As conservationists await finalization of revised rules governing methane on public lands, a new survey shows a majority of Texans support stronger limits. The poll by four environmental groups, including the Sierra Club, queried Texas voters about the Environmental Protection Agency's supplemental rules proposed in 2022, to limit methane emissions driven by oil and gas projects. Some Texas officials argue the methane regulations will kill jobs.

Cyrus Reed, conservation director of the Sierra Club's Lone Star Chapter says 72% of the 600 registered voters polled believe otherwise.

"Voters do care," he said. "They care about air quality, they care about climate change - and a majority of them actually think regulations will lead to more job growth than any job loss that potentially could occur in the oil and gas field."

Rule finalization is expected ahead of November's United Nations Climate Change Conference in Dubai. The EPA took hundreds of comments from people across the country earlier this year about its proposed methane rules, hearing from callers in leading oil-and gas-producing states such as Texas, New Mexico and Pennsylvania.

Revised regulations are central to the EPA's strategy under President Joe Biden to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions. Reed noted that Texas, the largest oil-producing state in the nation, does not have broad, independent methane regulations outside of those imposed by the federal government.

"It's also important for Texans to know that because we haven't had political leadership on these issues in Texas, we're really counting on the EPA to go forward with a regulation that not only covers new wells, but covers existing wells where we have a lot of the problem," he explained.

The EPA's methane regulations would reduce emissions 87% below 2005 levels by 2030. Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, El Paso and San Antonio made the top 25 most polluted U.S. metro areas in the 2023 "State of the Air" report by the American Lung Association.

By Dawn Attride for Sentient.
Broadcast version by Roz Brown for New Mexico News Connection reporting for the Sentient-Public News Service Collaboration

Hundreds of climate workers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have now been fired for the second time after the Supreme Court reversed a lower court decision on an initial dismissal. This move brings the total toll of fired federal employees up to about 16,000 - jeopardizing vital work at NOAA, including marine pollution research, weather forecasting for hurricanes and tornadoes and decisions for local fisheries that help guard against overfishing. Gathering in Washington D.C. on April 2, Democrats from the House Natural Resources Committee and a range of experts convened to express outrage, and fear at the attacks on the agency.

"The problem is we fired the people that know how to operate the technology," Val Hoyle, Democrat Member of Congress from Oregon's 4th District, told reporters at the forum. "They fired the people that know how to operate our tsunami warning system."

Cuts to an Underfunded Agency Threatens Public Safety

The agency is no stranger to budget challenges. In 2021, a chief scientist for NOAA described the institution as a "$12 billion agency trapped in a $5.5 billion budget," highlighting the longstanding discrepancy between the agency's value and its funding.

More cuts to funding and staff will only make this disconnect worse, according to the Representative from Rhode Island's 2nd District. "The assertion that mass layoffs will somehow improve efficiency is not only misleading, it is outright dangerous," said Rep. Seth Magaziner at the livestreamed public forum held on Capitol Hill.

"Real people's jobs and lives are on the line. Without NOAA's real time data, emergency responders are left without the critical information they need to respond to impending disasters like wildfires, hurricanes, floods and severe storms, putting millions at risk," added Magaziner, who is a Democrat and member of the House Natural Resources Committee.

The current round of cuts to NOAA comes a couple of months ahead of peak hurricane season. Just last year, hurricanes Helene and Milton ripped through Florida and North Carolina, and local officials were able to rely on forecasting and storm tracking by NOAA during the season.

Natural disaster experts and government officials have raised concerns about what their natural disaster response will look like without extreme weather event predictions. "We have a buoy off the coast of Central Oregon that is part of our tsunami warning system. It's offline. We can't get any information," said Representative Hoyle.

The National Weather Service has also halted weather balloon launches at many of its offices due to lack of staff. The balloons are key to measure temperature and wind and also signal early warnings of tornadoes.

Guardrails on Overfishing Gutted Thanks to DOGE Cuts

Another key role of the agency is to help manage commercial fisheries. The agency's role in day-to-day operations enables fisheries to function, but also plays a role in protecting fish populations against overfishing, a practice responsible for an estimated 5.6 million metric tons of carbon emissions released into the atmosphere each year.

Though forum speakers described the industry as having a "love-hate relationship" with NOAA, both industry and policy representatives at the forum said that mass layoffs and regulatory freezes would have a crippling effect.

As a result of the layoffs, the Mid-Atlantic bluefin tuna fishery was not closed on schedule for instance, and was subsequently overfished by 125 percent, said Elizabeth Lewis, senior associate attorney at the public interest law firm, Eubanks & Associates, at the forum.

In February, President Trump retaliated against Maine's Governor Janet Mills for her opposition to his executive order to ban transgender athletes competing in women's sports. As a result, he temporarily froze the state's sea grant funding.

"Although funding was reinstated later, it left fishing communities across the country thinking about what would happen if the state sea grant offices that they depend on also became political footballs," said Sarah Schumann, a fisherman and advocate for local fisheries in Rhode Island. Schumann pointed out the fishing industry heavily relies on NOAA's data collection and forecasting to navigate U.S. waters amid a warming climate.

Salmon in Washington State are also under threat as cuts to NOAA employees continue, according to reporting from the New York Times. An employee who ensured salmon hatcheries followed the Endangered Species Act was fired - jeopardizing current and future fish populations.

