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A gas flare is seen at an oil well site on outside Williston, North Dakota. (Photo: Andrew Burton/Getty Images)
In a widely anticipated move Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency yet again advanced President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda by weakening rules on oil and gas companies' emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane that were put in place by the Obama administration.
"These rollbacks distort and defy basic principles of science, economics, and policy design--an embarrassing admission that there's no real defense for the administration's demolition of meaningful methane rules."
--Julie McNamara, UCS
Following reports that the "sickening" policy change would come by the end of this week, former coal lobbyist and current EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler in Pittsburgh formally announced two final rules removing the "burdensome and ineffective regulations" on the oil and gas industry.
"This decision is mind-bogglingly stupid and destructive," declared Liz Jones, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. "There are few things worse for the climate than the methane spewed by the oil and gas sector, and the solutions are readily available."
"Even for the Trump administration," Jones said, "this is an appalling new low."
The new EPA policies effectively free fossil companies "from the need to detect and repair methane leaks--even as new research shows that far more of the potent greenhouse gas is seeping into the atmosphere than previously known," the New York Timesreported Thursday.
"Over the past few years there has been an explosion of new research on this, and the literature has coalesced--80% of papers show that methane from oil and gas leaks is two to three times higher than the EPA's estimates," Robert Howarth, an earth systems scientist at Cornell University, told the Times.
"It's crazy to roll back this rule," warned Howarth, who last year published a study on North American gas production and methane emissions. "Twenty-five percent of the human-caused warming over the past 20 years is due to methane. Methane is going up. We need it to go down."
\u201cNEW: EPA rescinded regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas companies just as the potent greenhouse gas -- which traps ~90x more heat than CO2 over 2 decades -- is soaring to record levels in the atmosphere\n\nA scientist called it "shortsighted." \nhttps://t.co/UUneeJ3S8a\u201d— Alexander Kaufman (@Alexander Kaufman) 1597349205
Julie McNamara, senior analyst in the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), concurred that methane emissions need to be urgently reduced and condemned the Trump administration for enabling the fossil fuel industry to "pollute with impunity, pocketing short-term profits while leaving communities to deal with the damage for decades to come."
"These rollbacks distort and defy basic principles of science, economics, and policy design--an embarrassing admission that there's no real defense for the administration's demolition of meaningful methane rules," McNamara added. "The idea that the oil and gas industry will control these emissions on their own, without strong standards and enforcement, doesn't pass the laugh test."
Adrian Shelley, director of Public Citizen's Texas office, also called out the administration for catering to the wishes of polluters and propping up a "failing industry." He warned in a statement Thursday:
This damaging new rule won't save fossil fuel corporations, it won't bring the U.S. closer to energy independence, and it won't protect people from dangerous air pollution. It hurts everyone.
In Texas alone, drillers waste 1.4 million tonnes of methane gas each year--enough to supply every home in Dallas and Houston combined. Natural gas companies don't want to waste natural gas, and they supported the Obama-era rule and were planning accordingly. Trump's backward-looking policy deprives industry of what it craves most: regulatory certainty. It only moves the goalposts for a struggling industry.
David Doniger, senior strategic director of Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate & Clean Energy Program, vowed that his organization will fight back against the administration's latest environmental rollback.
"We cannot protect the health of our children and grandchildren, especially in the most polluted and endangered communities, if the EPA lets this industry off scot-free," Doniger said. "We will see EPA in court."
Earthjustice associate attorney Caitlin Miller also pledged to take legal action in response to the new EPA policies.
"With these rollbacks, the Trump administration is compounding an unprecedented public health crisis by exacerbating another," Miller said. "We need strong methane standards to keep our air clean and safe to breathe, and combat the climate crisis."
"EPA must prioritize our health and safety over the profits of oil and gas companies," she added, "and we will hold them accountable in court."
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
In a widely anticipated move Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency yet again advanced President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda by weakening rules on oil and gas companies' emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane that were put in place by the Obama administration.
"These rollbacks distort and defy basic principles of science, economics, and policy design--an embarrassing admission that there's no real defense for the administration's demolition of meaningful methane rules."
--Julie McNamara, UCS
Following reports that the "sickening" policy change would come by the end of this week, former coal lobbyist and current EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler in Pittsburgh formally announced two final rules removing the "burdensome and ineffective regulations" on the oil and gas industry.
