You're repeating an assertion by the industry that fracking, and natural gas is "greener" and helps lower greenhouse gas emissions. It's (unsurprisingly) false,

You're repeating an assertion by the industry that fracking, and natural gas is "greener" and helps lower greenhouse gas emissions. It's (unsurprisingly) false, or at least challenged by independent science. 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. There was a piece recently on another atmospheric scientist coming to the same conclusion. She uncovered significant underestimation of fugitive emissions of methane (speculating that it is at least double the official figures) and concluded that they are also underestimating release of other chemicals. [3] [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.npr.org/2012/05/17/151545578/frackings-methane-trail-a-detective-story http://www.npr.org/2012/05/17/151545578/frackings-methane-tr...