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Tuesday, June 26th, 2018

Methane Emissions In US 60% Higher Than Previously Reported, Finds CIRES Study

Author:     Steve Hanley
Source:     cleantechnica
Publication Date:     June 22nd, 2018
 Link: Methane Emissions In US 60% Higher Than Previously Reported, Finds CIRES Study
Stephan:   The commitment Trump, and Pruitt have made, and to which the Republican congress has acquiesced,  putting the full force of the government behind continuing carbon energy has dangerous and long term negative implications for America, and the world. Methane emissions arising from that industry are the equivalent of a million additional cars. Citation for the paper reporting this research: Assessment of methane emissions from the U.S. oil and gas supply chain, Ramón A. Alvarez1,*, Daniel Zavala-Araiza1, David R. Lyon1, David T. Allen2, Zachary R. Barkley3, Adam R. Brandt4, Kenneth J. Davis3, Scott C. Herndon5, Daniel J. Jacob6, Anna Karion7, Eric A. Kort8, Brian K. Lamb9, Thomas Lauvaux3, Joannes D. Maasakkers6, Anthony J. Marchese10, Mark Omara1, Stephen W. Pacala11, Jeff Peischl12,13, Allen L. Robinson14, Paul B. Shepson15, Colm Sweeney13, Amy Townsend-Small16, Steven C. Wofsy6, Steven P. Hamburg1 See all authors and affiliations Science 21 Jun 2018: eaar7204 DOI: 10.1126/science.aar7204

methane emissionsCIRES, the Cooperative Institute for Research In Environmental Sciences, is a collaboration between NOAA and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Its latest study, published in the journal Science, finds the US oil and gas industry emits 13 million metric tons of methane from its operations each year. That is 60% more than previously estimated by the US Environmental Protection Agency.

“This study provides the best estimate to date on the climate impact of oil and gas activity in the United States,” co-author Jeff Peischl, a CIRES scientist working in NOAA’s Chemical Sciences Division in Boulder, Colorado, according to Science Daily. “It’s the culmination of 10 years of studies by scientists across the country, many of which were spearheaded by CIRES and NOAA.”

Methane is the primary component of natural gas, much of which is produced from fracking. 13 million metric tons of methane have the same climate warming impact as all the carbon dioxide emitted by all US coal fired generating plants in 2015. In fact, methane has more than 80 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide over […]

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