Research Paper on Energy and Environmental Issues in Texas

Introduction

Energy and environmental matters in Texas and the rest of the world have attracted a lot of attention in the past decade due to the increased awareness about global warming, climate change and the ways in which the governments can regulate pollution and usage of energy to save the situation. The governments across the world have set many regulations to guide companies on the ways in which they can manage the available resources. In the eight articles analyzed below, the matter is explained in different ways and it includes the impacts, occurrences, and regulations.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

The gathering lines, which refers to the small pipes that transport oil and gas between the wellheads and processing sites, pose a great danger to the people of Texas. The government is not keen on the regulations to guide on the installation and management of these lines and they leak and cause death to many residents. Texas had about 160,000 miles of rural gathering lines before 2014 and they have increased by about 14,000 since then. However, there is a need to regulate them and ensure there is responsible management to reduce their dangers.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/07/oil-gas-deadly-pipelines-no-rules/

For several times, Texas Senator Lois Kolkhorst has tried to suggest ways in which the law can protect the people whose land is taken up by the government and private companies for the purpose related to oil, roads building and fossil fuels constructions. Most of the landowners have cited poor payment and exploitation (Collier, 2019). There is a need to regulate the way the energy sector acquires land.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/04/gop-senator-oil-industry-clash-over-proposed-eminent-domain-reforms/

In a recent article last month, the Environmental Defense Fund stated that the oil producers were burning more oil than they reported to the state. The concern was that the companies drilling for fossil fuels in the Permian Basin were underreporting the number of fossil fuels burnt during their process (Anchondo, 2019). The companies were causing pollution through the emission of methane gas. The relevant agencies want the companies regulated and held accountable.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/02/20/railroad-commissioners-express-doubts-over-permian-basin-flaring/

Similar to the above findings, data from the government satellites show that the amount of natural gas burnt by the energy companies in 2017 was twice as much as they reported. An article in January this year explains the difference and how these companies get away with the illegal emissions (Collier, 2019). The rampant flaring is likely to cause many environmental challenges in the coming years.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/01/24/report-oil-producers-flaring-more-natural-gas-texas-reported/

In 2017, 275 companies in Texas confirmed that they were emitting 63 million pounds of toxic gases that could cause massive pollution. Most of these companies exceed the allowed amount of emissions as per their air permits and they claim the emissions are unavoidable. The law allows them to escape fines if they prove the emissions are unavoidable (Collier, 2019). However, there is a need to regulate it and protect the environment and the people, who are frequently affected by these pollutions.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2019/01/31/environment-texas-report-unauthorized-air-pollution/

The Permian Basin has experienced an increase in production and this has also led to increased pollution. The communities around the area and the planet could get affected more in future if no regulations are put in place (Collier, Hopkins and Leven, 2018). The increased production in West Texas causes many negative impacts on the environment and the people around the drilling areas.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/10/11/west-texas-becomes-worlds-extraction-colony-oil-gas-exports-surge/

Oil and gas drilling has skyrocketed in Texas and this is a windfall for the companies but a challenge to the communities in the area. The local people have tensions over the possible negative impacts of oil production. However, the constructions have experienced a boom as new pipelines get constructed (Hopkins and Collier, 2019). The energy sector is expected to increase its profits over the next few years, but there are concerns about the safety and pollution measures in place.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/29/oil-and-gas-surge-texas-coastline-triggers-building-boom-tensions/

In a different angle, the death and injuries associated with the oil exploration fields in the United States have raised alarm, with about 1,566 people dying in the oil fields between 2008 and 2017. The risks associated with the drilling and exploration are high and there is a need to set better measures to reduce the death rates (Morris, 2018). The energy and environmental sector have many challenges to deal with as seen in the analysis of the above eight articles.