Privatization of Weather Predictions Risks Accuracy

"There is no weather forecast that's produced in this country that isn't dependent on NOAA, none," said Mary Glackin at the forum. Glackin is a former deputy undersecretary at the agency and former employee at the National Weather Service. NOAA is currently operating billions of dollars worth of satellites and high performance weather infrastructure. Glackin worries that this technology and surveillance may be auctioned off to the highest bidder, which would create a monopoly among billionaires to utilize the service for private interests.

This isn't the first time these programs have been threatened with privatization, as many prior administrations looked to do the same. Yet, they all came to the same conclusion, said Democratic Rep. Melanie Stansbury from New Mexico. The data was so crucial to the public interest that they could not turn it over to the private sector.

If private sector ownership fails, Stansbury said, there would be catastrophic impacts. "It's very clear that at the end of the day when [Musk] leaves in a few weeks or a couple of months, all he's going to leave in his wake is a gigantic mess of court cases," Stanbury said, before pointing to "the loss of scientists and dismantled government programs that will take years to restore [and] that has undermined our standing internationally and undermined our ability to even predict the weather."

NOAA Plays Key Role in National Security

Decimating NOAA's workforce is the latest move in weakening national security preparedness, said Rear Admiral John White, the former president of the Consortium for Ocean Leadership and former superintendent of the Naval Observatory. Just last month, Atlantic journalist Jeffrey Goldberg was mistakenly added by elected officials to a group chat detailing foreign war plans.

White stressed the importance of NOAA data to military operations and bases at sea, highlighting that our knowledge of oceanography was key to victory in the Cold War.

"It worries me a lot because I know that there are men and women in uniform out there who rely on this information...to maintain our national security and home and away game advantage for years to come. I just don't know how that's going to turn out based on the current trend and I lose sleep every night," White said.

The Future of NOAA?

Democrats on the Natural Resources Committee have sent letters to NOAA officials to ask for more information, a briefing and proposed amendments to legislation so "that [their] committee's oversight plan would include an understanding of the impact of the gutting of NOAA."

So far, Republicans in Congress and Trump administration officials have refused all of their requests. The effects of agency cuts may be felt for years to come. "We are at a serious risk of alienating the next generation of scientists, policymakers and leaders who would help the United States weather future storms," said public interest attorney Lewis.


Dawn Attride wrote this article for Sentient.


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As oil and gas well sites pop up next to more Colorado neighborhoods, residents are gathering evidence to hold operators accountable for toxic emissions, which are invisible to the naked eye.

Bobbie Mooney, staff attorney for the advocacy group 350 Colorado, a nonprofit organizing tours and training, said using optical gas-imaging technology, everyday Coloradans can now see the single largest source of air pollution along the Front Range with their own eyes.

"We've been in violation of federal health-based standards for over a decade," Mooney pointed out. "Despite a lot of talk and efforts to change rules and regulations, unfortunately we have not seen an improvement in air quality here."

Colorado is the nation's fourth-largest oil and gas producer, and there are currently more than 46,000 active wells, up 25% since 2009, largely due to expanded fracking operations. The Trump administration would like to see the number go up and has promised to roll back regulations in order to achieve its goal of energy dominance.

The American Lung Association's latest State of the Air Report Card gave Colorado's Front Range an "F" for poor air quality due to ground-level ozone and particle pollution.

Mooney noted toxic emissions from oil and gas sites such as benzine pose serious threats to human health at every stage of life.

"Regulations are really the only line of defense that Coloradans have to protect our health and safety from the impacts of oil and gas extraction," Mooney emphasized. "Everything from air pollution to water consumption to habitat destruction."

To get the optical gas imaging camera into the hands of more communities, 350 Colorado has partnered with Earthworks. Mooney added tour participants also get tips on how to let lawmakers know what they saw, and how to push leaders to protect themselves, their family, and their neighbors.

"We also encourage participants to write a public comment," Mooney urged. "To their local county or city, or to the state government agencies, like the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission, or the Department of Public Health and Environment that regulates air quality."


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Bad air quality days are a heightened concern as ozone season begins in North Carolina.

Ozone season in the state lasts from March through October, when hot weather increases the prevalence of ground-level ozone.

Rafaella Vaca, education manager for the advocacy group CleanAIRE NC, said there are health effects from poor ozone days.

"Symptoms like shortness of breath, coughing and throat irritation as short term impacts," Vaca explained. "Over time, it can cause inflamed airways and worsen conditions like asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, and also increase your susceptibility to lung infections."

Ground-level ozone forms from chemical reactions between nitrogen oxides and organic compounds emitted from car exhaust, aerosols and manufacturing facilities.

Vaca acknowledged the effects of bad ozone are not often discussed, probably in part because it cannot be seen, even though it contributes to smog.

"It's not emitted directly from car emissions but it forms when pollutants come together in sunlight," Vaca noted. "It's a little bit more of a complicated process."

Vaca emphasized there are ways for people to protect themselves and others, including by driving less and using public transportation more often. People can also check the Air Quality Index and limit activities outside when levels are high.

Vaca argued regulatory agencies like the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality can do more to protect people.

"They need to consider all air emissions and contaminations that can affect your well-being," Vaca urged. "Unfortunately, that's not currently how this system works because each air pollution permit is evaluated as and only one pollution source to consider versus considering all of them at once."