"Probably as dirty as coal -- could be marginally better or substantially worse"
Those are the "error bounds" of shale gas impacts on greenhouse effect and global warming described by an independent environmental scientist from Cornell we met in Binghamton NY. At even the lower parameters this is not good news.
On 9-15-10, attending the EPA meeting on hydraulic fracturing for shale gas, professor of ecology and environmental biology, independent scientist Robert Howarth, Ph.D., told a news conference that natural gas extracted from shale is nearly as dirty as coal or perhaps even dirtier in terms of greenhouse gas footprint. This is because methane (which makes up most of natural gas) is far more potent than CO2 in worsening the greenhouse effect, global warming and climate change. Methane leaks into the atmosphere, per Prof. Howarth and other science estimates, make up between 1.5% to as much as 4% of all natural gas consumed.
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continued at Daily Kos....
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authenticity of Chevron’s actions in what is being called the world’s largest environmental lawsuit. Chevron has been involved in the $27.3 billion lawsuit for the last 17 years. The breathtaking figure represents the expansive pollution surpassing over 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste and 15 million gallons of crude oil left in the Amazon rainforest. Chevron has vehemently denied responsibility, claiming high cancer rates and polluted drinking water is due to "poor sanitation." However Chevron cannot, and