Fracking and Methane: What You Need to Know (video)Proposed Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations intended to lower methane emissions from hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, to fight global warming would only lower the temperature by 0.0047 degrees Celsius by the year 2100, according to calculations performed Monday by the industry group Energy In Depth (EID).
The EPA’s proposed rules would have essentially no impact on global temperatures, only causing a temperature drop of 0.0047 degrees Celsius by the year 2100. The rules would make it hard to produce natural gas, which would likely increase other greenhouse gas emissions that drive global warming.
The EID calculations and research cited several scientific studies to support the idea that methane emissions from the entire natural gas system are very low and reduce the greenhouse gas emissions. Oil and natural gas production of methane is not to blame for the global spike in emissions, according to a study published in the journal Science in March and American greenhouse gas emissions of all types are broadly declining, largely due to fracking.
Even the EPA has noted that rising natural gas use is reponsible for falling greenhouse gas emissions, saying in an April report “a decrease in the carbon intensity of fuels consumed to generate electricity has occurred due to…increased natural gas consumption and other generation sources.”
The EPA’s own data shows that methane emissions have declined as fracking increased natural gas production, but the environmental agency still wants to regulate methane to reduce global warming.
The EID and EPA’s conclusions directly contradict those of The Sierra Club and other environmental groups, which have long claimed that the environmental advantages of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are negated by increased methane emissions.
The biggest cause of declining carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions is America’s fracking boom, not solar or wind power, according to a study published last November by the Manhattan Institute.
