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carbonates's avatar

Howarth's science that he uses to condemn the use of natural gas only works because he completely ignores natural emissions of methane. There are natural methane seeps that leak billions of cubic feet of natural gas into the atmosphere on an annual basis. Even deep natural gas reservoirs leak continuously to the surface in measurable amounts. One of these seeps offshore California was capped in about 1978 with an underwater metal structure that captured the natural gas and directed it up a pipeline to the shore. Air quality in the area of Santa Barbara increased measurably. Of course, in typical California fashion that production, which continues to this day, is now leaking to the atmosphere again because the shore facility has been shut down by the state and the operator was forced into bankruptcy. I found it fascinating that the methane "hotspot" blamed on the leaking gas storage facility at Aliso Canyon a few years ago was visibly connected to this "hotspot" and downwind of the natural seep. That natural seep has possibly exceeded the leaking gas storage reservoir in volume. No one mentioned that the natural seeps offshore Santa Barbara and in the nearby mountains even existed. I have seen other seeps of this magnitude, some are around the edges of the San Juan Basin, where there were recorded fires from natural gas seepage on the hillsides back in the 19th century before anyone started drilling there (Colorado actually created an abatement program by drilling to relieve pressure on the seeps). Similar seeps have biblical references because they have existed for so long. Howarth ignores natural methane emissions from seeps as it would take away from his purpose (and he can't measure it so he claims it is "background").

The problems with unsafe handling of hydrocarbon fuels exists all over the undeveloped world. Infrastructure is poor if it exists at all. I used to tow a trailer with my diesel fuel in it in Ethiopia, because there was no where to buy it outside of the capital. In Albania I used to see kids on the side of the roads selling two liter bottles of gasoline and diesel. It is the Albanian version of a gas station. And we have probably all heard of the Nigerians killed when a pipeline that they had tapped into exploded in flames. But just as dismal is the smog that envelopes many third world cities each morning as everyone lights a fire burning charcoal or dried cow manure to make their breakfast. Old women earn a meager living sitting beside the street selling small piles of cow dung in Ethiopia. Young men make a living burning any wood they can find to make charcoal and selling it in large bags that they carry on their back. The more arid areas end up denuded of vegetation in order to make charcoal. I can't imagine the look on some western advocate of green energy when they realize that breakfast and dinner is cooked with cow manure by billions of people in the world. It adds a whole new dimension to our need for livestock, and I am sure the enviros have not realized their zealous hatred of methane emissions from ruminants would deprive much of the world of both milk and fuel for their cooking stove. Since they can't afford LPG stoves and have no access to places to buy propane or butane, they simply use what is available, and the result is smog worse than Los Angeles has ever experienced. And none of it is caused by fossil fuels.

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Patrick Downey's avatar

Bryce for Secretary of Energy in the next Trump administration, with Alex Epstein as his deputy. America would be a much better place.

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