"This decision is mind-bogglingly stupid and destructive," declared Liz Jones, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. "There are few things worse for the climate than the methane spewed by the oil and gas sector, and the solutions are readily available."
"Even for the Trump administration," Jones said, "this is an appalling new low."
The new EPA policies effectively free fossil companies "from the need to detect and repair methane leaks--even as new research shows that far more of the potent greenhouse gas is seeping into the atmosphere than previously known," the New York Timesreported Thursday.
"Over the past few years there has been an explosion of new research on this, and the literature has coalesced--80% of papers show that methane from oil and gas leaks is two to three times higher than the EPA's estimates," Robert Howarth, an earth systems scientist at Cornell University, told the Times.
"It's crazy to roll back this rule," warned Howarth, who last year published a study on North American gas production and methane emissions. "Twenty-five percent of the human-caused warming over the past 20 years is due to methane. Methane is going up. We need it to go down."
\u201cNEW: EPA rescinded regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas companies just as the potent greenhouse gas -- which traps ~90x more heat than CO2 over 2 decades -- is soaring to record levels in the atmosphere\n\nA scientist called it "shortsighted." \nhttps://t.co/UUneeJ3S8a\u201d— Alexander Kaufman (@Alexander Kaufman) 1597349205
Julie McNamara, senior analyst in the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), concurred that methane emissions need to be urgently reduced and condemned the Trump administration for enabling the fossil fuel industry to "pollute with impunity, pocketing short-term profits while leaving communities to deal with the damage for decades to come."
"These rollbacks distort and defy basic principles of science, economics, and policy design--an embarrassing admission that there's no real defense for the administration's demolition of meaningful methane rules," McNamara added. "The idea that the oil and gas industry will control these emissions on their own, without strong standards and enforcement, doesn't pass the laugh test."
Adrian Shelley, director of Public Citizen's Texas office, also called out the administration for catering to the wishes of polluters and propping up a "failing industry." He warned in a statement Thursday:
This damaging new rule won't save fossil fuel corporations, it won't bring the U.S. closer to energy independence, and it won't protect people from dangerous air pollution. It hurts everyone.
In Texas alone, drillers waste 1.4 million tonnes of methane gas each year--enough to supply every home in Dallas and Houston combined. Natural gas companies don't want to waste natural gas, and they supported the Obama-era rule and were planning accordingly. Trump's backward-looking policy deprives industry of what it craves most: regulatory certainty. It only moves the goalposts for a struggling industry.
David Doniger, senior strategic director of Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate & Clean Energy Program, vowed that his organization will fight back against the administration's latest environmental rollback.
"We cannot protect the health of our children and grandchildren, especially in the most polluted and endangered communities, if the EPA lets this industry off scot-free," Doniger said. "We will see EPA in court."
Earthjustice associate attorney Caitlin Miller also pledged to take legal action in response to the new EPA policies.
"With these rollbacks, the Trump administration is compounding an unprecedented public health crisis by exacerbating another," Miller said. "We need strong methane standards to keep our air clean and safe to breathe, and combat the climate crisis."
"EPA must prioritize our health and safety over the profits of oil and gas companies," she added, "and we will hold them accountable in court."
In a widely anticipated move Thursday, the Environmental Protection Agency yet again advanced President Donald Trump's deregulatory agenda by weakening rules on oil and gas companies' emissions of the potent greenhouse gas methane that were put in place by the Obama administration.
"These rollbacks distort and defy basic principles of science, economics, and policy design--an embarrassing admission that there's no real defense for the administration's demolition of meaningful methane rules."
--Julie McNamara, UCS
Following reports that the "sickening" policy change would come by the end of this week, former coal lobbyist and current EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler in Pittsburgh formally announced two final rules removing the "burdensome and ineffective regulations" on the oil and gas industry.
"This decision is mind-bogglingly stupid and destructive," declared Liz Jones, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. "There are few things worse for the climate than the methane spewed by the oil and gas sector, and the solutions are readily available."
"Even for the Trump administration," Jones said, "this is an appalling new low."
The new EPA policies effectively free fossil companies "from the need to detect and repair methane leaks--even as new research shows that far more of the potent greenhouse gas is seeping into the atmosphere than previously known," the New York Timesreported Thursday.
