Recent comments in /f/science

Deafcat22 t1_j9hprv7 wrote

Reply to New research using advanced technology suggests heavy oil facilities in Saskatchewan are releasing almost four times as much methane as they report to government. by avogadros_number

What's worse, really:

You show the provincial government of Saskatchewan these thorough figures, they won't bat an eye. We have a highly conservative government here with seemingly little care regarding emissions and greenhouse gases.

In all of Canada, our province also has the highest greenhouse gas emissions per capita in the nation... We're #1 even without being honest about how much we're actually emitting (no doubt much more, all across the board).

(Edit: in gross emissions, we're #4 highest, but only the 6th most populous province).

It is rather embarrassing. Especially when considering the long term negative impacts Canada is sure to experience from climate change.

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Mete11uscimber t1_j9hp5de wrote

Reply to Emotion dysregulation predicts belief in conspiracy theories, study finds by lolfuys

I'm glad that they took a sample from a country other than the US. We seem to have a high percentage of conspiracy theorists compared to other countries, so that's a good control method. I don't think they broke any new ground on the topic as it's pretty obvious that the belief in conspiracy theories tends to stem from fear, but it is an interesting read nonetheless.

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avogadros_number OP t1_j9hocdi wrote

Reply to New research using advanced technology suggests heavy oil facilities in Saskatchewan are releasing almost four times as much methane as they report to government. by avogadros_number

Study (open access): Methane Venting at Cold Heavy Oil Production with Sand (CHOPS) Facilities Is Significantly Underreported and Led by High-Emitting Wells with Low or Negative Value

>Abstract

>Cold Heavy Oil Production with or without Sand, CHOP(S), facilities produce a significant portion of Canada’s conventional oil. Methane venting from single-well CHOPS facilities in Saskatchewan, Canada was measured (i) using Bridger Photonics’ airborne Gas Mapping LiDAR (GML) at 962 sites and (ii) on-site using an optical mass flux meter (VentX), ultrasonic flow meter, and QOGI camera at 11 sites. The strong correlation between ground measurements and airborne GML supported subsequent detailed analysis of the aerial data and to our knowledge is the first study to directly test the ability of airplane surveys to accurately reproduce mean emission rates of unsteady sources. Actual methane venting was found to be nearly four times greater than the industry-reported levels used in emission inventories, with ∼80% of all emissions attributed to casing gas venting. Further analysis of site-total emissions revealed potential gaps in regulations, with 14% of sites appearing to exceed regulated limits while accounting for 61% of measured methane emissions. Finally, the concept of marginal wells was adapted to consider the inferred cost of methane emissions under current carbon pricing. Results suggest that almost a third of all methane is emitted from environmentally marginal wells, where the inferred methane cost negates the value of the oil produced. Overall, the present results illustrate the importance of independent monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) to ensure accuracy in reporting and regulatory compliance, and to ensure mitigation targets are not foiled by a collection of disproportionately high-emitting sites.

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Reply to New research using advanced technology suggests heavy oil facilities in Saskatchewan are releasing almost four times as much methane as they report to government. by avogadros_number

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