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While Meta has a non-binding promise to build more renewable energy, the Louisiana Legislature passed a new law that adds natural gas to the definition of green
by mritterhoff 1y ago
While Meta has a non-binding promise to build more renewable energy, the Louisiana Legislature passed a new law that adds natural gas to the definition of green energy, allowing Zuckerberg and others to count Entergy’s gas turbines as “green.”
As much as I prefer burning gas over coal, conflating it with zero(-ish) emission energy sources like wind, solar, and nuclear is bad.
- matthewdgreen 1y agoWho is this non-binding promise being made to, and why make one?
- JKCalhoun 1y ago"I'll gladly pay you Tuesday for a hamburger today…" Seems to be pretty common these days when corporate make deals with cities/counties/states.
- juujian 1y ago[flagged]
- blitzar 1y ago[flagged]
- dr-detroit 1y ago[dead]
- juujian 1y agoDue to all the methane leaks, gas isn't even as much cleaner than coal as it was purported to be... But hey monitoring programs got cut so I guess that solves the problem...
- chris_va 1y agoAs an aside, methane leaks from coal mines can be worse than upstream leaks from O&G.
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- mritterhoff 1y agoI agree methane leaks (and monitoring programs cuts) are a problem. But even with them, methane burns much more cleanly than coal. The former primarily emits CO2 and H2O, while the latter emits SO2, NOx, heavy metals and more.
- chaos_emergent 1y agoI think the problem is that methane is 20x more powerful a GHG than CO2
- dpkirchner 1y agoLaugh in the face of anyone suggesting CO2 capture technology. We won't even capture the more-valuable methane.
- hippo22 1y ago[dead]
- mikeyouse 1y agoThese definitions always get muddled when flipping between CO2 emissions or pollution... coal is definitely worse from a pollution standpoint, is likely worse from a carbon standpoint, but much of the methane produced from natural gas production is just released into the atmosphere and has a dramatically higher warming effect compared to CO2 -- on the order of 80x more warming potential over 20 years and at least 20x over 100 years. So only looking at the byproducts of methane combustion is also misleading since nat. gas plants largely aren't burning methane - and blanket statements for all natural gas are also misleading since e.g. the gas from Canada is extremely 'Sour' and releases a ton of sulfur compounds when burned, often with fewer scrubbers than coal plants.
- h1fra 1y agoburning fossil fuel and depleting the local water aquifer, I'm starting to miss the greenwashing era
- estearum 1y agoBehaving a certain way to pretend being virtuous, it turns out, is almost as good as actually being virtuous.
- gosub100 1y agoRedefining words to fit their narrative and premise...hmm where have I seen that before?
- jandrese 1y agoIs there really a concern that the datacenter is going to drink up all the water in Louisiana? I was much more concerned that it will be expensive to cool because it's situated in a state with a lot of hot and humid days.
- maxehmookau 1y agoAdding natural gas to the definition of green energy is absolutely wild. How on earth did that pass?
- jjice 1y agoI have to imagine it's just a complete lack of care and classifying it as "green" helps push through something that they're being lobbied to push. I can't imagine this is anything but nonsense.
- dublinben 1y agoLouisiana has a long history of political corruption, and the petrochemical industry is a major part of their economy.
- jgalt212 1y agoLA has the resource curse.
- yoyohello13 1y agoWe all know how it passed. Legislators have lots of money in natural gas I’m sure.
- babypuncher 1y ago[flagged]
- deleted 1y ago[deleted]
- m101 1y agoNone of those energy source is zero-ish. They all require upfront releases of CO2 to create, and end of life release to recycle. Nuclear for base load and gas for peak/flexible demand is the most climate friendly solution available.
- digdugdirk 1y agoLook, I love to be pedantic as much as the next person on this site, but let's not miss the forest for the trees. State level legislature relabeling fossil fuels so they count as "green" is not the path to a better future.
- timeon 1y ago> They all require upfront releases of CO2 to create, and end of life release to recycle. All of them require that; but not all of them require it during the production. Some, like natural gas, do.
- m101 1y agoYes, but that's not the point is it. The point is: what are total emissions?
- barbazoo 1y ago> Meta has a non-binding promise to build more renewable energy Also the people working for that company. Unimaginable wealth, both at the corporate and personal level, everyone aware at this point that the climate is breaking down and yet, they just can't do the right thing because they are just too damn greedy.
- digdugdirk 1y agoLooks like Louisiana is all aboard the "internal colonialism" that seems to be all the rage at the state level lately. In this case, flouting national/international renewable energy policy so the good people of Louisiana can get the long term benefit of... Having to deal with the fallout of another datacentre project? Come on Louisiana legislature, at least make them pay for resurfacing a highway or something.
- lupusreal 1y ago> Having to deal with the fallout of another datacentre project? I don't understand. What are the specific risks facing the people of Louisiana?