Letter: Increasing natural gas use provides environmental benefits

At this point, it’s becoming almost impossible to deny the environmental benefits increased natural gas use is providing in the United States.

This was made clear in the Aug. 17 article “CO2 emissions drop to 20 year lows” which highlighted how its increased use in power generation has enabled the U.S. to reduce carbon emissions to 20-year lows, dropping to 1992 levels.

A spokesperson for Ohio’s largest electric utility summed up the situation rather succinctly stating, “It really is a reflection of what’s happened with shale gas.”

The news comes on the heels of an earlier announcement by the International Energy Agency, which noted the U.S. has led the world in carbon reductions since 2006 thanks to increased natural gas use made possible by hydraulic fracturing.

Of course, these aren’t the only benefits we have seen from natural gas development. Studies show it supported 1.5 million jobs and more than $1 billion a day in economic activity last year, with the latter helping the U.S. avoid another recession. With benefits like these it’s easy to see how natural gas is improving our lives for the better.

John Krohn, Energy In Depth spokesperson, Washington, D.C.

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