by Ben Seifer
The anti-fracking camp has long tried to push the debunked claim that methane leakage from natural gas systems cancels out its clear environmental benefits. The reality, however, is that methane emissions have been falling – even as natural gas production has increased several fold. Our new video, embedded above, highlights that fact with additional clarity.
Indeed, data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) clearly show that as shale gas production has grown by 400 percent since 2008, methane emissions from natural gas systems have actually decreased by 13.3 percent.
As the EPA states, these significant decreases in methane emissions are due to “voluntary reductions” by oil and gas producers, including the use of “green completions,” which U.S. Energy Department Secretary Ernest Moniz highlighted in testimony before Congress last year. As he observed:
“More than half I believe now of the current frack jobs are so-called green completions, where the methane is captured and is for economic benefit.”
This is in addition to the fact that cheap natural gas – made possible by shale development – is helping to slash carbon dioxide emissions in the United States.
So it should come as little surprise that EPA administrator Gina McCarthy recently stated: “Responsible development of natural gas is an important part of our work to curb climate change.”
Check out EID’s new video – “Methane Emissions Decline as Shale Gas Production Skyrockets” – to learn more.
