The Environmental Protection Agency is investigating underreported methane emissions from landfills nationwide, and a recent report names Michigan as a major offender.

Methane is a potent greenhouse gas and a key focus in combating climate change. Experts warn methane emissions are spiraling out of control as they leak from landfills.

The advocacy group Industrious Labs reports Michigan landfills emit enough methane to equal 11 million metric tons of carbon dioxide, resulting in more waste per capita than any other state.

Kathrine Blauvelt, circular economy campaign director for Industrious Labs, highlighted the issue.

"Your landfills take in a lot of waste from out of state," Blauvelt pointed out. "You also have one of the lowest recycling rates in the nation. So, that brings Michigan to the place of being sixth in the whole country in the highest landfill methane emissions."

Blauvelt noted the good news is, the EPA and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer hold the pen to introduce tougher requirements for methane emissions standards, particularly with the clean energy legislation signed into law last year in Michigan.

Blauvelt said the EPA looked at dozens of inspection reports, which revealed a large amount of unchecked methane emissions at landfills in Michigan. She warned the situation is likely to be even worse than the numbers currently indicate, due to the emergence of what she calls "methane super-emitter events."

"That's your really, really large -- you can see it from space, you can see it from air -- emissions of methane," Blauvelt explained. "Those are now being detected across the globe by technology."

Blauvelt also mentioned the EPA only requires landfills to conduct methane leak inspections four times a year, using what she described as inadequate methods.

"They have a human being do it, walking across, you can imagine, many, many miles," Blauvelt observed. "It could hot, right? That can be dangerous for the person to walk a landfill. So, it's not surprising that landfills are missing these big methane leaks."

She argued employing drones, satellites and other technology would help to safely and more accurately locate methane leaks.


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A New Mexico advocacy group is reminding lawmakers the state must revise its approach to extreme heat, air pollution and the oil and gas industry if families and communities are to survive the changing climate.

Despite major wildfires in recent years, the state has only three air-quality monitors, all placed in major cities.

Charles Goodmacher, founder of Do Good LLC, said at a recent hearing of the Water and Natural Resources Committee, the number could be increased by attaching them to the statewide network of weather stations.

"Then local communities could be much more aware of when they need to issue warnings to people to stay inside or to wear masks and other precautions," Goodmacher explained.

Las Cruces typically records the state's hottest summer temperatures, followed by Albuquerque. Multiple studies have shown hotter temperatures increase anger and aggression, which is thought to increase crime; another major topic facing lawmakers. The advocacy group wants a statewide public health and climate program established and a $10 million fund created to help towns and cities address climate needs.

Data show the Southwest is the fastest-warming area in the lower 48 states and Goodmacher suspects it could be contributing to New Mexico's increased crime in the past five years. He argued climate effects have been traced to negative impacts on the state budget.

"Loss of income to our rural and agricultural parts of the state. Farmers and ranchers are having to change their crops or change which breed of cattle," Goodmacher pointed out. "These kinds of things are happening already in New Mexico."

Efforts to reduce crime have been a major focus in New Mexico this month, with the governor holding a special legislative session. The governor's proposals were not approved, but lawmakers did OK funding to pay for those affected by the recent South Fork and Salt wildfires.

A hydrogen-powered ferry built in Washington state is operating in San Francisco Bay.

Clean energy advocates are hoping it spurs action closer to home. The Sea Change is the first ferry in the world to run entirely on zero-emission hydrogen fuel cells. Its exhaust is water, which is safe to drink.

Erika Thi Patterson, senior director of climate programs at Pacific Environment, was on the ship's inaugural trip July 19. She said it shows what is possible for other ferry fleets.

"We've heard from port and municipal leaders in other cities that are running ferry services, like New York and Seattle," Patterson noted. "They're interested in this technology and have said that they're looking for opportunities to deliver more hydrogen-fueled passenger ferries to their cities soon."

The ship was built by All American Marine in Bellingham. King County Metro aims to have a zero-emission transportation fleet by 2035.

Patterson argued decarbonizing maritime fleets is important in order to combat climate change as well as protect people's health.

"Reducing shipping emissions is not only an urgent priority for addressing our climate crisis," Patterson contended. "It's also critical to eliminating harmful pollution in port side communities, which tend to predominantly be working class communities of color."

Patterson added an interesting detail she learned on the Sea Change's maiden voyage is the ferry's only exhaust is water.

"It's so pure that you can actually drink it," Patterson observed. "There's a drinking fountain on board that allows passengers to drink the exhaust, which I did and it was very refreshing."

It has been less than four months since Michigan's Gun Lake Tribe received grants totaling $4 million for its plans to fight climate change.

Its electric infrastructure implementation project ramped up this spring.

Phyllis Davis, a tribal council member, said they are looking at ways to could increase efficiency and reduce negative environmental impacts on their area.

"Those dollars were used to replace existing vehicles, for the government campus and our gaming venue, with electric vehicles and charging systems that we will have installed throughout the footprint of our tribal campus," Davis outlined.

This month, the Gun Lake Tribe had a visit from U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who touted their successes so far and announced an additional $120 million in grant funding to help tribal communities around the country prepare for climate-related threats.

The money is part of a larger $560 million investment in tribal climate resilience programs. The focus is on making sure historically underfunded communities, and those seeing more pollution and environmental hazards, have a chance to improve their situations.

Davis pointed out the selection process for the funding was very competitive and shared why she believes the Gun Lake Tribe stood out among the other applicants.

"We do such a good job in grants and management, that every project that we've been awarded by the federal government, we have spent our dollars wisely," Davis explained. "We have fulfilled every objective. We've been highly successful."

Through federal initiatives, tribes can apply for grants for climate-related priorities, from planning and drought mitigation to wildfire prevention and coastal management.