— Native American Methane Capture

Growing hope, shrinking methane

November 16, 2017
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Sometimes you have to see it to believe it.

The problem with methane, a greenhouse gas 25 times more powerful than CO2, is that it is colorless and odorless and cannot be seen with the naked eye. So NASA used satellite technology to identify sources of methane emissions in the United States. What they found was stunning. The circled area on the map shows a methane plume in the San Juan Basin as large as the state of Delaware.

In our previous update, we described how this project helps the Southern Ute Indian tribe capture methane emissions on their reservation in the San Juan Basin, preventing over 60,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas from entering the atmosphere every year. Since then, the tribe has stepped up again, voluntarily investing in costly equipment upgrades to enhance efficiency and methane capture. And now, undaunted and always determined, the tribe is formulating plans to expand the scope of the project even further.

The Southern Ute Indian Tribe does all of this simply because they think it is the right thing to do. Tribal Council Chairman Clement Frost says it best: “The tribe and our members have long held the view that air quality—  and a clean environment in general—are values we hold dear.” For your continued support, and because you, too, share those noble values, “Thank you!”

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