Oil and gas companies have until 2025 to reduce the emissions they release into the air through the practices known as venting and flaring.

You may have seen a large plume of fire coming from smokestacks at oil-producing sites but you may not have considered how it is affecting your life. Oil and gas producers use venting and flaring to burn off excess gas. The process releases methane into the air, and environmental groups pointed out it is not only wasteful, but dangerous.

Becca Edwards, climate action fellow for the advocacy group Texas Impact and the United Methodist General Board of Church and Society, said the practice has two major negative effects.

"Releasing methane creates air pollution that harms people who are vulnerable," Edwards noted. "The second impact that methane emissions has is climate change. Methane is a potent greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. It traps heat, contributing to climate change."

Texas is the largest producer of gas in the nation, and a new study showed the emissions are being underreported. Researchers used remote sensing for the study and estimated methane released into the atmosphere contributes to about $7.4 billion in health damages annually.

The Environmental Protection Agency issued a ruling last year aimed at sharply reducing emissions of methane and other air pollutants from oil and gas operations. For the first time, the regulations include existing well sites instead of only new ones. Edwards emphasized Texas Impact supports the new standards.

"We represent people of faith in Texas, and as people of faith, we feel that advocating for a healthy and safe environment is a moral obligation," Edwards stressed. "Those regulations are expected to reduce methane emissions significantly."

Oil and gas companies have two years to comply but it appears they are gearing up for a fight. The Railroad Commission of Texas, which regulates oil and gas production, opposes the restrictions and has petitioned the Attorney General to challenge the EPA's new rule in court.


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The environmental group Air Alliance Houston has released its list of the top 12 air polluters in Harris County, calling them the "Dirty Dozen."

The nonprofit used data from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. According to the report, the top three polluters are ExxonMobil and Chevron Phillips in Baytown, and LyondellBasell in Channelview.

Inyang Uwak, research and policy director for the group, said the emissions also are worsening climate change.

"From heat waves to an increase in precipitation; I mean, the last past three days, we had high precipitation, you know, the rains just kept coming," Uwak pointed out. "They're also more frequent and severe in nature. We are still getting over the impacts of Hurricane Beryl."

The group's research shows most of the polluters are located in communities of color and low-income neighborhoods in East Harris County. Uwak noted they will share the results with state regulators.

Uwak emphasized members of Air Alliance Houston hope the results of the study will influence regulators on permitting and regulations.

"We need them to have more rules at the state level that take into consideration the cumulative impact of these exposures," Uwak contended. "We also need TCEQ to acknowledge the community's power to advocate for their health."

The Houston area has more than 600 chemical manufacturing facilities. Research shows continuous exposure to toxic chemicals leads to health issues and sometimes death.

Uwak added residents voice their concerns but often feel like they are not heard.

"It is one thing for the community to really show up at these permit meetings," Uwak stressed. "But it is more important that these comments influence TCEQ's decisions."


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Clean-air advocates in Colorado are celebrating new EPA standards, which they believe can play a major role in reducing air pollution impacting national parks and Colorado's Front Range communities.

The rule aims to cut more than seven billion tons of greenhouse gases by requiring carmakers to reduce or eliminate tailpipe pollution.

Travis Madsen, transportation program director for the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, said the EPA's goals are achievable, because you can drive where you want to go right now using zero-emission technology.

"Electric vehicles can take us along scenic byways. We've got charging stations between Denver, where I live, and Rocky Mountain National Park. The tools are here now, they're available, they work, they can cut pollution," he said.

The EPA downgraded the Front Range to "severe" for air quality violations in 2022, largely due to ground-level ozone pollution produced by oil and gas operations and tailpipe emissions. The new rule, which applies to passenger cars up to medium-duty vehicles sold between 2027 and 2032, has been embraced by automakers and unions.

The EPA projects that the rule will create $100 billion in benefits each year, including $13 billion in health-care savings due to improved air quality.

Gary Hall, Estes Park mayor, said the air has been so bad lately that it's hard to see the mountains in Rocky Mountain National Park. He says poor air quality - from wildfires linked to climate change, or ground-level ozone - impacts the national park experience for tourists, and many don't return as often.

"And therefore it impacts the economy. My hotel owners suffer, my restaurants suffer, my merchants selling Estes Park t-shirts and taffy suffer," Hall claimed.

The rule gives automakers flexibility on how to cut emissions. Advanced gasoline, plug-in hybrid, and electric are all on the table. But many expect it to spur U.S. manufacturers to catch up with Europe and China in electric vehicle production. Madsen said once you drive off the lot, EVs offer big savings.

"Electric vehicles are simpler, they're easier to maintain. And fuel, if you're charging at home on a residential electricity rate, is equivalent to less than a dollar a gallon of gasoline," he explained.


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Biofuels are painted as a greener energy alternative to fossil fuels but a new study found the industry produces plenty of its own air pollutants.

American biofuel plants reported emitting nearly 13 million pounds of hazardous air pollution in 2022, according to a report from the Environmental Integrity Project, trailing only slightly behind the 14.5 million pounds oil refineries released.

Tom Pelton, director of communications for the nonprofit, said South Dakota's 16 biofuel plants, which mostly make ethanol from corn, produce about 1.7 million pounds of greenhouse gases each year and 350,000 pounds of air pollution, including known carcinogens. Biofuel production is concentrated in the Midwest and Pelton pointed out people living nearby could suffer health effects.

"It's hard to detect and hard to track, but a person living downwind from one of these plants might have a few percentage points more chance of getting cancer over their lifetime," Pelton explained.

The report recommended the Environmental Protection Agency increase monitoring and control of air pollutants, improve the accuracy of emissions reporting and end current exemptions for ethanol manufacturers under the Clean Air Act. It also suggested ending government subsidies for biofuels, which benefit area farmers and communities.

According to the South Dakota Corn Utilization Council, ethanol production supported nearly 30,000 jobs in the state in 2022 and more than $4 billion in corn production.

Pelton argued expanded agricultural production for the industry can have other negative effects.

"When you subsidize growing corn to make ethanol, more kind of questionable lands are converted from grasslands and forests into row crops of corn," Pelton noted. "That takes away habitat for birds and for insects and for wildlife."

The conversions may also lead to the use of more chemical fertilizers, he added, which can lead to algae blooms and other problems in waterways. Among the 32 U.S. biofuel projects proposed or underway, according to the report, is a new biodiesel facility in Lake Preston, South Dakota.


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