{"id":1016,"date":"2011-04-19T22:35:56","date_gmt":"2011-04-19T22:35:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=1016"},"modified":"2011-04-19T22:35:56","modified_gmt":"2011-04-19T22:35:56","slug":"mixed-news-coverage-of-report-on-climate-pollution-from-natural-gas-underscores-the-need-for-better-data","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/04\/19\/mixed-news-coverage-of-report-on-climate-pollution-from-natural-gas-underscores-the-need-for-better-data\/","title":{"rendered":"Mixed News Coverage Of Report On Climate Pollution From Natural Gas Underscores The Need For Better Data"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>I blogged last week<\/a> about the implications of the findings of a paper by Professor Robert Howarth and colleagues at Cornell University.\u00a0 The paper compares the carbon footprints of natural gas and coal and concludes that \u2013 because of methane leakage \u2013 natural gas contributes to global warming as much as coal, or even more, when assessed on a life-cycle basis.\u00a0 While I have questions about the emissions estimates in the paper, it has brought attention to an important fact.<\/p>\n

Namely, that we need better data to accurately characterize air pollution from natural gas development and determine with confidence the associated health and climate implications.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Media coverage over the past week was extensive.\u00a0 A Washington Post editorial<\/a> hit the bull\u2019s eye.\u00a0 Unfortunately, not all the coverage has been 100% accurate \u2013 perhaps owing to the technical nature of the issue and the paucity of solid data about methane emissions associated with natural gas systems.<\/p>\n

In particular, I want to clarify a reference in a New York Times column<\/a> to Environmental Defense Fund \u201cestimates of methane gas emissions that are 75 percent lower than Howarth\u2019s.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Though we appreciate Joe Nocera\u2019s consideration of our work, the statement in the Times\u2019 column is misleading in two ways.\u00a0 First, the estimates EDF relies on are not our own, but rather taken from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which \u00a0just finalized its 2009 inventory of greenhouse gas emissions.<\/a> \u00a0\u00a0From EPA\u2019s inventory, we estimate that at least 2.2% of gross natural gas produced in the U.S. is released to the atmosphere. \u00a0\u00a0This estimate is highly uncertain, as evidenced by EPA\u2019s recent revision that doubled its estimates from as recently as last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Second, Professor Howarth\u2019s paper uses a different metric:\u00a0 how much methane is leaked as a percent of the total methane produced over the life of an unconventional gas well.\u00a0 The paper reports this value to be 3.6% and 7.9% as the low- and high-end estimates.\u00a0 Assuming these different metrics can be directly compared, EDF\u2019s estimate of the methane leak rate is 39% lower than Professor Howarth\u2019s paper\u2019s low-end estimate and 72% lower than the high-end estimate.\u00a0 It is unfortunate that the Times\u2019 column only made the comparison with the paper\u2019s high-end estimate.<\/p>\n

The only way we can gain confidence about the climate benefits of natural gas relative to other fuels is by obtaining more accurate data about the amount of methane released during the production and distribution of natural gas.\u00a0 And as I have said before<\/a>, this is something the natural gas industry \u2013 which claims to provide the \u201clow-carbon\u201d fossil fuel \u2013 should support.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I blogged last week about the implications of the findings of a paper by Professor Robert Howarth and colleagues at Cornell University.\u00a0 The paper compares the carbon footprints of natural gas and coal and concludes that \u2013 because of methane leakage \u2013 natural gas contributes to global warming as much as coal, or even more, …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2497,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[693],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-1016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-natural-gas"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nMixed News Coverage Of Report On Climate Pollution From Natural Gas Underscores The Need For Better Data - Energy Exchange<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2011\/04\/19\/mixed-news-coverage-of-report-on-climate-pollution-from-natural-gas-underscores-the-need-for-better-data\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Mixed News Coverage Of Report On Climate Pollution From Natural Gas Underscores The Need For Better Data - 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