"Over the past few years there has been an explosion of new research on this, and the literature has coalesced--80% of papers show that methane from oil and gas leaks is two to three times higher than the EPA's estimates," Robert Howarth, an earth systems scientist at Cornell University, told the Times.
"It's crazy to roll back this rule," warned Howarth, who last year published a study on North American gas production and methane emissions. "Twenty-five percent of the human-caused warming over the past 20 years is due to methane. Methane is going up. We need it to go down."
\u201cNEW: EPA rescinded regulations on methane emissions from oil and gas companies just as the potent greenhouse gas -- which traps ~90x more heat than CO2 over 2 decades -- is soaring to record levels in the atmosphere\n\nA scientist called it "shortsighted." \nhttps://t.co/UUneeJ3S8a\u201d— Alexander Kaufman (@Alexander Kaufman) 1597349205
Julie McNamara, senior analyst in the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), concurred that methane emissions need to be urgently reduced and condemned the Trump administration for enabling the fossil fuel industry to "pollute with impunity, pocketing short-term profits while leaving communities to deal with the damage for decades to come."
"These rollbacks distort and defy basic principles of science, economics, and policy design--an embarrassing admission that there's no real defense for the administration's demolition of meaningful methane rules," McNamara added. "The idea that the oil and gas industry will control these emissions on their own, without strong standards and enforcement, doesn't pass the laugh test."
Adrian Shelley, director of Public Citizen's Texas office, also called out the administration for catering to the wishes of polluters and propping up a "failing industry." He warned in a statement Thursday:
This damaging new rule won't save fossil fuel corporations, it won't bring the U.S. closer to energy independence, and it won't protect people from dangerous air pollution. It hurts everyone.
In Texas alone, drillers waste 1.4 million tonnes of methane gas each year--enough to supply every home in Dallas and Houston combined. Natural gas companies don't want to waste natural gas, and they supported the Obama-era rule and were planning accordingly. Trump's backward-looking policy deprives industry of what it craves most: regulatory certainty. It only moves the goalposts for a struggling industry.
David Doniger, senior strategic director of Natural Resources Defense Council's Climate & Clean Energy Program, vowed that his organization will fight back against the administration's latest environmental rollback.
"We cannot protect the health of our children and grandchildren, especially in the most polluted and endangered communities, if the EPA lets this industry off scot-free," Doniger said. "We will see EPA in court."
Earthjustice associate attorney Caitlin Miller also pledged to take legal action in response to the new EPA policies.
"With these rollbacks, the Trump administration is compounding an unprecedented public health crisis by exacerbating another," Miller said. "We need strong methane standards to keep our air clean and safe to breathe, and combat the climate crisis."
"EPA must prioritize our health and safety over the profits of oil and gas companies," she added, "and we will hold them accountable in court."
"The president single-handedly wiped out Americans' retirement savings overnight and subjected businesses to intense whiplash with his increasingly erratic and chaotic policies that continue to drive consumer and business uncertainty."
Alarm over U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs continues to grow, with stocks plummeting and JPMorgan warning that "the risk of recession in the global economy this year is raised to 60%, up from 40%."
After China announced new 34% tariffs on all American goods beginning next week, The Associated Press reported Friday that "the S&P 500 was down 4.8% in afternoon trading, after earlier dropping more than 5%, following its worst day since Covid wrecked the global economy in 2020. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 1,719 points, or 4.3%, as of 1:08 p.m. Eastern time, and the Nasdaq composite was 4.9% lower."
Noting the state of Wall Street this week, Groundwork Collaborative executive director Lindsay Owens declared in a Friday statement that "Trump has officially brought the economy to its knees."
"The president single-handedly wiped out Americans' retirement savings overnight and subjected businesses to intense whiplash with his increasingly erratic and chaotic policies that continue to drive consumer and business uncertainty," she said. "To call this an economic downturn is an understatement; Trump is marching us straight into a depression."
Political and economic observers have been publicly wondering for weeks if Trump is intentionally crashing the economy. Further fueling those fears, he ramped up his trade war on Wednesday by announcing a minimum 10% tariff for imports, with higher levies for dozens of countries. Although he claimed those steeper duties are "reciprocal," his math "horrified" economists and has been called "crazy."
Responding in a Thursday note titled, There Will Be Blood, head of global economic research Bruce Kasman and other experts at JPMorgan wrote that "if sustained, this year's ~22%-point tariff increase would be the largest U.S. tax hike since 1968."
