SpaceX making a well to power the human colonization of mars is a drop in the bucket vs all the other wells in the state.
It doesn't matter what Musk does with the methane, what matters is that he's at best exploiting loopholes and at worst operating extrajudicially.
Also, SpaceX "powering the human colonization of Mars" is a pretty huge sip of the Kool Aid there. Given the founder's track record, it's about as believable as "fully self-driving cars in a year".
But, more importantly, it's irrelevant to the problem at hand, sidestepping the regulation process
Again, the EPA exists, so where are they in this? What loophole is SpaceX using to skirt around the EPA?
"The FTSE 250 group, which is the largest well owner in the US with over 61,000 in its portfolio, found itself on the defensive after a Bloomberg report said several wells owned by the company were leaking methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas."
[1] https://newsflash.one/2021/10/12/market-report-leaking-wells...
The document clearly states that Spacex has an application with the FAA for the use of the land as a Launch Site.
The subsidiary “Lone star mineral extraction” is an entity that purchased another company along with all their licenses for extraction rights in addition to seemingly applying for their own licenses.
I’d recommend you edit your comment to correct it. There is no sidestepping of regulations here, the regulations themselves cover different things and the article makes it sound like one set of regulations should cover these activities while clearly saying that it currently does not.
It doesn’t sound like it is happening here necessarily, but it does happen pretty frequently.
The FAA is subject to NEPA review, and hence any SpaceX activity in this area must go through the same process as every other industrial activity that impacts federal interests.
Protecting the environment is not the point of this stunt, is it?
“The ends” are the most laudable things I can imagine: electrifying the world and colonizing other celestial bodies.
While I love the goals, I am afraid of what a mission-driven person might rationalize and do to achieve them.
So unless there is something truly magical up someone’s sleeve, we need to keep Earth workable for us for the foreseeable future. And I think that is a good thing.
