‘Catastrophe’ Claim Adds Fuel to Methane Debate

[unhappycamper]

http://www.climatecentral.org/news/fracking-methane-emissions-catastrophe-17439

‘Catastrophe’ Claim Adds Fuel to Methane Debate
Published: May 15th, 2014
By Bobby Magill

A Cornell University scientist's claims that oil and gas development is so harmful to the climate that methane emissions and oil and gas production in general need to be cut back immediately to avoid a "global catastrophe" are adding more fuel to the scientific debate over the climate implications of shale oil and gas production.

Fossil fuels production is the largest methane pollution source in the U.S., and ignoring those emissions will lead to a climate change “tipping point” from which there is no return, Cornell environmental biology professor Robert Howarth said in a statement Wednesday. He was unavailable for an interview.



Excess methane is often burned off from oil and gas production and distribution systems.

Though scientists say there are avenues to preventing catastrophe other than curbing methane emissions, Howarth’s previous research with Cornell environmental engineering professor Anthony Ingraffea and others concluded that the climate impact of natural gas produced from shale — most of which involves hydraulic fracturing, or fracking — may be worse than that of coal and crude oil. That's because methane leaks from natural gas production have a greater effect on the climate than carbon dioxide emissions, Howarth said.

Over a 100-year timeframe, methane is about 34 times as potent as a climate change-driving greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and over 20 years, it's 86 times more potent. Of all the greenhouse gases released by humans globally, methane contributes more than 40 percent of all radiative forcing, a measure of trapped heat in the atmosphere and a measuring stick of a changing climate, Howarth said.

[Prophet 451]

1. I think we're too late

According to some articles I read recently, the collapse of the West Antarctic ice shelf is now self-sustaining. That means that ) the 23% of teh public who refuse to accept global warming have succeeded in dooming us all and B) all we can do now is manage our decline.

[newfie11]

2. +1

Agreed

[Bigmack]

3. Yup. Reckon so…. Alas NT