"The effect of this tax hike is likely to be magnified—through retaliation, a slide in U.S. business sentiment, and supply chain disruptions," states the note, which came before China's announcement.
As Bloomberg reported:
Several Wall Street firms on Thursday warned of a U.S. recession, with some making it their base case, after... Trump announced major levies on goods imported from countries around the world. Other economists, including those at JPMorgan, said the hit could be big, though they are taking a wait-and-see approach before revising their projections.
The announcement rocked global financial markets, and the S&P 500 suffered its worst day since 2020. Trump, speaking on Air Force One on Thursday afternoon, said he was open to reducing tariffs if trading partners were able to offer something "phenomenal."
"We are not making immediate changes to our forecasts and want to see the initial implementation and negotiation process that takes hold," the JPMorgan note says. "However, we view the full implementation of announced policies as a substantial macroeconomic shock not currently incorporated in our forecasts. We thus emphasize that these policies, if sustained, would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year."
The team also pointed out that the United States is in potential danger no matter how other countries are ultimately impacted, calling a "scenario where rest of world muddles through a U.S. recession possible but less likely than global downturn."
As Common Dreams reported last week, in anticipation of Trump's tariff announcement, Goldman Sachs published a research note projecting that the odds of a recession in the next year are 35%, up from 20%.
Other financial industry research firms that have recently warned of a possible recession include Barclays, BofA Global Research, Deutsche Bank, RBC Capital Markets, and UBS Global Wealth Management, according to Reuters.
"This is a game-changer, not only for the U.S. economy, but for the global economy. Many countries will likely end up in a recession," Olu Sonola, head of U.S. economic research at Fitch Ratings, said in a late Wednesday note about the levies. "You can throw most forecasts out the door, if this tariff rate stays on for an extended period of time."
Experts have made similar comments to the press in the wake of the president's Rose Garden remarks on Wednesday. Time on Friday shared some from Brian Bethune, a Boston College economics professor:
"[Consumers] are not even going to the grocery store and paying more for vegetables because there's none available from Mexico, or going to Whole Foods, for example, and finding the big sections of fresh fruit are being shut down. They haven't really felt the full impact [yet], and they're already saying something isn't right," Bethune says.
However, while some economists... are more cautious in their discussion about a possible recession, Bethune says it's "inevitable." The question, he says, is just how long until it happens and for how long will it occur? He sees Trump's admission of there being " some pain" on the horizon as only proof of the inevitability.
"At least they [the Trump administration] are not pretending that it's not disruptive, but they're basically soft-selling it, reflecting their ignorance about the way business operates," Bethune claims.
Also on Friday, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released the latest U.S. jobs data. Although the unemployment rate rose from 4.1% to 4.2% in March, the economy added 228,000 jobs, which was better than expected.
However, economists warn of what lies ahead. As University of Michican economics professor Betsey Stevenson put it, "Today's jobs report is like looking at your vacation photos after you had a horrible car crash on the way home."
"Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line," wrote one union.
In what one outlet has reported is slated to be the largest single-day action to resist the Trump administration since U.S. President Donald Trump's return to power, hundreds of thousands of people nationwide are planning to mobilize on Saturday to say: "Hands Off!"
A list of locations for the events, which are not all slated to start at the same time on Saturday, can be found here.
Trump and Musk "think this country belongs to them," according to a website for the Hands Off! events. "This is a nationwide mobilization to stop the most brazen power grab in modern history."
"They want to strip America for parts—shuttering Social Security offices, firing essential workers, eliminating consumer protections, and gutting Medicaid—all to bankroll their billionaire tax scam. They're handing over our tax dollars, our public services, and our democracy to the ultra-rich," according to the website's about page, which also notes nonviolent action is a "core principle" behind the events.
A spokesperson for the events told Common Dreams on Friday afternoon that the events have generated over 500,000 signups nationally, a number that is "growing rapidly," and there are over 1,000 events taking place on Saturday, a number that is "also growing steadily."
The actions are the latest warning sign for the Republican Party under Trump, who has allowed Elon Musk to play a core role in his administration, particularly in the administration's efforts to carry out cuts to federal personnel and spending.
Musk poured millions of dollars into a high-profile Wisconsin Supreme Court election that took place on April 1—helping to make it the most expensive judicial election in U.S. history by one tally—only to have his preferred candidate, judge Brad Schimel, lose.
