Climate scientists tell us to reduce and ultimately eliminate burning of fossil fuels, products that are the dominant cause of global warming. Worldwide, the oil and gas industry and its supporters in governments and elsewhere plan for us to burn more.
Booming gas use is fueling the global growth in greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new study by researchers at Stanford University and other institutions.
In fact, natural gas use is growing so fast, its carbon dioxide emissions over the past six years actually eclipsed the decline in emissions from the falling use of coal
Natural Gas Rush Drives a Global Rise in Fossil Fuel Emissions
Production of liquefied natural gas, or LNG, has grown significantly in the past few years, and it continues to grow. Oil production is growing too. Citizens are expected to accept either phasing up steadily or phasing up progressively.
Coal use may be declining but new research from Cornell University shows that liquefied natural gas (LNG) has a larger climate footprint than coal. Dr. Robert Howarth presented a full lifecycle assessment for greenhouse gas emissions from LNG exports.
These emissions depend on the type of tanker used to transport the LNG, with emissions far larger when LNG is transported by older tankers burning heavy fuel oil.
The largest source of emissions in this case is from venting of methane lost by evaporation from the storage tanks, called boil off. More modern tankers, whether powered by steam or 4‐stroke or 2‐ stroke engines, can capture this boil‐off methane and use it for their power, thereby lowering methane emissions.
For scenarios for LNG that is transported by more modern tankers, the single largest source of greenhouse gas emissions are those from the production, processing, storage, and transport of the natural gas that comprises the feedstock for LNG. Fugitive emissions of unburned methane are particularly important, but so are the carbon dioxide emissions from the energy intensive processes behind modern shale gas extraction.
In all of the scenarios considered, across all types of tankers used to transport LNG, these upstream emissions exceed the emissions of carbon dioxide from the final combustion of LNG. Also in all the scenarios considered, total emissions of unburned methane exceed emissions of carbon dioxide from the final combustion of LNG. Carbon dioxide emissions other than from this final combustion are significant, but smaller than the carbon dioxide from the final combustion.
The greenhouse gas footprint of LNG is always larger than for natural gas consumed domestically, because of the large amount of energy needed, particularly to liquefy and transport the LNG. While some proponents of LNG have argued it has a climate benefit by replacing coal, the analysis presented here indicates otherwise.
The Greenhouse Gas Footprint of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Exported from the United States
Often talked about as a ‘bridge fuel’ to renewable energy, natural gas and LNG are instead boosting fossil fuel use. Oxford Professor Myles Allen says we must eliminate fossil fuel use entirely, and rely instead on renewable energy.
Of course, in addition to stopping fossil fuels from causing global warming, we have to make our food system sustainable, protect and restore global biodiversity. Stopping fossil-fuelled warming makes all these things easier, and if we don’t stop fossil fuels from causing global warming, then everything else, I’m afraid, becomes rather moot.
Natural gas used by consumers is mostly methane, but unprocessed gas is different. While still primarily methane, at the wellhead it holds various substances, including natural gas liquids (NGLs), water vapor, hydrogen sulfide (H2S), carbon dioxide, helium, nitrogen, and other compounds.
Many of the NGLs produced in British Columbia are shipped to Alberta to dilute heavy oil or bitumen for easier movement through pipelines. So BC gas production is damaging the Earth in multiple ways.
Categories: Climate Change, Energy, Methane Gas
in-sights.ca 
Professor Allen closes the “six lumps of coal” clip saying, “We have to stop fossil fuels from causing global warming before the world stops using fossil fuels.”
This will require a major shift in political will, and much money.
He begins the “braking distance” lecture with, “It is important to remind ourselves at all times that this is a problem we can solve, and it’s a problem we can solve quite quickly if we wanted to. I reminded you in the first of last year’s lectures that the amount of money made in 2022 by the global fossil fuel industry would have been enough to stop the product it sells from causing global warming. So, the fact that global warming is still happening is a choice. It’s because we’re spending money on other things than stopping the products causing global warming from doing so.”
Again, political will and money.
In this clip he outlines a rational solution. Again, it would require political will and money.
https://www.google.com/search?q=myles+allen+carbon+capture&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-ca&client=safari#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:5394cae2,vid:SkiAvl2G5Tg,st:0
Instead we get empty vessels like Poilievre and Trudeau playing political games around feeble measures like carbon taxes, while provincial and local politicians focus on shopping bags and drinking cups hoping that will convince voters they’re brave eco-warriors.
Cowards, the lot of them. They know the stakes, and what it will take to solve the looming disaster, but they choose political expediency. Every damn time.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Lew
I read some of Allen’s stuff But in this last period (yes a one of perhaps) heat pumps will not be effective and I thought about replacing my gas water heater and talked to a plumber. He laughed..stay with gas was the bottom line. The same when I talked to my furnace guy for annual tuneup. Geothermal…?.he smiled and said nope. Cost, repair and marginal performance to not at all in cold weather. It likes solar panels on your roof. Get yourself a roof rake to clear them off if you are in a heavy snow fall area. New construction for residential should be step 4 with minimal installation for the view glass windows and max 2500 sq ft. Anything bigger you pay big time in a excessive square footage construction building tax for starters. Yeah electrical power for all sorts of things are better than O & G but do you really think BC Hydro is coming to that party in BC? They love geo at the rate you will pay to run the pump.
It is all hype marketing and the only real slow down solution is consume less, drive around less, vacation closer to home, shop efficiently closer to home , scale down on vehicle size except for the electric hummer:)…and on and on. Solar, wind, carbon capture, geo thermal cannot begin to put a dent into climate disruption until we address our unsustainable life style. Until we kick the capitalistic lifestyle to the curb I really don’t care what the next pseudo save the day technology distraction is being promoted. It’s like taking Tylenol for a headache..helps to relieve the pain but it is not the cure.
And as a side note. way back in the rural areas when gas final came to the farms.. the wood stove only moved from the kitchen to the back porch just in case:).
Cheers.
LikeLike
https://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/nasa-mission-excels-at-spotting-greenhouse-gas-emission-sources
methane 28x more potent so…
LikeLike
The sad fact is, government is not listening and why should they?
Government today has become 4 year long mini dictatorships where the strong man or dictator rules with supreme acquiescence of the back bench. Even with a minority government, the same happens.
Climate change is bad for friends of the government, thus government is afraid of the truth and will do everything in its power to deny the truth.
Today’s climate change philosophy is to tax the hell out of the voter, trying to make the voter believe that government is doing something, when it is clearly not.
LikeLike
Phasing down or phasing up report….(although still at peer review stage)….
it may be worth your time to have a read starting at page 60..Canada.
It is nice to know the magnitude of subsidies that are being offered to
O & G entities on the taxpayers dime. The 2050 benchmark is far enough
out there that most players today don’t have to be concerned because they
won’t be here.
It certainly seems like a tortoise and hare race and if climate is the hare
who might be the tortoise? We do know who wins that race.
LikeLike