Health Consequences of Extracting, Transporting and Burning “Natural” Gas: Part 2. Climate Impacts of Burning and Leaking Gas.

The changes in our climate that we are already experiencing are adversely impacting human health in a variety of ways. Extreme heat events like those in the spring of 2022 in India and the spring of 2021 in the Pacific Northwest are becoming more common. Longer warmer periods and shorter cooler periods are increasing the distribution of infectious diseases, particularly those that are spread by insect vectors such as mosquitoes and ticks. Longer, hotter and drier summers are contributing to an increased risk of wildfires and the resultant air pollution. Wildfire smoke increases the risk of asthma in children as well as heart attack and stroke in adults. Sea level rise threatens costal regions across the globe and weather extremes are becoming more common. Both flooding in some regions and drought in others are driven by the rise in global atmospheric temperatures.

Since these health impacts are predicted to steadily worsen as the planet heats up we have an imperative to act swiftly and decisively to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Gas has been touted as a “bridge fuel” to ease the transition to a low carbon economy based on lower CO2 emissions per unit energy produced than coal but that idea has been debunked. Since the cost of wind and solar electricity is currently lower than that of gas and is predicted to fall further there is really no reason to build any new gas power generating infrastructure.

The CO2 released when burning isn’t the biggest problem with gas. Methane itself is a potent greenhouse gas, trapping over 80 times as much heat per molecule as CO2 over the twenty-year time frame. It is like CO2 “on steroids.” Estimates of methane leakage from gas projects vary widely but its clear that its atmospheric concentration is much higher than in the pre-industrial era. Gas industry reports of methane leakage may be underestimating the true problem by as much as 2–3 fold. Plugging these leaks would be one of the most cost-effective measures to mitigate climate change and would actually save the producers money in the long run.

Renewable energy projects that are currently planned could meet and exceed our current electricity needs. Effective and affordable alternatives to gas for space heating, water heating, and cooking are now readily available. We have the capability to phase out of gas as rapidly as we are phasing out of coal.

Next week we will explore the human health risks of gas extraction, particularly fracking. Also see last week’s overview of the health impacts of gas.