Let’s Put a Lid on NM’s Giant Super Pollutant Cloud

Did you know that when NASA first detected a giant methane “hotspot” hovering over New Mexico’s San Juan Basin in 2014, experts thought their equipment was malfunctioning? It’s that big – and that serious.
Methane is a super pollutant that is an even more dangerous greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide—in terms of both climate change and quality of the air we breathe.
Methane escapes with other toxic air pollutants like volatile organic compounds that contribute to smog formation and carcinogens like benzene. That means when methane is leaked into our air, it can spike asthma attacks and cancer rates.
Strong rules that curb natural gas leaks and releases are an important first step we can take to reduce methane’s powerful impact on climate change and your health. Sign the petition in support of strong methane rules now.>>
New Mexico’s “hotspot” is the highest concentration of airborne methane in the nation – and it disproportionately impacts our rural, indigenous and Latino families in the Four Corners region by contributing to high rates of asthma in communities already coping with a legacy of air and water pollution.
Methane is responsible for about a quarter of the climate change impacts New Mexicans like you and me are already experiencing – dangerous impacts like extended drought and erratic wildfires. That’s because of methane’s capacity to trap over 80 times as much heat as carbon over 20 years can have huge ramifications for our ability to avert the worst impacts of climate change.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) are working on rules now – the first safeguards for our air ever put in place for the oil and gas industry – to reduce methane pollution from leaks and intentional venting and flaring. Our health will only be protected if we speak up now, urging the EPA and BLM to put strong rules in place. Sign the petition to our decision-makers now.>>