Environmental Issues: Energy

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All Documents in Energy Tagged natural gas

Leaking Profits
The U.S. Oil and Gas Industry Can Reduce Pollution, Conserve Resources, and Make Money by Preventing Methane Waste
Overview

Methane makes up as much as 90 percent of natural gas, and significant amounts of methane are wasted when natural gas is extracted by fracking or other techniques. Preventing the leakage and venting of methane from natural gas facilities would reduce pollution, enhance air quality, improve human health, and conserve energy resources.

In Fracking's Wake
New Rules are Needed to Protect Our Health and Environment from Contaminated Wastewater
Issue Paper

Natural gas development has exploded, fueled by advances in an extraction technique known as hydraulic fracturing or fracking. Unfortunately, federal and state safeguards to protect people and the environment from the hazards of fracking have not kept pace.

The Role of Natural Gas in America’s Energy Mix
Fact Sheet

Our nation’s top energy priority must be the rapid expansion of energy efficiency and renewable energy resources. These are the quickest, cleanest, and most sustainable solutions to meeting our energy needs, while curbing global warming and other serious pollution problems. As we work to increase renewable and more efficient energy, however, more damaging energy sources—including fossil fuels such as coal and natural gas—will continue to play a role in our energy mix. Because power plants burning natural gas produce less air pollution than coal-burning plants, in the near term natural gas can actually serve to diminish a number of public health threats caused by generating electricity. To achieve this, though, sound policies must be in place to make certain that natural gas is used to replace coal and minimize methane emissions—a potent global warming pollutant—and does not displace investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy sources, such as wind and solar. Get document in pdf.

Reducing the Need for U.S. Drilling Through Energy Efficiency
Fact Sheet

The toll from the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico is devastating. Nearly 4 million barrels of oil have poured into Gulf waters,1 destroying fragile marine and coastal ecosystems and inflicting untold economic damages on businesses and residents in the Gulf region. The effects of this spill -- one of the largest in history -- will be felt for generations. Get document in pdf.

Risky Gas Drilling Threatens Health, Water Supplies
The rapid expansion of natural gas drilling across the nation endangers human health and the environment.
Overview

The oil and gas industry is seeking to expand natural gas production across the nation, as new technology makes it easier to extract gas from previously inaccessible sites. NRDC supports establishing a fully effective system of safeguards for hydraulic fracturing to protect our health and land and is committed to working with the federal government, states, communities and industry to put these safeguards into place right away.

Finding the Balance: The Role of Natural Gas in America’s Energy Future
Fact Sheet

By helping the United States reduce its carbon pollution and begin the transition to a sustainable energy future, the efficient use of natural gas can play an important role in meeting America’s energy needs while slowing our contributions to climate change. Recent developments in technology have increased access to natural gas supplies stretching from New York to Texas. Yet, burning natural gas without emission controls creates carbon emissions that ultimately will be too high in relation to America’s need to reduce emissions 80 percent or more by mid-century. In addition, as drilling moves into more communities, many people have become concerned about the negative impacts drilling will have on their lives. Comprehensive regulations ensuring that drilling occurs safely and only in appropriate places can provide a critical vehicle to allow natural gas to fulfill its valuable role in America’s energy future. Get document in pdf.

Protecting New Yorkers’ Health and the Environment by Regulating Drilling in the Marcellus Shale
Fact Sheet

With rising energy costs and fears of more volatility in the future, the natural gas industry is now searching for additional fuel sources. One such source is the natural gas-rich Marcellus Shale, an ancient rock formation that spans 600 miles and four states, including New York. While there may be benefits to drilling this large natural gas reserve, doing so without the proper monitoring and regulation by state and local officials will present a number of serious threats to human health and the environment in New York State. NRDC is therefore working with leaders across the state to ensure that if drilling in the Marcellus Shale occurs in New York, it will be done responsibly and only in appropriate areas. This fact sheet includes recommendations for action you can take to help ensure that gas drilling in the Marcellus Shale does not proceed in New York without full protections for New Yorkers’ health and the environment.
Get document in pdf.

Picking a Clean Energy Plan
NRDC's Plug-In Alternative is More Efficient than the Pickens Plan
Fact Sheet

From oil price volatility to global warming and national security concerns, it is clear that our current reliance on oil is unsustainable. Even oil industry veteran T. Boone Pickens has proposed a plan (the “Pickens Plan”) to rapidly reduce oil dependency by increasing wind power and using natural gas to power vehicles. NRDC agrees with the urgency behind the Pickens Plan and supports the broad expansion of clean, renewable electricity. But the Pickens Plan does not contemplate the full range of options. We believe that pursuing the best outcome rather than preselected technologies will reveal more effective ways to put our natural gas resources to work. As one example, we examine here an alternative proposal, “The Plug-in Alternative,” that would get the most mileage out of our renewable and clean-burning energy sources while sharply reducing our dependence on dirtier sources like oil and coal. Get document in pdf.

Drilling Down
Protecting Western Communities from the Health and Environmental Effects of Oil and Gas Production
Report

Oil and gas production releases pollution that can have serious impacts on people's health and the surrounding air, water, and land. Although these operations are frequently located near homes, schools, and other community resources, the oil and gas industry enjoys numerous exemptions from provisions of federal laws intended to protect human health and the environment.

The Drill in the Backyard
Photo Album

Domestic oil and natural gas production has soared in recent years as our demand for energy continues to rise. Much of this growth is occurring in the Rocky Mountain region, where well pads, waste pits and giant compressors mar the legendary western landscape of wide vistas and soaring peaks.

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