Link: https://www.texastribune.org/2018/12/21/death-oilfields-fossil-fuel-boom-brings-mounting-risks/Policy Recommendation

Background of the Problem

The challenge in Texas is that there are many negative outcomes related to the increased oil production in the Permian Basin and there are no proper legal structures to regulate the industry. The efforts by the senator Lois Kolkhorst to regulate the way companies and the government acquires land have not been successful. The efforts of the local communities to protest the increased pollution have not been listened to and the gathering lines continue to cause deaths and possible dangers of explosions. Companies also emit higher levels of poisonous gases than what their permits allow and they attribute all that to technical failures, human error and other unavoidable causes. The government needs a comprehensive policy to regulate the construction of gathering lines, acquiring land, the safety of the workers and pollution. In other words, the problem is that Texas has the potential to grow the economy of the United States but there is a deficit in legal regulations in the energy and environmental operations.

Key Players and Trade-offs

The key players in the issue include the government, the private and public companies, and the local communities. The government is one of the primary stakeholders who control how the industry operates. The local and federal government dictates the way most of the energy production processes are conducted. For example, they give permits to the companies to regulate the number of emissions they are allowed. The government also helps in managing the distribution of resources in the region (Lee, 2015). Some of the trade-offs include the raising rent, population, and traffic. The local communities can already detect changes in the cost of living as a result of the influx of workers in the flow of resources in the area. The trade-offs above are some of the most inherent ones but there are many impacts expected in the future. If the r regulations by the senator succeed, other trade-offs like the cost of land will change. In her recommendations, land should be acquired in a transparent way (Collier, 2019). With the increased population in the area, there is a need to regulate the gathering lines to reduce the danger they cause (Lee and Soraghan, 2019). The current regulations will not balance the positives and negatives of energy production.

Specific Policy Recommendation and Justification

The policy that is required should look at the four major challenges facing the environment and the energy sector; the first one is pollution, whereby many companies emit many pollutants and the law has loopholes that allow them to do so as long as they can prove it was unavoidable. The policy should ensure strict measures to curb pollution and seal the loopholes. It should also address the issue of exploitation by the government and private companies in the process of acquiring land for public use. It should set up the standard processes to follow when deciding on the price of the land. The policy should also address the gathering lines and their dangers and ensure they are constructed in a secure way and regularly maintained. The justification is that these issues are the source of the many negative outcomes associated with oil production in the area. In conclusion, strict regulations are required to manage the energy and environmental issues in Texas.

References

Anchondo, A. (2019). Railroad Commissioners Voice Doubts that Permian Basin Flaring is More Prevalent than Reported. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2019/02/20/railroad-commissioners-express-doubts-over-permian-basin-flaring/

Collier, K. (2019). GOP Senator, Oil Industry Clash over Proposed Eminent Domain Reforms. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/04/gop-senator-oil-industry-clash-over-proposed-eminent-domain-reforms/

Collier, K. (2019). Report: Permian Basin Oil Producers Flaring More Natural Gas Than They Told the State. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2019/01/24/report-oil-producers-flaring-more-natural-gas-texas-reported/

Collier, K. (2019). Report: Unauthorized Air Pollution in Texas Up 27 Percent in 2017. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2019/01/31/environment-texas-report-unauthorized-air-pollution/

Collier, K., Hopkins, J.S. and Leven, R., (2018). As Oil and Gas Exports Surge, West Texas Becomes the World's "Extraction Colony." The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2018/10/11/west-texas-becomes-worlds-extraction-colony-oil-gas-exports-surge/

Hopkins, J.S. and Collier, K. (2019). A surge of Oil and Gas Flowing to Texas Coastline Triggers Building Boom, Tensions. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2018/11/29/oil-and-gas-surge-texas-coastline-triggers-building-boom-tensions/

Lee, J. (2015). The Regional Economic Impact of Oil and Gas Extraction in Texas. Energy Policy, 87, 60-71.

Lee, M. and Soraghan, M. (2019). Explosions from Unregulated Pipelines Can Kill in Texas While Energy Companies Go Unpunished, The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2019/03/07/oil-gas-deadly-pipelines-no-rules/

Morris, J. (2018). Death in the Oilfields: Fossil Fuel Boom Brings Mounting Risk of Death, Injuries. The Texas Tribune. Retrieved from https://www.texastribune.org/2018/12/21/death-oilfields-fossil-fuel-boom-brings-mounting-risks/