A recent report by Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and environmental biology at Cornell University, concludes that the carbon footprint of unconventional gas production from shale is worse for the climate than burning coal. His analysis, to be published later this week in Climatic Change Letters, found that somewhere from 3.6 percent to 7.9 percent of methane, the chief component of natural gas and a potent greenhouse gas (72 times as potent as carbon dioxide according to IPCC), is leaking into the atmosphere at various points along the shale gas production life cycle. As the graph below shows, this makes natural gas from shale the least desirable fuel of the bunch, at least in terms of its impact on the climate.
Not surprisingly, given the stampede to shale gas in the industry, Howarth's report is being refuted in detail before it is even public. See, in particular, this discussion at Energy in Depth.Additional information on the debate is available here.
Keith Kloor has also weighed in on the debate over at his Frontier Earth blog.
well I think fracking is a good Idea for and insurance job just let them frack around you property let you water run on your sink and put a candle by it and boom insurance money is on the way you can find out more just look up gasland have fun and make shure you have lost of stuff to burn
ReplyDeleteCO2 is what we exhale I know how to get rid of that problem the globalist has a plan for you he he he for more info go to infowas.com have fun wile you still can
ReplyDeleteFracking is a serious problem.If we do not address it niw there won't be a future for anyone.what will it take to convince people that we need to make and be the change.It seems that global warming didn't do that.
ReplyDelete