Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Well, la-dee-da. Based on data from 2021, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are actually down 17.7 percent from 2007, putting current levels approximately 2 percent below 1990’s level. This is stunning news, and it is based on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) 2023 Draft Greenhouse Gas Inventory (GHGI) recently released.
Digging a little deeper, we discover that since 2005, carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are down 18 percent, methane emissions have fallen 8 percent, and power-sector CO2 emissions have decreased 36 percent.
This is all quite impressive but wait until you read what was occurring during this same time period – it will blow your socks off. Since 2005, natural gas production is up by 97 percent! Since 2005 natural gas-fired electric generation has increased 108 percent! And natural gas consumption has grown by 39 percent!
So tell me again why we’re hearing we may need to give up our natural gas ovens and heating systems? The talking heads carrying the water for the extreme environmentalists may want to review the data in the 2023 inventory report.
Hold onto your socks again, because we’re not just talking about increases related to natural gas.
Oil production has also increased 53 percent since 1990!
And for all of those slamming the oil industry, check this out: methane emissions from the oil and gas industries are down 13 percent since 1990. In fact, methane emissions have dropped 4 percent just since 2020.
So the zillion dollar climate change question is, how in the heck did this happen? We all thought the sky was falling.
Assuming your socks are already blown off by now, I recommend you hold onto your hat for the answer to the how and why the GHG emissions are lower.
The lower emissions are due to (drum roll, please…) fracking! Hydraulic fracturing has provided access to immense natural gas and oil reserves over the past 18 years, and in doing so changed our energy portfolio. Increased natural gas use and reduced coal use is the primary reason for the impressive reductions in GHG emissions.
We can conclude that is a good thing we didn’t listen to the activists who tried at every turn to ban fracking. Fracking not only transformed our long-term energy prospects but it reduced GHG emissions to boot.
Add to this dramatic positive change in our energy outlook and the good news about lowered GHG emissions the fact that there have been huge economic benefits to communities due to oil and natural gas activities. Think jobs, good wages, revenue, business income.
Lawmakers, both federal and state, should think twice about burdening the oil and gas industries. We should respect the data and question the anti-industry rhetoric. We should recognize the positive impact these industries have had overall on both the environment and the economy.
