SlideShare uma empresa Scribd logo
1 de 3
Baixar para ler offline
Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology
Press Release: September 11, 2013
From: Robert Howarth, Ph.D., the David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology & Environmental
Biology at Cornell University and Founding Editor of Biogeochemistry
Re: Allen et al. paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Today I read for the first time an advance copy of the paper by Allen et al. that will soon be
released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I am pleased to finally see
this study published. For much of the past year, the Environmental Defense Fund (who together
with many oil and gas companies funded this work) has promoted this effort as an important step
forward in understanding the emissions of methane from the development of natural gas in
general and shale gas in particular.
For context, very little attention was given to the importance of methane emissions as part of
shale gas development before April of 2011 when I, together with colleagues Renee Santoro and
Tony Ingraffea of Cornell, published the first ever peer-reviewed assessment of the greenhouse
gas footprint of shale gas that included methane emissions. We noted that publicly available data
on these emissions were sparse and poorly documented. We used the best available data, and
tentatively concluded that upstream emissions (those at the well site) were probably in the range
of 0.2 to 2.4% of the lifetime production of a gas well for conventional gas and 2.2 to 4.3% for
shale gas. We also estimated that an additional 1.4 to 3.6% of the lifetime production of a well is
released from midstream and downstream emissions in processing units, pipelines, storage
systems, and distribution systems before the gas is finally burned by consumers. If these levels
of emissions are in fact generally true, natural gas in general and shale gas in particular is a
disastrous fuel, since methane is a greenhouse gas of far greater potency than carbon dioxide.
A major call from our April 2011 paper was for direct measurements of methane emissions by
independent scientists. Amazingly, few such studies had been conducted over the preceding
decades, and most of the extremely-limited available information was coming from industry
sources, usually unverified and undocumented. I am delighted to report that many scientists
have taken up the challenge of measuring methane emissions in the short time since our paper
came out 29 months ago.
The EDF and industry-funded study by Allen and colleagues is one of these new studies. So far,
I have only seen the preprint of their paper to be published soon, and I have not had access to any
of the supporting on-line documents. But with that qualifier, I believe Allen et al. have done a
fine job of characterizing emissions in the sites they have studied. Their conclusion is that
2
upstream emissions are low, 0.42% of natural gas production (lower than we estimated for shale
gas back in our April 2011 paper, and towards the low end of what we estimated for
conventional natural gas).
This is good news. It suggests that the oil and gas industry – when sufficiently motivated – can
produce natural gas with modestly low emissions. There are a couple of caveats, however.
First, this study is based only on evaluation of sites and times chosen by industry. The
Environmental Defense Fund over the past year has repeatedly stated that only by working with
industry could they and the Allen et al. team have access necessary to make their measurements.
So this study must be viewed as a best-case scenario. Perhaps when industry is motivated,
methane emissions can be kept to this relatively low level.
Second, many other scientists have proven over the past 2 years that you can measure methane
emissions from gas development without industry cooperation, for instance by using aircraft to
fly over operations. Many studies have now been published, and many more presented at
national scientific meetings, on methane emissions using techniques which capture the emissions
at regional scales and do not require industry permission to sample. The National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) laboratory in Boulder, CO, has been a very important
player in this work, but other labs including many academic institutions have also been pursuing
this line of research. All of these studies are reporting upstream emission estimates that are 10-
to 20-fold higher than those reported in this new paper by the Allen and colleagues. Most of
these other estimates from NOAA and independent non-industry funded academics are in fact at
the upper end of what we estimated in our April 2011 paper, or far higher. This should be truly
alarming to anyone concerned about global climate change.
How can we explain this huge discrepancy? My take at the moment – again without access to
the data sources and analysis behind the Allen et al. paper – is that the gas industry can produce
gas with relatively low emissions, but they very often do not do so. They do better when they
know they are being carefully watched. When measurements are made at sites the industry
chooses and at times the industry allows, emissions are lower than the norm. But the norm may
well be 10-fold or more higher, based on the other accumulating research by NOAA and other
independent researchers.
A critical point: Allen and colleagues reported massive amounts of methane flared at the time
right after shale gas wells were fracked. Flaring means the gas was burned, not vented to the
atmosphere as methane. Were that gas vented as methane without flaring, the total emissions
picture would have been far, far greater. Do the sites studied by Allen et al. with industry
cooperation reflect the general practice? Will EPA rules promulgated over the past year or so to
require flaring and not venting in the future be enforceable, given that venting is invisible, and
flaring often draws community criticisms because of jet-like noise and flames extending
hundreds of feet into the air for days? Unless society is willing to fund efforts to measure
emissions at every well completion, a very expensive proposition, what is to keep less
3
environmentally responsible companies from failing to follow the EPA rules and simply vent this
invisible and incredibly climatic-destructive methane gas?
Finally, methane emission from upstream at the well sites is only part of the problem. Methane
is also emitted as gas moves to consumers, and again new studies are indicating these emissions
may be even larger than the 1.4 to 3.6% of lifetime well production we estimated in our April
2011 paper.
Natural gas is promoted as a bridge fuel for the coming decades, one that allows society to
continue to rely on fossil fuels and yet reduce emissions of carbon dioxide compared to coal and
oil. While carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas are indeed less than from other fossil fuels
to gain an equivalent amount of energy, even small emissions of methane give natural gas a large
greenhouse gas footprint. This new study by Allen and colleagues suggests that with sufficient
motivation and scrutiny, shale gas may be marginally preferable to other fossil fuels over the
coming decades (if the downstream emissions from pipelines and distribution systems are
ignored). But can government truly regulate methane emissions from shale gas development, or
do we need scientists and engineers of the quality of the Allen team at every operation? And
how do we reduce the large methane emissions from distribution systems for natural gas in our
cities, where the pipes are often cast iron pieces laid end-to-end a century ago?
Natural gas whether from shale or other sources is not needed. Society is rapidly moving to a
transition away from fossil fuels, one in which electric power is provided by wind and sun, and
one in which home and commercial heating for water and space is accomplished through 21st
century high- efficiency heat pumps. This past spring, Mark Jacobson of Stanford, I, and many
other colleagues from Cornell, the University of California, and elsewhere published a blueprint
for making this possible for New York State by 2030. To me, this is clearly the best way
forward. So while I welcome these new data on how the oil and gas industry can keep methane
emissions relatively low – when motivated and closely observed – I firmly believe society should
invest its future now in the clean technologies of wind and solar production, and in using energy
more efficiently.

