Find this discussed more in these articles: Despite this updated scientific understanding, EPA still regulates methane as if it's only 20-some times worse than CO2.
International Panel on Climate Change Sixth Assessment Report, 2021 (see Table 7.15 on p1739 (7-125) in the Full Report.Ĭonsidering that it's the near-term (20 year) time frame in which we must avoid global warming tipping points (like the thawing of the arctic tundra that would release far more methane), these higher 20-year figures should be used when evaluating the global warming impacts of methane. International Panel on Climate Change Fifth Assessment Report, 2013 (see Table 8.7 on p714 in Chapter 8 of the report) 1, 2014 (see Table 2) (based on 2007 IPCC data) EPA is knowingly using this outdated GWP in its June 2016 Oil and Natural Gas Rule and its August 2016 Landfill Gas Rule simply "to be consistent with and comparable to key Agency emission quantification programs such as the Inventory of Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks (GHG Inventory), and the Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program (GHGRP)." See footnotes 15 and 5 in these rules, respectively.Ģ009 NASA Scientists' research ( abstract) ( full paper) EPA's new regulations, proposed April 2013, effective Jan.
EPA (operating on the scientific understanding from the 1990s archive of EPA page using this old figure as recently as April 13, 2015) Methane's Global Warming Potential (number of times worse than CO2) Over 100 years The newest science on methane's global warming potential shows that it's far more potent than previously thought: While the smokestack emissions from gas-burning power plants are lower than coal, gas is worse because of the leakage from the wells to the pipelines and compressor stations to the end-uses - since methane (the principle component of natural gas) is far more potent at heating the atmosphere than carbon dioxide (which is produced when coal or gas are burned).
Natural gas is worse than coal for global warming Natural gas power plants are significant air pollution sources, releasing hazardous air pollutants, global warming pollution and fine particulate matter. Even water bodies like Lake Erie and the Long Island Sound have faced proposals to bury pipelines in underwater trenches that involve stirring up toxic sentiment accumulated on lake/sound floors. Pipelines and compressor stations add to the harms, crossing all sorts of ecosystems. This wastewater can contain radioactive materials, high levels of salt that affects aquatic life, and carcinogenic elements and compounds such as arsenic and benzene. Hydraulic fracking techniques threaten communities facing drilling operations and downstream communities, including communities near "frac" wastewater treatment plants. Hydraulic fracturing is the process of injecting water, salt, and a cocktail of hazardous chemicals deep underground to break open rock formations from which natural gas is extracted. to drilling, leaving a legacy of groundwater pollution. Deep drilling technologies such as "hydraulic fracturing" or "fracking" have recently opened areas of the U.S. coastal waters and possibly even under the Great Lakes. Natural gas extraction threatens ecosystems from northern Alaska and Canada to the Gulf of Mexico, including drilling on farms, public lands, forests and parks, in the Rocky Mountains and other coal-field communities, off of U.S. Natural gas is a fossil fuel that is often promoted as "cleaner" than coal, but which has its own serious environmental hazards. Natural Gas Health and Environmental Hazards Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007.