Massive Methane Leak Impacts Southern California

The goal of one of the most ponderous pieces of legislation ever to be generated in the Golden State, the Global Warming Solutions Act, was to substantially reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions.

Any gains that could be claimed, albeit questionably, from enforcement of this economy-crushing rule have essentially been wiped out by a massive leak of methane. The steady, significant release from an underground gas pipe in the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles began in October.

…Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has called the leak an “environmental disaster,” and the Los Angeles Unified School District shuttered two area schools for the rest of the year.

Politicians and environmentalists in California are particularly sensitive to the toll the leak may take on the environment, especially after Gov. Jerry Brown doubled down earlier this year on the state’s efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions...