Why Every Serious Environmentalist Should Favor Fracking

By Richard A. Muller & Elizabeth A. Muller For Centre for Policy Studies

Why Every Serious Environmentalist Should Favor Fracking

By Richard A. Muller & Elizabeth A. Muller For Centre for Policy Studies

Summary of Study

https://www.realclearenergy.org/2023/08/01/environmentalists_should_favor_fracking_969334.html?utm_source=morning_recon&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=mailchimp-newsletter&mc_cid=4405037f5c&mc_eid=a5c99e3331

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Bottom Line: Environmentalists who oppose the development of shale gas via hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) are making a tragic mistake. Shale gas can help lower greenhouse gas emissions to fight climate change by displacing coal, which is still easily the world’s primary source of electricity. Gas has far lower emissions of local pollutants that are killing millions of people each year, namely PM2.5 in the still developing countries. Environmentalists should recognize the shale gas revolution in America, for instance, as beneficial to society – and lend their full support to helping it advance in other parts of the world where possible. Developing and sharing shale technologies must become an immediate global goal. 

The U.S. shale gas production boom has been perhaps the most critical global energy story of the past dozen years, transforming markets around the world.

Environmentalists should actually be supporting the development of shale gas through hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”).

Although shale gas is a fossil fuel, a source of the carbon dioxide emissions that lead to global warming, natural gas is a much cleaner fuel than coal, which dominates as an energy resource in the still developing world.

In fact, gas has much lower emissions of PM2.5 and other deadly pollutants that have often been underreported but are killing millions of people each year globally.

Simply put, greenhouse warming is widely acknowledged as a serious long-term threat but PM2.5 is currently harming more people.

PM2.5 is a horrific environmental problem that requires an immediate solution that shale gas can offer by displacing coal.

As both global warming and air pollution can be mitigated by the development and utilization of shale gas, developed economies should help emerging economies switch from coal to natural gas.

Shale gas technology should be advanced as rapidly as possible and shared freely as an immediate necessity.

Findings:

• Fracking to increase shale gas production should be supported because it can lower global usage of coal and associated emissions of deadly PM2.5 especially.

• PM2.5 emissions from coal are a huge but underreported environmental problem that more shale gas can help immediately remedy.

• The global goal is to help still developing countries fuel switch from coal to natural gas, so shale technologies should be continually developed and shared without restraint.  

Read the full study here.