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Semelhante a Robert Howarth of Cornell Reacts to New Study of Fracking Leakage

A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...
A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...
A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...Marcellus Drilling News
 
Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...
Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...
Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...Marcellus Drilling News
 
Future of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol Presentation
Future of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol PresentationFuture of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol Presentation
Future of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol PresentationWisconsin Clean Cities
 
1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docx
1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docx1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docx
1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docxhyacinthshackley2629
 
Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...
Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...
Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...Marcellus Drilling News
 
Statement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of Fracking
Statement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of FrackingStatement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of Fracking
Statement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of FrackingMarcellus Drilling News
 
Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...
Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...
Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...Marcellus Drilling News
 
Running Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docx
Running Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docxRunning Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docx
Running Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docxagnesdcarey33086
 
Air Pollution And Its Effects On The World
Air Pollution And Its Effects On The WorldAir Pollution And Its Effects On The World
Air Pollution And Its Effects On The WorldLucy Nader
 
The Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy Studies
The Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy StudiesThe Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy Studies
The Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy StudiesMarcellus Drilling News
 
CRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems
CRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas SystemsCRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems
CRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas SystemsMarcellus Drilling News
 
Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...
Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...
Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...Rebecca Evans
 
Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...
Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...
Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...Marcellus Drilling News
 
Required ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docx
Required ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docxRequired ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docx
Required ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docxsodhi3
 
Renewable Energy And Natural Gas
Renewable Energy And Natural GasRenewable Energy And Natural Gas
Renewable Energy And Natural GasCourtney Bennett
 
