I know it's old news, but I've been ill.
Natural gas may not be as "clean" a fossil fuel as once imagined. We all know that natural gas (methane) is over 20 times as powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2, and now, a report out of Cornell shows that natural gas mining, fracking in particular, may release enough methane to make it more harmful than coal. It's safe to say that T. Boone Pickens probably wasn't too happy.
To me, this study doesn't render natural gas unworthy. Instead, it serves as an incentive for the industry to improve their practices so that natural gas may facilitate our move toward renewable energy.
Natural gas may not be as "clean" a fossil fuel as once imagined. We all know that natural gas (methane) is over 20 times as powerful a greenhouse gas than CO2, and now, a report out of Cornell shows that natural gas mining, fracking in particular, may release enough methane to make it more harmful than coal. It's safe to say that T. Boone Pickens probably wasn't too happy.
 |
| A comparison of GHG emissions from various fossil fuels over a 20 year period. From NYTimes Tom Zeller's blog post. |
