5/15/2023 0 Comments Edf and fracked gasAnd we should be locking in energy efficiency gains and renewables instead." Right now, a lot of the new natural gas electrons are coming from existing capacity. On the contrary, I think we should be doing whatever we can to lock, to avoid excessive lock-in in new natural gas plants. But I don't think we should be promoting it. If we do that, then we maximize the benefits that we get in the real world, where people are switching out of coal and into natural gas. So we have to clean this up, both for the neighbors and for the atmosphere. Her son was living with neighbors so he could attend school, because of the noxious fumes coming out of the wells. I was in Washington County last year and met a woman who had been forced to move, abandon her family farm. There haven't been a lot of examples of water contamination through fractures, but there have been thousands of cases of water contaminating through surface spills or the drill casing not being well lined. And what that means is we have to clean up natural gas so that neighbors are not victimized. I think we should be recognizing reality, and not, as Ted said, assuming we can wish it away. "I would say that I don't think the Environmental Defense Fund nor anyone in the environmental community who cares about this issue should be promoting the use of natural gas. Here's what Krupp said in its full context: As the market pushes gas to be a greater share of the energy mix, our job as environmentalists is to see that it’s done in a way that’s good for people and the environment. In short, EDF’s position on natural gas is: Get it right. But handled carelessly, gas can be a danger to the environment since leaked methane is an even more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year timeframe not to mention other potential environmental damage if gas isn’t extracted, distributed, and used responsibly. The natural gas boom, if handled carefully, can be a positive for our environment – after all, gas burns more cleanly than coal, producing less global warming pollution. We believe that all or nothing strategies do not serve the environment or the economy. Our job, he said in the debate, is to “work very hard to make sure that that is done in a clean way, and that is done in a way that harvests the maximum climate benefits." EDF also believes we should leave room for the far cleaner options of renewable energy and increasing efficiency, in addition to natural gas. (Check out the full transcript.) He said, rather, that it’s not the role of environmental groups to “promote” the expansion of natural gas, as the market is doing a fine job of that on its own. Even the Environmental Defense Fund’s chief, Fred Krupp, said in a debate last month that he opposes the expansion of natural gas.įollowing a debate with Michael Shellenberger, Breakthrough used one line out of context to claim that the EDF president Fred Krupp “opposes the expansion of natural gas.” That’s not a fair or accurate reading of his position. NRDC went from being supportive of a coal-to-gas switch to opposing the expansion of gas production. In response to our last blog post about how celebrity fracktivists have reversed the longstanding support of national environmental organizations for a coal-to-gas switch, the Environmental Defense Fund's climate and energy communications director Keith Gaby wrote us to say we had taken Fred Krupp's position on gas out of context.īill McKibben and his organization 350.org have made common cause with the anti-fracking movement, as has the Sierra Club.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |