Coal, Not Fracking, Blamed for U.S. Methane Hot Spot

A tiny patch of the southwestern U.S. produces the nation’s highest concentrations of methane, the potent greenhouse gas that President Barack Obama has vowed to tackle as part of his assault on climate-change pollution.

The hot spot near the intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah (the Four Corners area) accounts for almost 10 percent of all methane from natural gas in the U.S., researchers said in a paper published today by the journal Geophysical Research Letters.  The area, about half the size of Connecticut, is a major source of gas harvested from coal mines, according to a National Aeronautics and Space Administration statement announcing the study.

The gas measured in the study comes from leaks in processing equipment.  Environmental groups have pushed Obama to regulate methane leaks as drilling using hydraulic fracturing has boomed.  Eric Kort, the paper’s lead researcher, said it’s a mistake to focus only on fracking rather than existing industries.

Coal, Not Fracking, Blamed for U.S. Methane Hot Spot