methane

The U.S. has millions of old gas and oil wells. Here's what it takes to plug them up

5:00am July 08, 2025

There was a circle in Maria Burns' yard where grass wouldn't grow and trees died. She knew what it was: An old natural gas well, plugged when she was a little girl, starting to leak again.

Gassy cows and pigs will face a carbon tax in Denmark, the first country to do so

12:39pm June 27, 2024

by The Associated Press

Levels of methane have increased particularly quickly since 2020. Livestock account for about 32% of human-caused methane emissions, the U.N. Environment Program says.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket blasts into space. On board is a satellite with a climate solutions mission. It's designed to detect methane, a potent planet warming gas.

A new satellite will track climate-warming pollution. Here's why that's a big deal

2:29pm March 05, 2024

by Julia Simon

A satellite with a climate solutions mission blasted off on a SpaceX rocket Monday. It's on a mission to detect planet-heating methane pollution from the oil and gas sector.

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A flare burns natural gas at an oil well on Aug. 26, 2021, in Watford City, N.D. Oil and natural gas companies would have to pay a fee for methane emissions that exceed certain levels under a new rule proposed by the Biden administration.

EPA proposes a fee aimed at reducing climate-warming methane emissions

5:09pm January 12, 2024

by The Associated Press

The new fee is intended to encourage the oil and gas industry to lower emissions of methane and thereby avoid paying.

Climate change is driving more frequent and intense wildfires. Companies and researchers are using AI to both detect wildfires early, and to help prevent megafires.

Environment

4 ways AI can help with climate change, from detecting methane to preventing fires

5:01am January 02, 2024

by Julia Simon

Many companies, researchers and governments are using artificial intelligence as a tool to help with climate solutions. Here are four ways AI is now used to combat global warming.

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A flare burns off methane and other hydrocarbons as oil pumpjacks operate in the Permian Basin in Midland, Texas, Oct. 12, 2021.

Environment

EPA aims to slash the oil industry's climate-warming methane pollution

7:10am December 02, 2023

by Jeff Brady

New EPA rules require oil and gas companies to slash climate-changing methane from their operations.

A resident rides past the Guohua Power Station in northern China's Hebei province. China and the U.S. have pledged to accelerate their efforts to address climate change ahead of a major U.N. meeting on the issue.

China and the U.S. pledge to step up climate efforts ahead of Biden-Xi summit

8:39am November 15, 2023

by The Associated Press

The nations promised to accelerate efforts to address climate change ahead of a major U.N. meeting on the issue, making plans to cut emissions of methane and other greenhouse gases besides CO2.

The natural gas production and supply system leaks the powerful greenhouse gas methane during drilling, fracking, processing and transport.

Natural gas can rival coal's climate-warming potential when leaks are counted

5:46pm July 14, 2023

by Jeff Brady

Climate-warming greenhouse gasses from natural gas could be as damaging as those from coal, according to a new analysis.

Earth's atmosphere photographed from the International Space Station. Greenhouse gases have accumulated rapidly and are trapping extra heat in the atmosphere. It will take decades for the gases to break down naturally or be reabsorbed on Earth's surface.

Science

Carbon Emissions Could Plummet. The Atmosphere Will Lag Behind

5:25pm April 14, 2021

by Rebecca Hersher

The U.S. plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically in the next decade. Scientists say it's crucial that the U.S. succeed. Still, many of the positive effects won't arrive for decades.

NASA's New Horizons spacecraft captured this high-resolution enhanced color view of Pluto on July 14, 2015.

Science

Pluto Has White-Capped Mountains, But Not Because There's Snow

5:19pm October 13, 2020

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Mountains on Pluto look strikingly similar to white-capped peaks on Earth, but these cold, alien mountains got whitened in a completely different way.