News: Fracking May Leak Twice as Much Gas as previously thought, per NOAA study

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From Inside Climate News: Research suggests that emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas 20 times more potent than CO2, far exceed current estimates for gas drilling and production.

Weeks after Barack Obamapromoted natural gas as a key part of U.S. energy policy in his State of the Union address, new research says gas drilling may be emitting far more methane and other pollutants into the atmosphere than current estimates suggest.

The work, performed by scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, focused on Weld County, Colo., home to more than 20,000 gas wells. After years of monitoring and study, the researchers estimated that about 4 percent of the methane produced by these wells is lost to the atmosphere.

That's about twice as much as current estimates would suggest, and twice what the EPA ... (Continue reading Gas Drilling May Be Leaking Twice as Much Gas as Previously Thought, Study Finds Feb 9, 2012
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