Methane emissions, the main component of natural gas and a highly potent greenhouse gas — and their consequences for Pennsylvania in the natural gas age is the topic of April’s “Environmental Focus” now available online.

This edition of the PA Environmental Council’s monthly environmental affairs television program aired first on the Pennsylvania Cable Network (PCN) April 17.

Pennsylvania is the second-largest producer of natural gas in the United States; even conservative estimates of methane emissions from active and abandoned oil and gas wells make this issue a tremendous issue for the Commonwealth.

Methane, 80 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a near term time free, is responsible for about one-fourth of the global warming today.

The half-hour television show features Andrew Place, Vice Chairman of the Public Utility Commission, and one of the foremost experts on natural gas energy policy and technology.

Following Vice Chairman Place’s interview, a roundtable discussion composed of Sam Robinson from Gov. Tom Wolf’s Office of Policy and Planning, Andrew Williams of the Environmental Defense Fund, and PEC’s John Walliser continued the discussion.

“Any meaningful dialogue on climate change in Pennsylvania has to include reduction of methane emissions,” Walliser said. “Our knowledge of the true extent of these emissions in Pennsylvania is incomplete, and, as the recent gas leak in California’s Aliso Canyon illustrates, even one leak can result in very serious public health and environmental problem.”

Previous editions of “Environmental Focus” have featured topics such as outdoor recreation on Pennsylvania’s waterways, Pennsylvania’s state budget, the Pennsylvania Pipeline Infrastructure Taskforce, and the Delaware River Conservation Program with guests such as Department of Environmental Protection Secretary John Quigley, Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Adams Dunn, Rep. Kate Harper (R-Montgomery), and Andrew Johnson of the William Penn Foundation.

Click Here to watch this episode and to view past episodes of PEC’s Environmental Focus TV program.

More information about Pennsylvania’s methane reduction strategy is available at DEP’s Framework For Actions On Methane Reductions webpage.

For more information on programs, initiatives and special events, visit the PA Environmental Council website, visit the PEC Blog, follow PEC on Twitter or Like PEC on Facebook.  Click Here to receive regular updates from PEC.

NewsClips:

EPA Releases Rules To Curb Methane Leaks From Oil & Gas Industry

U.S. Proposes To Cut Oil & Gas Methane Emissions By Nearly Half

EPA Finalizes New Methane Standards For Oil & Gas Industry

U.S. Proposes To Cut Oil & Gas Methane Emissions By Nearly Half

Editorial: New Methane Regulation Clears Air

Is It Time For Climate Activists To Change Tactics?

Editorial: Climate Thugs, Colluding AGs

Ashley Funk: Coming Home To Coal PA Country

PA 2nd Only To NY In Number Of Invasive Forest Pests

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