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The origin of the term doesn't mean that the term isn't an effective form of greenwashing that creates false perceptions around its harmful effects.
by shkkmo 3y ago
The origin of the term doesn't mean that the term isn't an effective form of greenwashing that creates false perceptions around its harmful effects.
- Teever 3y agoSo what do you think we should rename it to?
- badpun 3y agoIn Poland, it's called "Earth gas" or "ground gas".
- Faaak 3y agoIn some countries it is also called "city gas"
- Al-Khwarizmi 3y agoCity gas was obtained from distilling hard coal or, later, from gasoline. So not the same thing as natural gas.
- adrianN 3y agoCity gas is actually something else, it's coal gas.
- Faaak 3y agoYes, but it's still called that way
- scotty79 3y agooil gas? carbon gas? fuel gas? fossil gas?
- OrwellianChild 3y ago"Natural Gas" is 97% methane, so it's probably most direct to just refer to it by it's primary component...
- VintageCool 3y agoIt has become popular to refer to it as "fossil gas".
- deleted 3y ago[deleted]
- ivan_gammel 3y agoThe obvious fix for this is better education and a good understanding of the meaning of words ind different contexts. It is a way better than broadly applying various labels to the point when they become completely void of any special meaning. Greenwashing is an intentional effort to portray greenhouse gas emissions as safe by relativizing their contribution to the climate change. Calling natural gas natural according to an old tradition is not the same.
- SlightlyLeftPad 3y agoWould it be wrong of me to coin the terms Natural Organic Oil and Natural Coal? They are both, in fact, natural and organic after all. Adding a prefix like Natural or Organic definitely resonates with a lot of people and builds a perception that it’s “clean.” It’s not ridiculous to point out this fact, it was clearly chosen with intent to mislead. The problem with Oil and Coal is that it’s hard to sell it this way because they’re already widely known to be disastrous for the environment.
- ivan_gammel 3y agoIf you could do that in a letter exchange with Humphry Davy, Lavoisier or other scientist in 1750-1850, that would be fine, though they would probably ask why. There were scientific reasons for giving the name to natural gas (to differentiate from manufacturing process). Can you suggest any reason for your terms? Anyway, if you would do it today, it is really hard to justify, not least because there exist new meanings of the words now and there exist already sufficiently good classifications. Context does matter.
- shkkmo 3y agoIf you think that the emphasis of the name "natural gas" over other just "gas" or other common terms for it isn't intentional, then you are quite naive. Education does not change how these sorts of tricks affect our brains. Research has shown that using the term "Natural Gas" creates false impressions of the its environmental impact.
- 3y ago