The final part of our series in which Nick Grealy, of No Hot Air, tests the weight of some of the biggest arguments pitted against fracking.

Download the ebook here >

#10 – Shale gas is worse than coal for the environment

A widely quoted study, from Robert Howarth of Cornell University said shale gas extraction and pipeline transport of all natural gas allows small yet significant volumes of methane to escape into the air. Pure methane emissions would be far worse for the atmosphere than combusted methane, which has 50% less carbon than coal and 25% less than oil. This one study has been countered by at least half a dozen who see no merit in it, including this from his colleagues Cathles et al. 2012 at Cornell University:

“The data clearly shows that substituting natural gas for coal will have a substantial greenhouse benefit under almost any set of reasonable assumptions. Methane emissions must be five times larger than they currently appear to be before gas substitution for coal becomes detrimental from a global warming perspective on any time scale. The advantage of natural gas applies whether it comes from a shale gas well or a conventional gas well.

Here we reiterate and substantiate our charges that none of these conclusions are warranted, especially in the light of new data and models.”

Moreover,in areas of the US where Shale is making gas more competitive, CO2 emissions are dropping for the first time in thirty years.

This post is part of our series: 12 myths surrounding shale gas production, by Nick Grealy. Download the ebook here >