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naturalNews

natural gas celebrates earth day’s

past, present and future

This cleaning-burning fuel dominates the energy landscape.

By Drew Robb

ith Earth Day approaching, it is important to take Back then, there was a lot of discussion around power stations re-
a step back and review how well the natural gas ducing their output of nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide. Mark Axford,
industry has performed in recent decades on the president of Axford Turbine Consultants LLC, noted that emissions
W environmental front, why it is good for the environ- from coal-based power plants were as much as 50 times higher than
ment today, and how it is preparing to be a responsible environmen- they are today compared to the latest state-of-the-art natural gas-
tal steward for the future. powered generation plants. Today, the discussion has moved on to
efforts to lower carbon footprint.
earTh day’S PaST “As power generated from natural gas is so efficient, a modern
Many don’t realize how far the country has come from the old plant emits about 50% less carbon dioxide than a modern coal plant
days of rampant pollution, heavy smog, dumping of toxic chemicals, that is outfitted with the latest environmental technologies,” Axford
indiscriminate use of pesticides and massive oil spills. The late ‘60s said. “Natural gas is so clean that it burns without traces of soot,
were a period of raised awareness about the need to take care of the sulfur or mercury.”
planet. That led to the establishment of the Environmental Protec- EPA data shows that annual emissions from the natural gas distri-
tion Agency (EPA) in 1970 and new rules impacting power stations bution system declined 69% from 1990 to 2019, even as natural gas
as well as national air quality standards. utility companies added more than 788,000 miles of pipeline to serve
21 million more customers. In other words, despite a huge increase
in population, the addition of a massive number of pipelines, and
the fact that home users consume far more energy than ever, natural
gas emissions fell dramatically.
earTh day’S PreSenT
As a result, natural gas generation now dominates the energy land-
scape. According to the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Informa-
tion Administration (EIA), natural gas is by far the biggest source of
power generation in the nation, with more than a 40% share. That is
more than double the share of the next highest contributors, which
are coal and all renewable sources, each at just under 20%.
Coal used to be the dominant source of power in the United States.
But the country has seen a decade or more of coal plant closures. They
have been replaced by the powerful combination of renewable energy
sources and natural gas-powered generation facilities. While the num-
ber of renewable energy sources is steadily rising, the nation continues
to rely on clean-burning natural gas to keep the lights on and provide
the energy the nation vitally needs – both in the home and in industry.
Home appliances represent another area of strong environmental
performance for natural gas. Over the past three decades, the energy
efficiency rating of natural gas appliances has risen substantially.
The 2022 Earth Day takes place Friday, April 22, with the theme “Climate Change.” (continued on page 04)

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