And the entire world to be frank. Even progressives, even environmentalists are falling for the false promise of a supposed "bridge fuel". Well, actually they already did. But we can still do something about it! Timestamps and key points for the impatient below.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2oL4SFwkkw
Time stamps:
00:00–05:10 Intro / executive summary
05:10–08:57 A brief history of fracking (starting in 2008 under Obama)
08:57–10:58 It's a "bridge fuel" (pinky promise!)
10:58–12:27 Fugitive emissions (and why they are not monitored)
12:27–15:06 Ad for the channel's Patreon page
15:06–19:48 Fugitive methane emissions (part 2)
19:48–23:06 A significant conflict of interest / How one MIT study boosted fracking
23:06–26:18 Further developments since 2010 / Lack of oversight
26:18–30:24 Liquified natural gas (and why it's even worse)
30:24–33:24 Planned expansion and (permanent) consolidation of Methane and LNG
33:24–35:38 Oh hey, Biden did a thing
35:38–37:52 What we can do about it
37:52–39:59 Acknowledgements
Key points for the impatient:
- The Fossil fuel industry disingenuously claims that "natural gas" (methane) is a "bridge fuel" and a necessary "part of the solution", facilitating the energy transition towards renewables because it's "cleaner than coal".
- Methane owes its good reputation as the "cleanest" fossil fuel to the fact that it emits the least amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) when combusted (!), completely overlooking the fact that methane itself already IS an extremely potent GHG which is why gas leakage needs to be considered!
- Methane leakage in the US has not been comprehensively monitored: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relied on the fossil fuel industry to voluntarily self-report leaks without any actual oversight. What could go wrong?
- Lower bound on the leakage of methane (just from US pipelines alone, not considering other natural gas infrastructure, LNG ships or other countries) is estimated at about 1.2–2.6 million tons of methane per year (equivalent to the climate impact of 25-50 million additional cars in wasted fugitive emissions)
- Cost-benefit analysis says that 3–5% leakage is the upper bound before natural gas actually becomes WORSE for the climate than coal (the dirtiest (!) fossil fuel considering GHG emissions from combustion alone)
- The EPA (under Trump appointed administrator Scott Pruitt, a climate change denier and fossil fuel aficionado) estimated a 1.4% leakage in 2018. Since then numerous studies have indicated that the leakage was underestimated: as of 2022 the White House estimates "2.3% or higher".
- Permanent infrastructure is being built right now, (liquified) "natural gas" is not actually intended to be a "bridge fuel" by the industry. This branding is a ruse, intentional deception of the public. Why would they voluntarily kill off their cash cow?
Further reading / What the fossil fuel industry doesn't want to you know about:
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1908712116
Enormous 2019 methane leak documented by satellite imagery; such documentation is in many cases accidental because the industry has virtually no incentive to report (all) leaks.
This video only covers the situation in the US (because the US dominates the LNG market). The same obviously applies to other major producers like Australia, Qatar or Russia. And importers like Mexico, Japan, South Korea, China or the European Union.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=K2oL4SFwkkw
Time stamps:
00:00–05:10 Intro / executive summary
05:10–08:57 A brief history of fracking (starting in 2008 under Obama)
08:57–10:58 It's a "bridge fuel" (pinky promise!)
10:58–12:27 Fugitive emissions (and why they are not monitored)
12:27–15:06 Ad for the channel's Patreon page
15:06–19:48 Fugitive methane emissions (part 2)
19:48–23:06 A significant conflict of interest / How one MIT study boosted fracking
23:06–26:18 Further developments since 2010 / Lack of oversight
26:18–30:24 Liquified natural gas (and why it's even worse)
30:24–33:24 Planned expansion and (permanent) consolidation of Methane and LNG
33:24–35:38 Oh hey, Biden did a thing
35:38–37:52 What we can do about it
37:52–39:59 Acknowledgements
Key points for the impatient:
- The Fossil fuel industry disingenuously claims that "natural gas" (methane) is a "bridge fuel" and a necessary "part of the solution", facilitating the energy transition towards renewables because it's "cleaner than coal".
- Methane owes its good reputation as the "cleanest" fossil fuel to the fact that it emits the least amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) when combusted (!), completely overlooking the fact that methane itself already IS an extremely potent GHG which is why gas leakage needs to be considered!
- Methane leakage in the US has not been comprehensively monitored: the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) relied on the fossil fuel industry to voluntarily self-report leaks without any actual oversight. What could go wrong?
- Lower bound on the leakage of methane (just from US pipelines alone, not considering other natural gas infrastructure, LNG ships or other countries) is estimated at about 1.2–2.6 million tons of methane per year (equivalent to the climate impact of 25-50 million additional cars in wasted fugitive emissions)
- Cost-benefit analysis says that 3–5% leakage is the upper bound before natural gas actually becomes WORSE for the climate than coal (the dirtiest (!) fossil fuel considering GHG emissions from combustion alone)
- The EPA (under Trump appointed administrator Scott Pruitt, a climate change denier and fossil fuel aficionado) estimated a 1.4% leakage in 2018. Since then numerous studies have indicated that the leakage was underestimated: as of 2022 the White House estimates "2.3% or higher".
- Permanent infrastructure is being built right now, (liquified) "natural gas" is not actually intended to be a "bridge fuel" by the industry. This branding is a ruse, intentional deception of the public. Why would they voluntarily kill off their cash cow?
Further reading / What the fossil fuel industry doesn't want to you know about:
www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1908712116
Enormous 2019 methane leak documented by satellite imagery; such documentation is in many cases accidental because the industry has virtually no incentive to report (all) leaks.
This video only covers the situation in the US (because the US dominates the LNG market). The same obviously applies to other major producers like Australia, Qatar or Russia. And importers like Mexico, Japan, South Korea, China or the European Union.