Study finds fracking wells leak more than we thought

A new study found that fracking wells in Colorado leak about twice as much gas into the atmosphere as originally estimated. Because natural gas is comprised of methane, even fairly small leaks can have an enormous impact on global warming.

Research measurements suggest that about 4 percent of methane in the wells was leaking, while earlier studies done by the Environmental Protection Agency concluded only 1 to 2 percent was lost.

This research was carried out by a team of scientists and professors from the University of Colorado Boulder. The findings will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Geophysical Research.

In response to this study, wells in the Denver-area have already made some changes that ought to cut down on the gas leakage.

Natural gas rig (Photo credit: jermlac)

How to Frack Responsibly

In this New York Times opinion piece, journalist Joe Nocera takes a hard look at the methane leak issue associated with fracking. Despite many movements against it, Nocera firmly believes that fracking is here to stay.

Every fracking well inevitably leaks methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a greenhouse gas 23 times more potent than carbon dioxide. Hardcore environmentalists will tell you the debate ends here–failing to eliminate methane leaks cancels out the environmental advantage of natural gas over coal. But Nocera has faith that innovative environmental engineering can find a way to minimize these methane leaks.

But what about the big industries that get away with not playing by the rules? Nocera acknowledges that strict fracking regulation will be critical. Fred Krupp, president of the Environmental Defense Fund, believes a state-by-state approach will be most effective.

“We need to focus on getting the rules right, and complied with, in the 14 states which have 85 percent of the onshore gas reserves,” he said.

While this is a nice, idealistic piece, Nocera fails to recognize other key issues that make fracking the controversial issue it is today. He didn’t touch on radioactivity, contamination or the effects fracking has on nearby water supplies and communities.

New study predicts increased use of natural gas will make climate change worse

A recent study at Cornell University concluded that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions (especially methane) resulting from extracting gas from shale reserves is astronomical—and would ultimately make climate change worse, not better.

Supporters of fracking argue that the process is a cleaner alternative, but this study proves their argument invalid, TreeHugger reports. The authors write in the study, which will be published in Climatic Change, “The large GHG footprint of shale gas undercuts the logic of its use as a bridging fuel over coming decades, if the goal is to reduce global warming.”

They elaborate by mentioning that the carbon footprint of shale gas extraction is even higher than that of oil or coal. Scientists have estimated that as much as 8 percent of methane escapes into the atmosphere, which makes for a much worse footprint (methane is much more powerful than carbon dioxide).

Gas well blazing, methane emissions

This study is not the first of its kind, but it fortifies past research.