Study: Gas from ‘fracking’ worse than coal on climate

[cal04]

Source: The Hill

Cornell University professors will soon publish research that concludes natural gas produced with a drilling method called “hydraulic fracturing” contributes to global warming as much as coal, or even more.

The conclusion is explosive because natural gas enjoys broad political support – including White House backing – due to its domestic abundance and lower carbon dioxide emissions when burned than other fossil fuels.

Cornell Prof. Robert Howarth, however, argues that development of gas from shale rock formations produced through hydraulic fracturing – dubbed “fracking” – brings far more methane emissions than conventional gas production.

Enough, he argues, to negate the carbon advantage that gas has over coal and oil when they’re burned for energy, because methane is such a potent greenhouse gas.

(pre-publication version of the study at link)

Read more: http://thehill.com/blogs/e2-wire/677-e2-wire/155101-report-gas-from-fracking-worse-than-coal-on-climate

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Pitt researcher, gas drilling critic, resigns
http://www.abc27.com/Global/story.asp?S=14418106

[Fearless]

1. So Mr. President that whole natural gas initiative... We need to talk...

http://www.dallasnews.com/business/headlines/20110330-obama-embraces-natural-gas-vehicles-with-reservations.ece

[artesman]

2. There is also the issue of contamination of

ground water

EDIT: The one caveat here is the degree and extent of ground water contamination that fracking causes is not that well understood.

[pa28]

4. That's the big one IMO.

The water and (by extension) farmland being destroyed will one day be far more valuable than the gas being extracted. We love our short sighted policies though.

[artesman]

7. The ground water contamination effects are

more directly felt and thus raises local awareness quickly. Easier to convince people something is gravely wrong when their water becomes funny. I remember Mark Ruffalo making this an issue of sorts some time back.

EDIT: Replaced 'immediately felt' with 'more directly felt'

[Uncle Joe]

3. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, cal.

[Littlecat]

5. And our spectacular new governor Kasich

wants to frack the fuck out of Ohio state parks!

[Chef Eric]

8. Here in Pennsylvania, Gov. Corbett is fracking us left and right.

It's not surprising; his gubernatorial campaign was subsidized by oil and natural gas companies.

[drokhole]

6. Drill first, ask questions later...

So, when it comes to something like gays in the military, we need advisory board after advisory board, study after study, hearing after hearing, to even entertain the idea of repealing (17 years later) an asinine law - but, when it comes to drilling harmful chemicals into our Earth for an energy source (and method of extraction) with an untested/unproven track record, we just take energy execs word that it's safe and let them drill the fuck away (only, to find out later, that it's anything but safe)? Cool, just wanted to be clear.

[freshwest]

17. The energy gods don't take no for answer. Historically, they'll kill anyone who gets in the way.

[drokhole]

18. Ironically, their policies may end up killing everyone else, too.

That is, if they haven't already - given all the diseases and cancers from polluted air, water and food. Oh, and the fact our planet could just become straight-up uninhabitable.

[freshwest]

19. Guess that's why they love the space program. Think they'll get away. You never know.

If they don't, they will go out just like the rest of us. Or as usual, rule over the remaining habitable spaces, which they already do in large part now.

When you read and see video (which may be misinterpreted and put out there for the value of scaring the peasantry so they can't think straight) that they have underground cities, seed banks of all the living things on Earth, etc. they have to have thought about escaping environmental catastrophe.

Somehow I believe it all could have been avoided if we'd known what the real 'meaning of life' was instead of being drug into the ones that they've sold us; their version of reality controls us.

I think we are either in for the worst or the best time on Planet Earth, maybe a little of both, dependent on our own beliefs.

[Marblehead]

9. The big gas companies...

now consider us a third world nation and they are taking all of our resources.

[Bozita]

10. Can't watch a half-hour of a newschannel without seeing that oil/fracking ad.

Over and over and over ...

[freshwest]

20. How disgusting. Like the MSM woman saying mercury for good for you. Insanity pays their bills.

[joshcryer]

11. Check out Gasland guys, it'll blow minds.

[Champion Jack]

12. +1,000

[deminks]

13. I hope this study gets the light of day. K&R

from the OP:

“What we are hoping to do by this study is to stimulate the science that should have been done before, in my opinion, corporate business plans superceded national energy strategy,” he added.

[L0oniX]

14. Watch "GasLand" ...Netflix ...NYC is going to be fucked hard!

[Kolesar]

15. fracking carries a higher greenhouse gas footprint because the “fugitive” methane emissions ...

The study concludes that shale gas developed through fracking carries a higher greenhouse gas footprint because the “fugitive” methane emissions at the fracking sites are greater than releases from conventional gas wells.

[joshcryer]

16. Those emissions, of course, are unregulated still as far as I know.

They're "small site emissions" that the Clean Air Act exempts.

[freshwest]

21. Here is the Gasland link:

http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/613/index.html

Or

http://video.pbs.org/video/1452296560/

You can download an mp3 of the program if you can't do video:

http://www-tc.pbs.org/now/rss/media/NOW-613.mp3

Plenty of energy shills trolling the comments there.

PBS programs like this are why the GOP wants them dead and gone.