Ben Cowles
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DONALD TRUMP put humanity another step closer to ecological Armageddon today as his administration rolled back regulations on methane leaks.
The fossil gas, considered more damaging to the Earth’s environment than carbon dioxide, is frequently secreted into the atmosphere by oil and gas companies by leaks or is intentionally released during drilling operations.
Rolling back the regulations means fossil fuel companies in the US will face less stringent enforcement to monitor and plug methane leaks.
Left-wing Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders said this latest move shows “the president and his billionaire friends are a threat to our entire planet.”
“The Amazon is being destroyed. So Trump opens [the US’s] largest rainforest, Tongass National Forest, to logging and mining.
“Methane emissions surge worldwide. Trump’s [Environmental Protection Agency] will make them grow faster.”
The founder of environmental organisation 350.org Bill McKibben said the move was “literally insane.”
“The fracking boom is spewing clouds of methane,” Mr McKibben said. “It’s a huge driver of climate change and now we’re going to drop the minimal regulation we’ve had in place.
“Trump and his buddies are pure nihilists.”