"This is a huge signal from a battleground state that Americans are genuinely upset, genuinely angry, I think, with Trump and with Musk," said John Nichols, a correspondent for That Nation, when recapping the outcome of the race on Democracy Now!
Dozens of unions, watchdogs, and advocacy groups—such as Service Employees International Union (SEIU), Americans for Tax Fairness, and Accountable.US—are supporting the action as partners.
"People nationwide are rising up at hundreds of events to say one thing loud and clear: Hands Off!" wrote SEIU on the platform X, which is owned by Musk, on Friday. "Immigration. Medicaid. Workers' rights. Unions. Education. You name it—we're drawing the line."
The environmentalist iIll McKibben wrote on Bluesky on Wednesday: "Expect to see a lot of gray hair at the April 5 Hands Off rallies—we've been organizing like crazy at Third Act," a group that mobilizes Americans over the age of 60.
In early February, anti-Trump "Movement 50501" protests took place nationwide and protestors united under the slogan #TakedownTesla have also targeted Tesla, Musk's electric vehicle company, in recent weeks.
One union leader called President Donald Trump's executive order "the most significant assault on collective bargaining rights we have ever seen in the United States."
A coalition of labor unions representing federal workers across the United States sued the Trump administration on Friday over its recent order aimed at stripping union rights from more than a million government employees, a move that the lawsuit characterizes as a blatant violation of the First Amendment.
The suit, brought by unions that collectively represent more than 950,000 federal workers, stems from a March 27 order titled "Exclusions From Federal Labor-Management Relations Programs," in which President Donald Trump cites a provision of a 1978 law to deny collective bargaining rights to certain government workers on national security grounds.
But the unions behind the new lawsuit say the national security justification is a smokescreen to hide the true intent of the order: further eroding workers' organizing rights.
"Federal employees have had the right to join a union and bargain collectively for decades—through multiple wars, international conflicts, and a global health emergency during President Trump's first term," said Everett Kelley, national president of the American Federation of Government Employees. "During all that time, they served the American people with honor and distinction. No one, including President Trump, ever suggested unions were a national security concern."
"Trump's newest order to revoke union rights is a clear case of retaliation," he added. "But I've got news for him: We are not going anywhere."
The lawsuit points specifically to language included in a fact sheet the White House released in conjunction with Trump's March 27 order. The document claims that "certain federal unions have declared war on President Trump's agenda," citing AFGE lawsuits against the administration and legal actions by Veterans Affairs unions.
Shortly after Trump signed the order last week, the administration sued AFGE and many of its local affiliates in federal court in an attempt to cancel dozens of collective bargaining agreements between unions and federal agencies. Reuters noted that the administration claimed the union contracts are impeding "Trump's abilities to purge the federal workforce and protect national security."
"The labor movement stands in solidarity, and we will not let this administration's union-busting tactics silence us."
The unions' new lawsuit states that the "avowedly retaliatory nature" of Trump's executive order and its "attempt to punish federal unions who engage in politically disfavored speech and petitioning activities and decline to 'work with' the president renders it unconstitutional under the First Amendment."
The lawsuit also notes that billionaire Elon Musk, the richest person in the world and a top Trump lieutenant, has used his social media platform to promote a recent post that attacked several federal workers' unions by name.
"The president's unlawful executive order attacking federal unions is not only an attack on a million federal workers but is a direct attack on all workers who seek a collective voice to bargain for a better future," April Verrett, president of the Service Employees International Union, said in a statement Friday. "This is blatant retaliation against brave workers who dared to exercise their First Amendment rights to criticize this administration's authoritarian overreach. The labor movement stands in solidarity, and we will not let this administration’s union-busting tactics silence us."
Randy Erwin, president of the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE), called Trump's order "the most significant assault on collective bargaining rights we have ever seen in the United States" and said it is "clear that this executive order is retaliation for federal unions fighting back against the Trump administration's attempts to dismantle the civil service."
"This is yet another direct attack by the President not only on federal employees, but also veterans, working families, and the very fabric of our democracy," said Erwin. "However, federal workers' collective bargaining rights are protected by law and President Trump does not have the right to unilaterally eliminate them. NFFE and our allies are confident the rule of law will be upheld, and the critical rights of working people will be protected."