Home is Where the Pipeline Ends
Every day, millions of Americans rely on natural gas to power appliances such as kitchen stoves, furnaces, and water heaters, but until now very little data existed on the chemical makeup of the gas once it reaches consumers.
A study led by Visiting Scientist, Drew Michanowicz, at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health found that gas used in homes throughout the greater Boston area contains at least 21 different hazardous air pollutants that may impact air quality and health, wherever natural gas is leaked. The research, published in Environmental Science & Technology, is the first to test for health-damaging air pollutants in unburned natural gas when it is used in our homes.
Stanford scientists find the climate and health impacts of natural gas stoves are greater than previously thought
Natural gas stoves release methane – a potent greenhouse gas – and other pollutants through leaks and incomplete combustion. Stanford researchers estimate that methane leaking from stoves inside U.S. homes has the same climate impact as about 500,000 gasoline-powered cars and the stoves can expose people to respiratory disease-triggering pollutants.
By Rob Jordan, Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, 1/27/2022
Methane Leaks Erase Some of the Climate Benefits of Natural Gas
The switch from coal to gas has driven down CO2 emissions, but leaks negate much of those gains in the short term
By Benjamin Storrow, E&E News, 5/5/2020
Oregon Gas Utility Wants to Bill Customers Millions for Executive Bonuses and ‘Misleading’ Advertising
NW Natural is positioning itself as a climate leader, but critics suggest the gas utility is attempting to block the push towards electrification — and to get ratepayers to foot the bill.
Desmog, Nick Cunningham, 5/9/2022
Increase in atmospheric methane set another record during 2021
For the second year in a row, NOAA scientists observed a record annual increase in atmospheric levels of methane, a powerful, heat-trapping greenhouse gas that’s the second biggest contributor to human-caused global warming after carbon dioxide.
NOAA’s preliminary analysis showed the annual increase in atmospheric methane during 2021 was 17 parts per billion (ppb), the largest annual increase recorded since systematic measurements began in 1983.
Meanwhile, levels of carbon dioxide also continue to increase at historically high rates. The global surface average for carbon dioxide during 2021 was 414.7 parts per million (ppm), which is an increase of 2.66 ppm over the 2020 average