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In the US, utilities are switching over from coal to natural gas for electricity, on account of advances in fracking which make gas dirt cheap. (Some trucking f

In the US, utilities are switching over from coal to natural gas for electricity, on account of advances in fracking which make gas dirt cheap. (Some trucking firms are also trying to switch to LNG fuel, as diesel remains expensive). Combined with this anti-nuclear sentiment in Europe, this places the US in the hilariously ironic position of reducing carbon dioxide emissions more than Europe even though they never bothered to make that an explicit priority. http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2012/05/americas-falling-carbon-dioxide-emissions http://www.economist.com/blogs/schumpeter/2012/05/americas-f...

cygx 14y ago
To be fair, let's take a look at the 2008 data [1] US EU-27 CO2 emission ~5.46·10^9 t ~4.18·10^9 t population ~304·10^6 ~498·10^6 emission per capita ~180 t ~83.9 t I do not see the US catching up any time soon... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions#List_of_countries_by_2008_emissions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dio...
- cantankerous 14y ago
  That is a pretty interesting number. I wonder what the industrial breakdown of those emissions are?
justsee 14y ago
The analysis in that Economist opinion piece is rather poor, and reads more like an industry booster piece than a review of current knowledge about the process and impacts of fracking. A study was released late last year by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) [1] which found that a switch to natural gas would increase warming over the next few decades, as outlined in NCAR's report [2]. It acknowledges something the shale gas industry studiously avoids in calculating figures for its green credentials pitches: fugitive emissions. A significant amount of methane leakage occurs in the fracking process and piping of gases. When you add in the input-intensive activity of multiple well constructions, fracking, pipeline construction, and fugitive emissions the 'green' story of shale gas doesn't add up. The dismissal of fracking-triggered earthquakes is also odd, considering a US company (Cuadrilla) was forced to stop fracking in the UK after two seismic events occurred [3], a recent report by the UK was focused on mitigating fracking-related seismic events [4], and Cuadrilla released a report [5] which concluded "it is highly probable" hydraulic fracking triggered a number of tremors. When you factor in the unavoidable well contamination of underground aquifers (as pressure differences inevitably lead to aquifer water filling the fracked area over time) the shale gas 'bonanza' seems anything but. [1] http://www.springerlink.com/content/b430681263425q64/?MUD=MP http://www.springerlink.com/content/b430681263425q64/?MUD=MP [2] https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/5292/switching-coal-natural-gas-would-do-little-global-climate-study-indicates https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/5292/switching-coal-nat... [3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/01/blackpool-earthquake-tremors-gas-drilling http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/01/blackpool-earthquak... [4] http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_047/pn12_047.aspx http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_047/pn12_047... [5] http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Geomechanical-Study-of-Bowland-Shale-Seismicity_02-11-11.pdf http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02...

cygx 14y ago

To be fair, let's take a look at the 2008 data [1] US EU-27 CO2 emission ~5.46·10^9 t ~4.18·10^9 t population ~304·10^6 ~498·10^6 emission per capita ~180 t ~83.9 t I do not see the US catching up any time soon... [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dioxide_emissions#List_of_countries_by_2008_emissions http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_carbon_dio...

cantankerous 14y ago
That is a pretty interesting number. I wonder what the industrial breakdown of those emissions are?

justsee 14y ago

The analysis in that Economist opinion piece is rather poor, and reads more like an industry booster piece than a review of current knowledge about the process and impacts of fracking. A study was released late last year by the National Centre for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) [1] which found that a switch to natural gas would increase warming over the next few decades, as outlined in NCAR's report [2]. It acknowledges something the shale gas industry studiously avoids in calculating figures for its green credentials pitches: fugitive emissions. A significant amount of methane leakage occurs in the fracking process and piping of gases. When you add in the input-intensive activity of multiple well constructions, fracking, pipeline construction, and fugitive emissions the 'green' story of shale gas doesn't add up. The dismissal of fracking-triggered earthquakes is also odd, considering a US company (Cuadrilla) was forced to stop fracking in the UK after two seismic events occurred [3], a recent report by the UK was focused on mitigating fracking-related seismic events [4], and Cuadrilla released a report [5] which concluded "it is highly probable" hydraulic fracking triggered a number of tremors. When you factor in the unavoidable well contamination of underground aquifers (as pressure differences inevitably lead to aquifer water filling the fracked area over time) the shale gas 'bonanza' seems anything but. [1] http://www.springerlink.com/content/b430681263425q64/?MUD=MP http://www.springerlink.com/content/b430681263425q64/?MUD=MP [2] https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/5292/switching-coal-natural-gas-would-do-little-global-climate-study-indicates https://www2.ucar.edu/atmosnews/news/5292/switching-coal-nat... [3] http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/01/blackpool-earthquake-tremors-gas-drilling http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jun/01/blackpool-earthquak... [4] http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_047/pn12_047.aspx http://www.decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/news/pn12_047/pn12_047... [5] http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Geomechanical-Study-of-Bowland-Shale-Seismicity_02-11-11.pdf http://www.cuadrillaresources.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02...