SANTA FE – A pollution survey using sensors on small airplanes to detect methane emissions across a major U.S. oil and natural gas production zone points to greater releases of the potent climate-warming gas than previously estimated by other methods, according to results published Wednesday.Underwritten by philanthropists and the fossil fuel industry, the study examined emissions from October 2018 through January 2020 across New Mexico’s portion of the Permian Basin, one of the world’s largest sources of oil and natural gas that extends into West Texas.The study estimated that methane emissions are equivalent to roughly 9% of the overall gas production in the surveyed area. That’s more than double the rate in several previous studies of the Permian Basin and national estimates by the U.S. government of natural gas lost to leaks and releases.“The bad news is that emissions in this time and this region were as high as they are,” said Evan Sherwin, co-author of the study and a research fellow at Stanford University’s department of energy resource engineering. “The good news is it was only about 1,000 sites out of 26,000 active wells. … It’s just a few percent that were emitting during this extensive study.”...Climate scientists have warned that without immediate and steep reductions in emissions of carbon dioxide and methane, the world will miss its chance to avert the most destructive and deadliest effects of climate change.
“One prosecution Hawley did handle as attorney general was a 2018 sexual abuse and domestic assault case against former Knox County Sheriff Robert Becker. According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol's probable cause statement, Becker was charged with violent sexual encounters against his former partner, who alleged he "choked" her with a shirt in one instance.
“Instead of bringing the case to trial, Hawley agreed to a plea deal in which Becker served no jail time and instead received two years of probation and resigned his office.”
...“In November 2020 a judge ruled that Becker had failed to complete the mandatory sexual offender counseling required under the plea bargain and sentenced him to 20 days of "shock incarceration" — jail time intended to "shock" an offender into avoiding future crimes.”
Hawley’s shortcomings on sex crimes were not confined to the ones detailed in the report. Soon after taking office in 2018, Hawley attempted to brush aside explosive allegations of sexual abuse by priests. He tried to pass the responsibility to local prosecutors saying he lacked jurisdiction, the Kansas City Star reported at the time.
