Not Oil, but Not Green Either - Part 2: Natural Gas

Like clean coal, natural gas has been hyped as a major player in America's energy future.  Also like clean coal, it has some significant flaws that inhibit natural gas ever being part of a long-lasting solution.  As the chart shows, natural gas usually burns cleaner than oil and always burns cleaner than lignite or coal.  However, even when state-of-the-art technology is in use, natural gas still produces far more emissions than solar, hydroelectric, biomass, wind, or nuclear power.  If the 2007 electricity consumption of the US was produced using only natural gas, it would have released approximately 900 billion pounds of CO2 into the atmosphere.  In comparison, wind or hydroelectric power would have created around 9 billion pounds CO2 if used to power the whole country.  In addition to this, the US natural gas infrastructure is inefficient and in decay.  Most existing pipelines were laid out in the decades between 1930 and 1960, and there has been little maintenance since then.  The result has been decreased pipeline performance and dozens of accidents, including a recent California explosion that claimed nine lives.  Finally, natural gas is a finite resource.  About 175 trillion cubic meters exist in the world.  At current rates of consumption, the known supply will run out by 2070.  However, Exxon Mobil predicts that demand will jump 85% by 2030, and they've instituted aggressive marketing campaigns to make this a reality.  This means that like its conventional fossil fuel cousins oil and coal, natural gas is unlikely to exist in the 22nd century.  With this in mind, making a nationwide commitment to the energy source just doesn't make sense.