The Rolling Stones knew it years ago.* Now we’re catching up.
I’ve written about natural gas a few times, basically to the effect that it’s got enormous potential as a transition fuel for many purposes as we wend our way, sooner rather than later, toward a renewable future. This is what the prophetic Barry Commoner suggested should be our course over thirty years ago in The Politics of Energy.
Well, here’s a very good summary of where we stand with natural gas from the excellent Gideon Rachman at the FT. He gives the environmentalist perspective lucidly: “In the short term, increased use of gas will make it much easier for the US and Europe to cut emissions of carbon dioxide, because gas is much less polluting than coal. On the other hand, shale gas is still a fossil fuel and produces greenhouse gases. For those environmentalists who dream of a future powered by windmills and solar panels, the dash for gas is a distinctly mixed blessing.”
The FT today has also published a thorough report today on the state of the gas industry. Within this comprehensive series of articles is one on natural gas-powered vehicles. There is so much more bang for the buck in these than in conventional petroleum vehicles. The article describes a wonderful program in Madrid using biomethane to power garbage trucks. Perfect.
One of the articles notes: “Indeed, Daniel Yergin, chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, the energy consultancy, calls the growth of shale gas ‘the most significant energy innovation so far this century.”’ The special report contains a useful interactive graphic on shale gas extraction.
