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Levels of methane—the second biggest contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide—have spiked in the atmosphere in the past decade. And a study says fracking in North America could be partly to blame.
The gas is linked to climate change, as well as ground-level ozone levels that can harm agriculture. It can also trigger a range of health problems, including chest pains, as well as reducing lung function and worsening conditions such as bronchitis, emphysema and asthma.
[...] For the new study, Howarth looked at existing research on the levels of certain carbon isotopes of atmospheric methane to find a potential source, and created an equation to investigate the link.
Methane is a compound made up of carbon and hydrogen. While methane released in the late 20th century was enriched with the carbon isotope 13C, Howarth highlights methane released in recent years features lower levels. That's because the methane in shale gas has depleted levels of the isotope when compared with conventional natural gas or fossil fuels such as coal, he explained.
This lead Howarth to conclude: "The commercialization of shale gas and oil in the 21st century has dramatically increased global methane emissions."
[...] This could help the commitment of the Paris Agreement be met.
[...] "If we can stop pouring methane into the atmosphere, it will dissipate. It goes away pretty quickly, compared to carbon dioxide. It's the low-hanging fruit to slow global warming."
(Score: 5, Informative) by DeathMonkey on Friday August 30 2019, @03:25PM
Well that article is kind of stupid. But, it is also correct in it's main thesis.
Oil & Gas prices actually are near a historic low. Comparing the prices today to 1950 in order to say that's not true is cherry-picking in order to ignore the bigger picture. (just look at the graph)
But, they're completely right that it looks a lot like a ponzi scheme currently (or at least, like the tech bubble). There actually isn't any money to be made "Gathering and Processing" gas right now. The rule of thumb is that it's not profitable to extract below about $50-60 per barrel and we're below that.
But, a lot of startups are still drilling new leases, knowing they can't make any money from them, with the hope of getting bought out by the bigger guys.
(Source: I do environmental compliance in this industry but I talk to the financial guys sometimes)