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The massive natural gas boom has increased US methane emissions. Given methane’s vastly increased greenhouse potency (albeit for a shorter time) it may be possi
by erentz 7y ago
The massive natural gas boom has increased US methane emissions. Given methane’s vastly increased greenhouse potency (albeit for a shorter time) it may be possible that the big switch we are seeing to gas isn’t actually an improvement. I’d like to see something that takes these methane emissions of the fracking, extraction, shipping, storing into account when comparing natural gas to coal.
- barney54 7y agoThis is not accurate. US methane emissions have fallen, even as natural gas production has increased. From 1990 to 2017, total emissions of methane decreased by 15.8 percent. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-04/documents/us-ghg-inventory-2019-main-text.pdf https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2019-04/documents... See page 2-2.
- erentz 7y agoThere are a lot of articles around about how the natural gas boom is releasing methane. So unless that’s all untrue then it’s fair to say it’s increased our emissions. We would have had lower methane emissions if we hadn’t started the shale gas boom and big switch from coal. So in evaluating coal vs natural gas in the US we commonly see the number quoted that it released 50% less CO2 at the pipe. But we never see the amount of methane included that otherwise wouldn’t be released. I would like to see something that compares the total effect of all greenhouse gases from coal vs natural gas not just the CO2 number. Gas may still be better. But it just obviously wouldn’t be the 50% that everyone loves to quote.