Carbon-Negative Materials Poster
Carbon-Negative Materials PosterCarbon-Negative Materials Poster
Carbon-Negative Materials PosterAndrew Kyong
 
final report non-co2 climate forcers
final report non-co2 climate forcersfinal report non-co2 climate forcers
final report non-co2 climate forcersJens Dinkel
 

Semelhante a Robert Howarth of Cornell Reacts to New Study of Fracking Leakage (20)

A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...
A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...
A bridge to nowhere: methane emissions and the greenhouse gas footprint of na...
 
Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...
Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...
Commentary Refuting a Cornell Study on the Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Natura...
 
Future of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol Presentation
Future of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol PresentationFuture of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol Presentation
Future of Alternative Fuels in WI Showcase - ACE Ethanol Presentation
 
1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docx
1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docx1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docx
1043 AM (CST)Privacy Statement Terms and Conditions Conta.docx
 
Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...
Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...
Letter from Dr. Larry Cathles to Gov. Andrew Cuomo Urging End to Moratorium o...
 
Statement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of Fracking
Statement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of FrackingStatement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of Fracking
Statement of Robert W. Howarth to Congress on the Dangers of Fracking
 
Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...
Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...
Gasping for Breath: A (bogus) analysis of the health effects from ozone pollu...
 
Running Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docx
Running Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docxRunning Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docx
Running Head SOURCES OF CO2 EMISSION 1SOURCES OF CO2 EMIS.docx
 
Oxides Research
Oxides ResearchOxides Research
Oxides Research
 
Air Pollution And Its Effects On The World
Air Pollution And Its Effects On The WorldAir Pollution And Its Effects On The World
Air Pollution And Its Effects On The World
 
The Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy Studies
The Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy StudiesThe Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy Studies
The Facts About Fugitive Methane - Centre for Policy Studies
 
CRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems
CRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas SystemsCRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems
CRS Report: An Overview of Air Quality Issues in Natural Gas Systems
 
Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...
Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...
Indirect Scientific Measurements Of Atmospheric...
 
Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...
Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...
Study of Methane Emissions in the Marcellus, Haynesville and Fayetteville Sha...
 
Fracking_Paper
Fracking_PaperFracking_Paper
Fracking_Paper
 
Required ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docx
Required ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docxRequired ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docx
Required ResourcesRequired Text1. Environmental Science E.docx
 
Renewable Energy And Natural Gas
Renewable Energy And Natural GasRenewable Energy And Natural Gas
Renewable Energy And Natural Gas
 
Carbon Emissions Essay
Carbon Emissions EssayCarbon Emissions Essay
Carbon Emissions Essay
 
Carbon-Negative Materials Poster
Carbon-Negative Materials PosterCarbon-Negative Materials Poster
Carbon-Negative Materials Poster
 
final report non-co2 climate forcers
final report non-co2 climate forcersfinal report non-co2 climate forcers
final report non-co2 climate forcers
 

Mais de Earth Institute of Columbia University

Reframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy Transitions
Reframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy TransitionsReframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy Transitions
Reframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy TransitionsEarth Institute of Columbia University
 
Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...
Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...
Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...Earth Institute of Columbia University
 

Mais de Earth Institute of Columbia University (20)

Reinventing the Car - as I reported it in 1985!
Reinventing the Car - as I reported it in 1985!Reinventing the Car - as I reported it in 1985!
Reinventing the Car - as I reported it in 1985!
 
