The US is in the midst of a transition from depending upon coal for generating electricity to the use of natural gas instead. This has been driven in great part by the boom in shale gas and the widespread use of fracking technology.
Natural gas is unquestionably a cleaner fuel than coal. Apart from not having many of the additional pollutants associated with coal, it also simply contains less carbon. As a result, natural gas has been widely promoted as a “bridge fuel” that can take us to the eventual promised land of renewable energy.
There have been recent studies of methane emissions from fracking wells, which are a cause of considerable concern. But even assuming that the gas industry can clean up its act, there are other worries about the bridge fuel.
According to a recent study in the journal Environmental Research Letters, the widespread use of inexpensive natural gas is likely to encourage greater energy use on the part of Americans and will also delay the deployment of renewable energy sources. Between these two effects, the emissions reductions from the use of gas might be no greater than 9% over the next 40 years and, in some scenarios, emissions might even go up.
The takeaway from this is not that we might as well stick to coal. The lesson is that the aggressive use of energy efficiency and conservation and the acceleration of renewable energy deployment must not be impeded by the bridge fuel. Otherwise, we may never get to the other side of the bridge.
**********
.
Web Links
Switch to Natural Gas Won’t Reduce Carbon Emissions Much, Study Finds
Photo, posted July 6, 2011, courtesy of Gerry Dincher via Flickr.
.
Earth Wise is a production of WAMC Northeast Public Radio.
Thank you very much. Great article