Here are four very serious problems with natural gas: (1) drilling & fracking cause major emissions that harm the health of people and animals within a mile or so of the site; (2) indoor uses of natural gas (including in gas stoves) produce nitrous oxides that endanger people’s health; (3) fracking wastewater is toxic and often highly radioactive; and (4) natural gas is a huge source of greenhouse gas emissions [GHG].
See the following recent news items for more information:
1. The drilling & fracking process releases numerous toxins & carcinogens and brings up lethal levels of radioactive materials that were contained thousands of feet below the surface.
2. Natural gas is particularly dangerous when used indoors without an effective, vented exhaust system.
3. The industry is exempt from many environmental laws, and the ‘produced water’ from the fracking process is full of toxic, carcinogenic, and endocrine disruptor chemicals. If it comes from the Marcellus shale region (which includes Pennsylvania) it is often lethally radioactive.
The climate impact of natural gas is as bad as or worse than coal — a major problem as utilities convert from coal to ‘clean’ natural gas.
- 2020 Alliance report on Climate Action Planning | Alliance Intern Project (2020)
- Climate impact of natural gas often worse than assumed, shows new calculation model | Phys / ScienceX (6-19-2023)
- Natural gas could warm the planet as much as coal in the short term | Science | AAAS
The industry would love to con you into believing that natural gas is a clean-burning & inexpensive source of energy — but It’s not clean, and it’s only relatively expensive because major health and environmental costs are externalized (so we wind up paying them through taxes and medical costs). Our legislators and regulatory legislator have totally failed to do their job of preventing problems like this.
Don’t be fooled by the industry propaganda!
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