When the Future of the Car Was the Taurus
When the Future of the Car Was the TaurusWhen the Future of the Car Was the Taurus
When the Future of the Car Was the Taurus
 
How to use Twitter without being [Ab]used by it
How to use Twitter without being [Ab]used by itHow to use Twitter without being [Ab]used by it
How to use Twitter without being [Ab]used by it
 
Tornado Preparedness Saves Lives - Nat. Weather Service
Tornado Preparedness Saves Lives - Nat. Weather ServiceTornado Preparedness Saves Lives - Nat. Weather Service
Tornado Preparedness Saves Lives - Nat. Weather Service
 
Reframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy Transitions
Reframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy TransitionsReframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy Transitions
Reframing Climate Justice to Support Equitable and Inclusive Energy Transitions
 
A Final Essay of Hope Amid Change by Rene Dubos
A Final Essay of Hope Amid Change by Rene DubosA Final Essay of Hope Amid Change by Rene Dubos
A Final Essay of Hope Amid Change by Rene Dubos
 
2019 Vaquita Survey Report
2019 Vaquita Survey Report2019 Vaquita Survey Report
2019 Vaquita Survey Report
 
Climate Change as News - 2007 Revkin book chapter
Climate Change as News - 2007 Revkin book chapterClimate Change as News - 2007 Revkin book chapter
Climate Change as News - 2007 Revkin book chapter
 
A 1974 CIA Study of Climate Disruption Saw Cooling, Omitted CO2
A 1974 CIA Study of Climate Disruption Saw Cooling, Omitted CO2 A 1974 CIA Study of Climate Disruption Saw Cooling, Omitted CO2
A 1974 CIA Study of Climate Disruption Saw Cooling, Omitted CO2
 
New National Strategy Narrative
New National Strategy NarrativeNew National Strategy Narrative
New National Strategy Narrative
 
Supercomputers, Science and Spies - A. Revkin in Tech Review 8/86
Supercomputers, Science and Spies - A. Revkin in Tech Review 8/86Supercomputers, Science and Spies - A. Revkin in Tech Review 8/86
Supercomputers, Science and Spies - A. Revkin in Tech Review 8/86
 
Emails of Trump Adviser Aiming to Challenge Global Warming Worries
Emails of Trump Adviser Aiming to Challenge Global Warming WorriesEmails of Trump Adviser Aiming to Challenge Global Warming Worries
Emails of Trump Adviser Aiming to Challenge Global Warming Worries
 
The Plan for a Trump Committee on Climate and Security
The Plan for a Trump Committee on Climate and SecurityThe Plan for a Trump Committee on Climate and Security
The Plan for a Trump Committee on Climate and Security
 
Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...
Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...
Scenes and Impressions at the Trial of the Killers of Amazon Defender Chico M...
 
A Polynesian Paradise, and Family, in Flux
A Polynesian Paradise, and Family, in FluxA Polynesian Paradise, and Family, in Flux
A Polynesian Paradise, and Family, in Flux
 
When Global Warming Became News: 1988
When Global Warming Became News: 1988When Global Warming Became News: 1988
When Global Warming Became News: 1988
 
Testing a Method to Encourage LPG Adoption for Cooking
Testing a Method to Encourage LPG Adoption for CookingTesting a Method to Encourage LPG Adoption for Cooking
Testing a Method to Encourage LPG Adoption for Cooking
 
A Boy's Holocaust - Horror, Hope and Endurance
A Boy's Holocaust - Horror, Hope and EnduranceA Boy's Holocaust - Horror, Hope and Endurance
A Boy's Holocaust - Horror, Hope and Endurance
 
Shell's 1997-8 Public Relations Strategy for Nigeria Troubles
Shell's 1997-8 Public Relations Strategy for Nigeria TroublesShell's 1997-8 Public Relations Strategy for Nigeria Troubles
Shell's 1997-8 Public Relations Strategy for Nigeria Troubles
 
Climate Certainty, Uncertainty & Options
Climate Certainty, Uncertainty & OptionsClimate Certainty, Uncertainty & Options
Climate Certainty, Uncertainty & Options
 

Último

Européennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutin
Européennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutinEuropéennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutin
Européennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutinIpsos France
 
Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...
Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...
Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...University of Canberra
 
19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdfFIRST INDIA
 
Anantkumar Hegde
Anantkumar Hegde  Anantkumar Hegde
Anantkumar Hegde NewsFeed1
 
Another Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe Whitley
Another Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe WhitleyAnother Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe Whitley
Another Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe WhitleyAbdul-Hakim Shabazz
 
