Posted by: sustainadelic
on 14 Feb, 2012
Even if you're worried about fracking and water pollution, the gas lobby tells us, gas is the cheapest low-carbon energy source and therefore essential to stop global warming. But a new study presents the strongest case yet of what looks like an inconvenient truth about natural gas: when it comes to emissions, it may be little or no better than other fossil fuels.
Researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the University of Colorado, Boulder have found that natural gas producers around Denver lose about 4 per cent of their gas to the atmosphere during production - what's known as "fugitive emissions".
That's double the industry's estimate of 2 per cent but in line with another independent study published last year. (And note the study excludes leakage in transmission pipes and by the end-user - both almost impossible to measure but potentially also significant.)
These figures are critical because natural gas - methane - has roughly 25 times the greenhouse effect of carbon dioxide. By some calculations, anything above 2 per cent leakage of methane makes natural gas worse than coal in terms of global warming.
When I reported on this in a previous post I said natural gas could be humanity's suicide note. Read why here.
Posted by: sustainadelic
on 25 Sep, 2011
The gas boom of the past couple of years is the biggest story on the planet right now, for it is central to whether or not we can halt global warming.
Posted by: sustainadelic
on 23 Mar, 2011
Noted UK environmentalist George Monbiot says in the Guardian http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/mar/21/pro-nuclear-japan-fukushima that the Fukushima nuclear incident has persuaded him nuclear power is safe. If a 40-year-old nuclear plant with shoddy maintenance can survice a 9.0 earthquake and a tsunami without a major release of radioactivity, we should worry less about nuclear power.
Posted by: sustainadelic
on 28 Aug, 2009
`Sentence first, verdict afterwards,' said the Queen in Alice in Wonderland, and I suspect Kevin Rudd might have said something not entirely contrary-wise to Environment Minister Peter Garrett about the massive Gorgon natural gas project off the coast of northwest Australia.
