U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions Fell 10 Percent Since 2005; Halfway Towards 2020 Goal
Source: Reuters/Huffington Post
WASHINGTON, April 15 (Reuters) - U.S. greenhouse gas emissions fell nearly 10 percent from 2005 to 2012, more than halfway toward the United States' 2020 target pledged at United Nations climate talks, according to the latest national emissions inventory.
The report showed that emissions dropped 3.4 percent from 2012 to 2011, mostly due to a decrease in energy consumption and fuel switching from coal to natural gas.
The Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday published the United States' 19th annual emissions tally to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.
The United States uses 2005 pollution levels as its benchmark to measure emissions cuts, and has a target to lower emissions by 17 percent from that starting point by 2020.
Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/04/16/greenhouse-gas-emissions_n_5155643.html?utm_hp_ref=green
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A lot of it is simply unavoidable, because of the nature of the industry.
Think about it: you're cracking rock formations to make them porous enough for gas to flow through, so it's impossible to stop some of it from leaking into the air.
Then you're sending it across the country through tens of thousands of miles of pipeline, with numerous pumping stations, transfer points, storage facilities, etc.
Hell, in North Dakota they flare off so much of the stuff it's visible from space: 
That big blob of light to the right is Minneapolis/St. Paul (where I'm at). That's 3 million people. There aren't that many people in both North and South Dakota combined, yet look at all the light sources across the Plains. That's all gas flaring off. Millions of dollars a year they don't give a damn about wasting.
Think about it: you're cracking rock formations to make them porous enough for gas to flow through, so it's impossible to stop some of it from leaking into the air.
The gas-bearing strata are deep, with hundreds or thousands of feet of overburden rock. When the gas-bearing rock is fractured, the overburden still seals it in place. If that wasn't true, then naturally porous rock would leak its gas to the air. It doesn't. Most gas formations have been sealed in place for tens of millions of years.
Then you're sending it across the country through tens of thousands of miles of pipeline, with numerous pumping stations, transfer points, storage facilities, etc.
I hope you don't think we should dismantle the gas distribution infrastructure, stop tens of millions of people from running their furnaces, kill entire industries that use natural gas as a feedstock or fuel, and end electric generation for tens of millions more.
My guess is that won't fly.
That big blob of light to the right is Minneapolis/St. Paul (where I'm at). That's 3 million people. There aren't that many people in both North and South Dakota combined, yet look at all the light sources across the Plains. That's all gas flaring off. Millions of dollars a year they don't give a damn about wasting.
I agree that flaring gas is wasteful. However, it's not done from gas wells. It's done under Federal regulation from oil wells. Down in the formation, the gas is dissolved in the oil under pressure. As the oil is released from deep geologic entombment, the gas bubbles out the same way CO2 bubbles out of soda when you open the bottle.
There is usually no infrastructure in place in an oil field to capture such gas. To do so would require major installations of separation machinery and compressors, as well as gas pipelines and pumping stations to send it off to market.
If there's enough gas to pay for the recovery, infrastructure, and processing costs, then it's done. Otherwise, the gas is burnt off. I disagree with this, but it is an economic decision. Congress could create legislation to address it, but we all know how much oil and gas money flows to our crooked Senators and Representatives. I doubt the addiction will end soon.
Meanwhile, my original point was that gas that's burnt off is not the same as gas that is vented. When burnt, methane yields CO2 and water. When vented, it enters the atmosphere unchanged, as a far more potent greenhouse gas.
Your picture does not show venting, and the flares are not from fractured gas strata. It shows flaring from oil wells. Big difference.
In a world without perfect choices, natural gas is a less-imperfect option than burning oil or coal. Each year, we have better choices, but right now gas is a foundation source of energy in the US. As we migrate away from fossil fuels toward 100% renewable energy, we must use transition strategies that keep houses heated, food growing, and jobs intact, or we will end up with civil war or worse.
The problem with CO2 is that while emissions may be local, the problem is global. And the problem isn't getting better, it's getting worse. Fast. Even the 2008 global recession only caused a small downward blip in emissions. We're getting farther away from that 350 ppm goal every day.
