimes.