Shale gas fracking has helped US carbon emissions to fall. But American carbon extraction is still rising, undermining progress and increasing emissions overseas. Tjflex2/Flickr You’ve probably heard that US carbon emissions have been falling. According to President Obama and energy commentators the world over, fracked shale gas has displaced dirty coal, in much the same way that fossil fuels undercut whale oil a century earlier. Out with environmentally unfriendly old technologies and in with cleaner and more efficient new ones. Everyone wins – including the climate, thanks to the fact that gas produces only around half as much CO2 as coal does for each unit of power or heat created. On the other hand, you may also have heard that US coal exports have increased as its domestic emissions have fallen. America currently has little in the way of gas export facilities but plenty of capacity for shipping coal to Asia, Europe and elsewhere. Those ports have been busy of late and the ripple effects are being felt far and wide. For instance, UK emissions shot up 4.5% last year, partly due to low coal prices made possible by surging US exports. So could it be that rising US gas production has increased the human contribution to global warming, even as American’s own emissions have fallen? To keep reading, click here. Excerpt from – The Rise and Rise of American Carbon Related Articles Is Keystone XL a Distraction From More Important Climate Fights? Keystone Light: The Keystone XL Alternative You’ve Never Heard of Is Probably Going to Be Built Tesla Motors Earns $26 Million in the 2nd Quarter—Thanks to the Government
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