Ministry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdf
Ministry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdfMinistry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdf
Ministry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdfSABC News
 
Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...
Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...
Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...virgfern3011
 
One India vs United India by Dream Tamilnadu
One India vs United India by Dream TamilnaduOne India vs United India by Dream Tamilnadu
One India vs United India by Dream TamilnaduDreamTamilnadu
 
Por estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicio
Por estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicioPor estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicio
Por estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicioAlexisTorres963861
 

Último (9)

Européennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutin
Européennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutinEuropéennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutin
Européennes 2024 : projection du Parlement européen à trois mois du scrutin
 
Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...
Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...
Light Rail in Canberra: Too much, too little, too late: Is the price worth th...
 
19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
19032024_First India Newspaper Jaipur.pdf
 
Anantkumar Hegde
Anantkumar Hegde  Anantkumar Hegde
Anantkumar Hegde
 
Another Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe Whitley
Another Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe WhitleyAnother Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe Whitley
Another Day, Another Default Judgment Against Gabe Whitley
 
Ministry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdf
Ministry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdfMinistry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdf
Ministry of Justice Extradition Eswatini 3.pdf
 
Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...
Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...
Green Aesthetic Ripped Paper Thesis Defense Presentation_20240311_111012_0000...
 
One India vs United India by Dream Tamilnadu
One India vs United India by Dream TamilnaduOne India vs United India by Dream Tamilnadu
One India vs United India by Dream Tamilnadu
 
Por estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicio
Por estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicioPor estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicio
Por estos dos motivos, defensa de JOH solicita repetir juicio
 

