Natural gas may be a marginally cleaner fossil fuel than coal, but obtaining it through the processing of fracking turns out to be more damaging to the climate than coal ever was. Fracking is a process that splits deposits of natural gas deep underground, using high pressure chemicals. A new study at Cornell has revealed that the process releases large quantities of methane, and other harmful gases, yielding 20% more global warming per unit than coal.
Who could have ever thought that injecting toxic chemicals deep underground at high pressure could have undesirable consequences? I’m sure the natural gas industry is just gobsmacked at this unexpected turn of events.
The report doesn’t mention the most hideous side effect of fracking, that of toxic and sometimes flammable water.
This is the same old story, repeated in a thousand different ways, of irresponsible and greedy corporations with no regard for the consequences of their actions, backstopped and coddled by a captured governmental regulatory process.
“A new study at Cornell has revealed that the process releases large quantities of methane…”
Well, yeah: natural gas IS methane.