MANY concerned about climate change, including President Obama, have embraced hydraulic fracturing for natural gas.
In his recent climate speech, the president went so far as to lump gas with renewables as “clean energy.”
As a longtime oil and gas engineer who helped develop shale fracking techniques for the Energy Department, I can assure you that this gas is not “clean.” Because of leaks of methane, the main component of natural gas, the gas extracted from shale deposits is not a “bridge” to a renewable energy future — it’s a gangplank to more warming and away from clean energy investments.
Methane is a far more powerful greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, though it doesn’t last nearly as long in the atmosphere. Still, over a 20-year period, one pound of it traps as much heat as at least 72 pounds of carbon dioxide. Its potency declines, but even after a century, it is at least 25 times as powerful as carbon dioxide. When burned, natural gas emits half the carbon dioxide of coal, but methane leakage eviscerates this advantage because of its heat-trapping power.
And methane is leaking, though there is significant uncertainty over the rate. But recent measurements by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration at gas and oil fields in California, Colorado and Utah found leakage rates of 2.3 percent to 17 percent of annual production, in the range my colleagues at Cornell and I predicted some years ago. This is the gas that is released into the atmosphere unburned as part of the hydraulic fracturing process, and also from pipelines, compressors and processing units. Those findings raise questions about what is happening elsewhere. The Environmental Protection Agency has issued new rules to reduce these emissions, but the rules don’t take effect until 2015, and apply only to new wells.
A 2011 study from the National Center for Atmospheric Research concluded that unless leaks can be kept below 2 percent, gas lacks any climate advantage over coal. And a studyreleased this May by Climate Central, a group of scientists and journalists studying climate change, concluded that the 50 percent climate advantage of natural gas over coal is unlikely to be achieved over the next three to four decades. Unfortunately, we don’t have that long to address climate change — the next two decades are crucial.
To its credit, the president’s plan recognizes that “curbing emissions of methane is critical.” However, the release of unburned gas in the production process is not the only problem.
The Latest Bing News on:
Warm Future
- Climate Leaders Debate Goal for Controlling Global Warmingon April 27, 2024 at 3:45 am
A new U.N. program highlights the disconnect between climate messaging and the growing possibility of overshooting a key global warming threshold ...
- Northeast Ohio weather: Warming trend is underwayon April 26, 2024 at 9:48 am
Freeze Warnings are in effect through 10 AM Thursday as temperatures overnight drop into the upper 20s to low 30s. Protect any sensitive plants if you have any outside! One more morning of patchy ...
- Warm, humid, and breezy southerly winds will continue with a few isolated thunderstorms returning by Friday afternoonon April 25, 2024 at 6:47 pm
Friday will feature mostly cloudy skies to go along with warm and humid conditions with highs in the middle 80′s. There is a 30% chance of a few widely scattered showers and isolated thunderstorms ...
- How WWF is preparing mangroves for a new climate futureon April 25, 2024 at 12:08 pm
WWF's Climate-Smart Mangrove Tool helps conserve mangrove forests by addressing climate threats through tailored management strategies and community engagement.
- Global warming could become 'main driver of biodiversity loss'on April 25, 2024 at 11:00 am
Worldwide biodiversity declined between 2 per cent and 11 per cent during the 20th century due to changes in land use ...
- Best weather model shows really warm start to Mayon April 22, 2024 at 7:38 pm
First look at the Euro’s high temperature forecast for May 1. This forecast shows surface temperatures will be about 10 degrees F to 12 degrees F above normal on May 2. The normal high then is 63 ...
- Warm weather expected for foreseeable futureon April 22, 2024 at 4:06 am
With that last blast of cold weather at our backs, it's hard not to worry that there's something else hiding around the corner. Lucky for us Brian Proctor a meteorologist with Environment and climate ...
- How extreme cold events fit into the global warming modelon April 19, 2024 at 12:53 pm
Global warming is undeniable, yet recent winters have witnessed record-breaking, extreme cold temperatures in unexpected areas.
- Climate damages by 2050 will be 6 times the cost of limiting warming to 2°on April 17, 2024 at 12:06 pm
While most academics may have considered the argument put to rest, it has enjoyed an extended life in the political sphere. Large unknowns remain about both the costs and benefits, which depend in ...
- Ice age climate analysis reduces worst-case warming expected from rising CO₂on April 17, 2024 at 11:00 am
As carbon dioxide accumulates in the atmosphere, the Earth will get hotter. But exactly how much warming will result from a certain increase in CO2 is under study. The relationship between CO2 and ...
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Warm Future
[google_news title=”” keyword=”Warm Future” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
The Latest Bing News on:
Curbing emissions of methane
- Curbing methane provides hope for climateon April 24, 2024 at 1:59 am
While climate scientists and politicians have so far focused primarily on carbon dioxide emissions, the looming threat of not reducing climate warming in the needed speed with the growing risk of ...
- Breeding cows that fart less could help curb global warming: new studyon April 23, 2024 at 2:01 pm
Controlling bovine flatulence could be key to helping curb global warming. New research suggests that breeding dairy cows to fart less — and, therefore, release less methane — could cut down on ...
- Why curbing methane emissions is tricky in fight against climate changeon April 11, 2024 at 7:05 am
Marks and Spencer is to invest £1 million on a diet plan for dairy cows in the latest bid by big business to curb methane emissions. The retailer is aiming to "slash" up to 11,000 tons of ...
- Why curbing methane emissions is tricky in fight against climate changeon April 11, 2024 at 4:57 am
Marks and Spencer is to invest £1 million on a diet plan for dairy cows in the latest bid by big business to curb methane emissions. The retailer is aiming to "slash" up to 11,000 tons of greenhouse ...
- Methane from landfills is detectable from space – and driving the climate crisison April 9, 2024 at 7:45 am
Landfill trash is the third-largest source of human-caused methane pollution in the US. To fight global heating, curb waste ...
- Slashing methane emissions: A quest on land and in spaceon April 4, 2024 at 2:47 am
On Earth and in space, efforts are underway to curb emissions of the super-pollutant methane, a greenhouse gas. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at the latest innovations and policies ...
- Interior methane rule: Climate solution or lawsuit magnet?on March 28, 2024 at 3:33 am
The oil and gas industry is reviewing a regulation that aims to curb emissions of the greenhouse gas from drilling on public lands. The Interior Department’s long-awaited final methane rule is ...
- US-China advance work on curbing methane emissions, US deputy climate envoy sayson March 19, 2024 at 10:58 am
Rick Duke, the climate envoy, told Reuters the two countries, which are the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters, were working together to curb the ... world's biggest methane emissions points ...
- Tracking Biden’s environmental actionson January 20, 2021 at 4:00 pm
The administration is readying “a whole host of other actions to tackle methane in other ... regulations aimed at curbing air pollution and greenhouse-gas emissions fueling global warming.
The Latest Google Headlines on:
Curbing emissions of methane
[google_news title=”” keyword=”curbing emissions of methane” num_posts=”10″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]