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According to a new study, the fossil fuel industry's natural gas leakage rate has declined, but that has been counteracted by increases in production:
Yesterday, a study led by Stefan Schwietzke, a scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Earth System Research Laboratory in Boulder, Colo., said that a detailed study of atmospheric samples, some taken from ancient ice cores and others taken recently, shows that the leakage rate from natural gas production has declined in recent decades, despite a sharp increase in natural gas production and distribution.
While accountants and engineers in the oil and gas industry may take some comfort in the finding, the net effect is that the atmosphere still sustained damage, according to the author of the study. "All the efficiency gains have been almost 100 percent counterbalanced by increased production," Schwietzke explained in an interview, referring to recent company efforts to find and minimize leaks. The study used carbon isotopes, a kind of chemical fingerprint, to identify sources of methane leaks and found that fossil fuel industry emissions plus natural geological methane seepage have not increased over time. However, it also concluded that measurements used by previous studies appear to have underestimated the size of these emissions. They are "60 to 110% greater than current estimates," the study said.
Upward revision of global fossil fuel methane emissions based on isotope database (DOI: 10.1038/nature19797) (DX)
Here we re-evaluate the global methane budget and the contribution of the fossil fuel industry to methane emissions based on long-term global methane and methane carbon isotope records. We compile the largest isotopic methane source signature database so far, including fossil fuel, microbial and biomass-burning methane emission sources. We find that total fossil fuel methane emissions (fossil fuel industry plus natural geological seepage) are not increasing over time, but are 60 to 110 per cent greater than current estimates owing to large revisions in isotope source signatures. We show that this is consistent with the observed global latitudinal methane gradient. After accounting for natural geological methane seepage, we find that methane emissions from natural gas, oil and coal production and their usage are 20 to 60 per cent greater than inventories. Our findings imply a greater potential for the fossil fuel industry to mitigate anthropogenic climate forcing, but we also find that methane emissions from natural gas as a fraction of production have declined from approximately 8 per cent to approximately 2 per cent over the past three decades.
(Score: 3, Insightful) by CoolHand on Monday October 10 2016, @12:37AM
#teamvegan
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 2) by The Mighty Buzzard on Monday October 10 2016, @12:52AM
That's it, 50% pay cut for you. Damned veggiefarter.
My rights don't end where your fear begins.
(Score: 2) by CoolHand on Monday October 10 2016, @01:05AM
Anyone who is capable of getting themselves made President should on no account be allowed to do the job-Douglas Adams
(Score: 3, Informative) by martyb on Monday October 10 2016, @12:54AM
Following the link you provided [eenews.net] makes the point painfully clear that it is for real. Here's a bit more context:
And here I was thinking that my 'dept' line was just a joke:
Now, I not only have to look for low-fat beef, now I also need to look for low-fart beef. =)
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 10 2016, @01:00AM
At the risk of being downvoted as a troll, I have to say... The biggest methane emissions are coming out of D.C.'s B.S. factory.
(Score: 2) by Scruffy Beard 2 on Monday October 10 2016, @03:31AM
Why convert methane into CO2 Equivalents? Doesn't Methane have a shorter atmospheric life-time as well?
(Score: 2) by martyb on Tuesday October 11 2016, @03:04AM
They do not actually convert the methane to CO2. My recollection is a bit fuzzy right now, but ISTR that methane is on the order of 20-times as effective at trapping heat compared to CO2. Numbers are from memory -- cannot give a real citation on that one, sorry.
Wit is intellect, dancing.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 10 2016, @08:52AM
> #teamvegan
If you're going to chose a diet that is unfit for humans, why not go all out and kill yourself right now? It's also better for the planet.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday October 10 2016, @07:24PM
Well, killing someone causes decomposition which releases CO2 ... once.
The methane from the cows I eat as juicy yummy steak is a renewable resource!