Monday, January 7, 2013

Methane comparison to CO2 and Coal

If you comparing making electricity from "clean burning" NG vs from coal,
it turns out that Methane (NG) is AT LEAST 1.2x (20%) worse than coal
and may be up to 2x (100%) worse at the 20 year time horizon. (Howarth),

This is because NG production and transmission is a notoriously leaky process.
Not all methane is burned.  Lots is lost due to various
vectors for fugitive emissions (venting though faults,  well casing failures,
pipeline leaks, blowdowns, etc.).

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, is > 20 times more powerful than
carbon dioxide at trapping heat. (Steingraber)

Considering all factors,  raw methane when leaked into the atmosphere
is 105 times greater impacts of that of CO2.

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