Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
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Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#2tl;dr:
> methane emissions in 2015 were about 60% greater than estimates from the EPA’s greenhouse gas inventory: a 2.3% leakage rate compared to the 1.4% estimate from the EPA. “Instead of coming from the well to the pipeline, the gas is escaping through vents or other openings in the system, and it adds up to a lot of emissions,” says Alvarez.
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#3This is so sad. Any ideas on how stuff like this could realistically be fixed? Are there any incentives that could be put in place? What would be the incentive for the people that have that power to make those changes?
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#4In case you're wondering, burning natural gas does produce ~half the CO2 you would release from burning various types of coal, [0] the dirtiest (yes, much worse than all of the nuclear power accidents combined[1]) of all methods of electricity production.
But it still produces CO2! And at the rate at which natural gas is taking over a greater share of the energy production of the world economy, we are still looking at catastrophic global warming.[2][3]
[0]https://www.eia.gov/tools/faqs/faq.php?id=73&t=11
[1]https://climate.nasa.gov/news/903/coal-and-gas-are-far-more-...
[2]https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-and-other-fossil-fu...
[3]https://www.ucsusa.org/clean-energy/coal-and-other-fossil-fu...
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#5This is so sad. Any ideas on how stuff like this could realistically be fixed? Are there any incentives that could be put in place? What would be the incentive for the people that have that power to make those changes?
[deleted]
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#6This is so sad. Any ideas on how stuff like this could realistically be fixed? Are there any incentives that could be put in place? What would be the incentive for the people that have that power to make those changes?
Removing lobbyists, removing buyable politicians, electing politicians that believe in science
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#7This is so sad. Any ideas on how stuff like this could realistically be fixed? Are there any incentives that could be put in place? What would be the incentive for the people that have that power to make those changes?
There is already incentive for the private operators to not lose these gases during production or transmission as it cuts into their margins. This is like leaving money on the table.
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#8An unfortunate title (does nature do click bait now?). Why use the term dwarf instead of quoting the numeric value (or say "more than double")?
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#9This is so sad. Any ideas on how stuff like this could realistically be fixed? Are there any incentives that could be put in place? What would be the incentive for the people that have that power to make those changes?
There is already incentive for the private operators to not lose these gases during production or transmission as it cuts into their margins. This is like leaving money on the table.
That's not necessarily true, though, if capturing it costs more than just letting it leak.
Re: Methane leaks from US gas fields dwarf government estimates
#10This is so sad. Any ideas on how stuff like this could realistically be fixed? Are there any incentives that could be put in place? What would be the incentive for the people that have that power to make those changes?
more aggressive surveillance - there is a ton of gas leak detection technology out there, but its use is optional in most places...