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Landfills are a major problem for the climate: They’re the United States’ third-largest source of methane, a greenhouse gas that traps 80 times as much heat as carbon dioxide in the short term. Last year, the federal government was poised to start reining in these emissions: In July, the Environmental Protection Agency announced that it would release new regulations to better detect and prevent methane leaks from landfills. The Trump administration, which has an...

Landfills in Colorado release millions of metric tons of greenhouse gasses each year as organic waste including food, paper and yard trimmings decomposes into the soil, contributing to global warming and harming human health.Colorado, as part of its multi-pronged approach to eliminate 90% of the state’s greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, is planning to address those landfill emissions next year with rules that could require operators to install new equipment to curb the amount of methane they rel...

DETROIT – Methane gas is leaking from Michigan landfills and it poses an environmental threat that goes far beyond our state. But there’s good news: technology is already available to help fix the problem - it’s just not being used. At 80 times the potency of carbon dioxide, methane is a potent greenhouse gas. A new study found significant methane leaks at landfills across the country, “including several in Michigan,” according to Katherine Blauvelt, campaign director with Industrious Labs, th...

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Landfills are the third-largest source of methane emissions both in the U.S. and globally. These emissions heat the atmosphere at about 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide over 20 years, but the methane that rises from the decomposing food and organic waste that ends up in landfills has thus far received much less attention in the fight against climate change than methane emissions from oil and gas infrastructure. Under the Clean Air Act, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is tasked with d...

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s method of detecting methane leaks at landfills is flawed, and emissions of this powerful heat-trapping gas are likely much higher than what is being reported, according to a new study analyzing landfills in Illinois and seven other states.Released Thursday by the environmental nonprofit Industrious Labs, the study is the most recent of several reports that show landfill operators are likely understating their annual emissions to the federal government a...

Last month, Tom Koutroulis, director of Orange County Waste & Recycling, signed off on a grant request that he hopes could fundamentally change how America handles one of the oldest but least understood drivers of global warming: garbage.It isn’t a huge ask as these things go; $25 million from a $5 billion fund overseen by the Environmental Protection Agency. The money would pay for what Koutroulis calls the “Smart Landfill System,” essentially a cluster of new technologies (specially equipped d...

Most Americans are unaware that reducing methane emissions is the single most impactful action we can take right now to slow global warming.This super-pollutant’s ability to trap heat and warm the planet is about 80 times greater than carbon dioxide. When people think of methane, it’s often of belching cows or leaking pipes, but our trash piling up in landfills is actually the third largest source of human-caused methane pollution in the United States.The California Air Resources Board (CARB) se...

When it comes to clean energy policy, legislative solutions are often in the spotlight. While legislation has a vital role to play in advancing our energy transition, there is an equally crucial, and often much less visible, path away from fossil fuels and toward a brighter, cleaner future. That path runs directly through state energy regulatory bodies, like public service or utility commissions. Regulation is where some of the most impactful decisions on energy generation, costs, and consumptio

From passing a landmark 100% carbon-free commitment to expanding solar access, Minnesota has stood out this year as a national leader in advancing clean energy. These legislative victories were years in the making and have the potential to usher in a resilient, clean energy future for Minnesota. But passing bills — no matter how transformative — is only one piece of the pie. Building on our clean energy momentum also requires leadership from the state’s energy regulatory body, the Public Utilit