Eds: Cronkite News is pleased to offer you this special weekend package of stories from the Gaslit project, an in-depth look at how U.S. oil and gas companies have burned off trillions of cubic feet of natural gas, often without the awareness of regulators trying to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions.
The project was produced by the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, an initiative of the Scripps Howard Foundation in honor of the late news industry executive and pioneer Roy W. Howard.
Please note: You are welcome to use the content, but you must include the mandatory credit noted at the bottom of each of the stories linked below. For questions about the project, please contact Howard Center for Investigative Journalism Executive Editor Maud Beelman, mbeelman@asu.edu; for problems with text or photos, please contact Steve Crane or Julia Thompson.
Gaslit: How the volume of greenhouse gases released by the oil and gas industry far exceeds what regulators think they know
Policymakers and regulators are largely unaware of the volumes of natural gas released and burned by the oil and gas industry — practices that emit a noxious cocktail of carbon dioxide, methane and other pollutants.
Slug: Gaslit-Texas. 4,310 words. By Laura Kraegel, Mollie Jamison and Aydali Campa | Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.
5 photos available.
Gaslit: Billions of dollars go up in smoke when the oil and gas industry flares natural gas
Every year, U.S. oil and gas companies set fire to billions of cubic feet of natural gas due to weak regulations, inefficient reporting and a lack of incentives to capture the gas.
Slug: Gaslit-Economics of Flaring. 2,230 words. By Nicole Sadek, Zoha Tunio and Sarah Hunt | Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.
4 photos available.
Gaslit: How one native American tribe is battling for control over flaring
The Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, home to a massive amount of natural gas flaring, is battling for regulatory control over this wasteful practice.
Slug: Gaslit-North Dakota. 3,020 words. By Isaac Stone Simonelli, Maya Leachman and Andrew Onodera | Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.
14 photos available.
Gaslit: How one state is straddling the divide between environmental action and energy revenue
New Mexico must balance new rules requiring oil and gas companies to cut the amount of methane-rich natural gas they push into the atmosphere, while still supporting an industry crucial to the state’s economy.
Slug: Gaslit-New Mexico. 2,760 words. By Isabel Koyama, Sarah Suwalsky, Jimmy Cloutier and Zach Van Arsdale | Howard Center for Investigative Journalism.
9 photos available.
Audio: Gaslit: Farmington, New Mexico at a crossroads
New Mexico is rolling out strict new regulations that will force its lucrative oil and gas industry to reduce methane emissions. But in Farmington, one of the oldest oil- and gas-producing areas in the Southwest, transitioning an energy economy may be easier said than done.
Audio available for download (note: some web browsers may not support direct download); an embed is also available.