Air sampling data on Colorado’s Front Range suggests methane emissions from natural gas operations (drilling, fracking, and production of natural gas from “tight sands”) are occurring at levels that erase any benefit from natural gas being clean burning.
Climate Change
Myhrvold, N. P. and K Caldeira. “Greenhouse gases, climate change and the transition from coal to low-carbon electricity.” Environmental Research Letters. February 2012.
“While conservation, wind, solar, nuclear power, and possible carbon capture and storage appear to be able to achieve substantial climate benefits in the second half of the 21st century, natural gas cannot.”
Wigley, Tom M.L. “Coal to gas: the influence of methane leakage.” Climatic Change, Vol 108, No. 3. Oct ’11
According to computational modeling, methane leakage during shale gas extraction and processing offsets the benefits in carbon dioxide emissions of replacing coal-fired electricity generation with natural gas fired generation.
Howarth, Robert W., et. al. “Methane and the greenhouse-gas footprint of natural gas from shale formations: A letter.” Climatic Change. Change, vol. 106, iss. 4. June 2011.
The published study found that shale fracking could have a greater effect on climate change than coal and oil over the life cycle of its production.
Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research.“Shale gas: a provisional assessment of climate change and environmental impacts.” Jan 2011.
Extensive and critical report highlighting risk that widespread use of shale gas will accelerate global climate change.
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