Robert Howarth of Cornell Reacts to New Study of Fracking Leakage

  • 1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Press Release: September 11, 2013 From: Robert Howarth, Ph.D., the David R. Atkinson Professor of Ecology & Environmental Biology at Cornell University and Founding Editor of Biogeochemistry Re: Allen et al. paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Today I read for the first time an advance copy of the paper by Allen et al. that will soon be released in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. I am pleased to finally see this study published. For much of the past year, the Environmental Defense Fund (who together with many oil and gas companies funded this work) has promoted this effort as an important step forward in understanding the emissions of methane from the development of natural gas in general and shale gas in particular. For context, very little attention was given to the importance of methane emissions as part of shale gas development before April of 2011 when I, together with colleagues Renee Santoro and Tony Ingraffea of Cornell, published the first ever peer-reviewed assessment of the greenhouse gas footprint of shale gas that included methane emissions. We noted that publicly available data on these emissions were sparse and poorly documented. We used the best available data, and tentatively concluded that upstream emissions (those at the well site) were probably in the range of 0.2 to 2.4% of the lifetime production of a gas well for conventional gas and 2.2 to 4.3% for shale gas. We also estimated that an additional 1.4 to 3.6% of the lifetime production of a well is released from midstream and downstream emissions in processing units, pipelines, storage systems, and distribution systems before the gas is finally burned by consumers. If these levels of emissions are in fact generally true, natural gas in general and shale gas in particular is a disastrous fuel, since methane is a greenhouse gas of far greater potency than carbon dioxide. A major call from our April 2011 paper was for direct measurements of methane emissions by independent scientists. Amazingly, few such studies had been conducted over the preceding decades, and most of the extremely-limited available information was coming from industry sources, usually unverified and undocumented. I am delighted to report that many scientists have taken up the challenge of measuring methane emissions in the short time since our paper came out 29 months ago. The EDF and industry-funded study by Allen and colleagues is one of these new studies. So far, I have only seen the preprint of their paper to be published soon, and I have not had access to any of the supporting on-line documents. But with that qualifier, I believe Allen et al. have done a fine job of characterizing emissions in the sites they have studied. Their conclusion is that
  • 2. 2 upstream emissions are low, 0.42% of natural gas production (lower than we estimated for shale gas back in our April 2011 paper, and towards the low end of what we estimated for conventional natural gas). This is good news. It suggests that the oil and gas industry – when sufficiently motivated – can produce natural gas with modestly low emissions. There are a couple of caveats, however. First, this study is based only on evaluation of sites and times chosen by industry. The Environmental Defense Fund over the past year has repeatedly stated that only by working with industry could they and the Allen et al. team have access necessary to make their measurements. So this study must be viewed as a best-case scenario. Perhaps when industry is motivated, methane emissions can be kept to this relatively low level. Second, many other scientists have proven over the past 2 years that you can measure methane emissions from gas development without industry cooperation, for instance by using aircraft to fly over operations. Many studies have now been published, and many more presented at national scientific meetings, on methane emissions using techniques which capture the emissions at regional scales and do not require industry permission to sample. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) laboratory in Boulder, CO, has been a very important player in this work, but other labs including many academic institutions have also been pursuing this line of research. All of these studies are reporting upstream emission estimates that are 10- to 20-fold higher than those reported in this new paper by the Allen and colleagues. Most of these other estimates from NOAA and independent non-industry funded academics are in fact at the upper end of what we estimated in our April 2011 paper, or far higher. This should be truly alarming to anyone concerned about global climate change. How can we explain this huge discrepancy? My take at the moment – again without access to the data sources and analysis behind the Allen et al. paper – is that the gas industry can produce gas with relatively low emissions, but they very often do not do so. They do better when they know they are being carefully watched. When measurements are made at sites the industry chooses and at times the industry allows, emissions are lower than the norm. But the norm may well be 10-fold or more higher, based on the other accumulating research by NOAA and other independent researchers. A critical point: Allen and colleagues reported massive amounts of methane flared at the time right after shale gas wells were fracked. Flaring means the gas was burned, not vented to the atmosphere as methane. Were that gas vented as methane without flaring, the total emissions picture would have been far, far greater. Do the sites studied by Allen et al. with industry cooperation reflect the general practice? Will EPA rules promulgated over the past year or so to require flaring and not venting in the future be enforceable, given that venting is invisible, and flaring often draws community criticisms because of jet-like noise and flames extending hundreds of feet into the air for days? Unless society is willing to fund efforts to measure emissions at every well completion, a very expensive proposition, what is to keep less
  • 3. 3 environmentally responsible companies from failing to follow the EPA rules and simply vent this invisible and incredibly climatic-destructive methane gas? Finally, methane emission from upstream at the well sites is only part of the problem. Methane is also emitted as gas moves to consumers, and again new studies are indicating these emissions may be even larger than the 1.4 to 3.6% of lifetime well production we estimated in our April 2011 paper. Natural gas is promoted as a bridge fuel for the coming decades, one that allows society to continue to rely on fossil fuels and yet reduce emissions of carbon dioxide compared to coal and oil. While carbon dioxide emissions from natural gas are indeed less than from other fossil fuels to gain an equivalent amount of energy, even small emissions of methane give natural gas a large greenhouse gas footprint. This new study by Allen and colleagues suggests that with sufficient motivation and scrutiny, shale gas may be marginally preferable to other fossil fuels over the coming decades (if the downstream emissions from pipelines and distribution systems are ignored). But can government truly regulate methane emissions from shale gas development, or do we need scientists and engineers of the quality of the Allen team at every operation? And how do we reduce the large methane emissions from distribution systems for natural gas in our cities, where the pipes are often cast iron pieces laid end-to-end a century ago? Natural gas whether from shale or other sources is not needed. Society is rapidly moving to a transition away from fossil fuels, one in which electric power is provided by wind and sun, and one in which home and commercial heating for water and space is accomplished through 21st century high- efficiency heat pumps. This past spring, Mark Jacobson of Stanford, I, and many other colleagues from Cornell, the University of California, and elsewhere published a blueprint for making this possible for New York State by 2030. To me, this is clearly the best way forward. So while I welcome these new data on how the oil and gas industry can keep methane emissions relatively low – when motivated and closely observed – I firmly believe society should invest its future now in the clean technologies of wind and solar production, and in using energy more efficiently.