The Health and Environmental Hazards of Natural Gas

Natural gas production in the USA has, since 1950, increased by approximately 400%, and natural gas is now the country’s second-largest energy source. The main driver of this increase has been widespread adoption of hydraulic fracturing (a technology used to access underground natural gas resources). During fracturing, large quantities of water, sand and chemicals are injected deep underground at high pressure to fracture shale gas deposits, and applied to sand and coal beds to release saline gas. The world’s largest gas transmission network—with more than 300.000 kilometers of interstate transmission pipelines, 2.1 million miles of local distribution lines and more than 1000 compressor stations—brings this gas to market. Readily available gas has reduced dependence on coal and oil and enabled the USA to export gas overseas. It has also made natural gas an important raw material for the chemical, pesticide and plastics manufacturing industries.

Natural gas, consisting mainly of methane, was regarded as a clean “transition” fuel—a bridge from the coal and oil of the past to the clean energy sources of the future. This claim is partly true. Burning natural gas produces only negligible amounts of sulfur dioxide, mercury and particulates. It is therefore less polluting than burning coal or oil, which benefits health. Gas combustion also produces less carbon dioxide per unit of energy than burning coal or oil.

But beneath this rosy narrative lies a more complicated story. Gas is associated with health and environmental hazards and reduces social well-being at every stage of its life cycle. Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) is linked to groundwater and surface water contamination, air pollution, noise and light pollution, radiation releases, ecosystem damage and earthquakes. Gas transportation and storage can cause fires and explosions. The pipeline network is aging, inadequately maintained and rarely inspected. One or more pipeline explosions occur in the USA every year. In September 2018, a series of pipeline explosions in the Merrimack Valley in Massachusetts caused more than 80 fires, damaged 131 homes, prompted the evacuation of 30.000 people, injured 25 people including two firefighters, and killed an 18-year-old boy. Gas compressor stations emit chemicals such as benzene, 1,3-butadiene and formaldehyde that are toxic and carcinogenic chemicals. Wells, pipelines and compressor stations are disproportionately located in low-income, minority and marginalized communities, where they can leak gas, make noise and create hazards, contributing to environmental injustice without benefiting local residents. Gas combustion generates nitrogen oxides that increase the risk of asthma and worsen chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

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Natural gas extraction and use are serious hazards causing global climate change. Gas is a much more powerful driver of climate change than is generally acknowledged. Of the gas produced by fracking, 4% is lost through leakage, and these emissions appear to contribute to the recent sharp increases in atmospheric methane. Methane has a heat-trapping potential 100 years long that is 30 times that of carbon dioxide, and over 20 years it is 85 times greater, making a powerful contribution to global warming. Gas burned in stoves and boilers also contributes to global warming by producing carbon dioxide. This evidence shows that the advantage of natural gas over coal and oil has been greatly overstated.

Despite increasing gas-related hazards and the recent rapid growth in electricity generation from renewable energy, new gas wells continue to be drilled and new pipelines built. The US Energy Information Administration projects that daily natural gas production in the USA will increase by 10 billion cubic meters next year and that under current federal policy, more electricity will be generated than from renewable sources every year since 2050. This expansion of gas infrastructure is supported by government subsidies and tax breaks that benefit the fossil fuel industry and artificially lower gasoline prices. In 2016, federal subsidies for gas, compared with the 533 million dollars allocated to solar energy research and development, were 60 times greater, amounting to 32.6 billion dollars. State subsidies provide additional support for fossil fuels.

As physicians deeply concerned about climate change, pollution and their consequences, we regard the expansion of natural gas infrastructure as a serious danger to human health. All reasonable analyses show that if global warming is to remain below 1.5 ° C, the target set by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, we must leave all remaining fossil fuels in the ground and thus mitigate their health and environmental consequences.

Another argument against gas investment is that it is economically imprudent. Such investment ignores the fact that the cost of generating electricity from renewable energy is falling rapidly and energy prices are approaching a “tipping point,” after which obtaining electricity from solar and wind sources will be cheaper than from gas. The Energy Information Administration estimates that by 2023, generating electricity from wind will cost 36.60 dollars per megawatt-hour, solar generation 37.60 dollars, and gas generation 40.20 dollars. Any investment in gas therefore risks failing to provide an economic return. This risk could increase if federal subsidies for gas are cut.

We believe that natural gas exploration is being pursued with a narrow perspective. States that subsidize gas and permit new pipelines and compressor stations will not miss opportunities to invest in renewable energy while remaining dependent on gas in the coming years. The real problem with fracking, then, is that it perpetuates the carbon-based energy system and delays the transition to a carbon-free economy.

To address this problem, we propose reducing state and federal subsidies for natural gas over the next 2 years and then eliminating them. The International Monetary Fund has made similar recommendations. We also recommend refusing permits for new residential or commercial gas connections, withdrawing new gas appliances from the market, banning further gas exploration on federal lands, and halting construction of all new or planned gas infrastructure. We believe that a malign proposal recently announced by the Environmental Protection Agency to roll back methane pollution limits must be blocked. At the same time, we call for incentives such as new tax structures, subsidies and carbon pricing that support wind, solar and other nonpolluting renewable energy sources and policies supporting energy conservation.

Implementing these recommendations will require courageous political leadership and face fierce resistance. However, a broad transition to renewable sources will bring enormous benefits to the USA. It will reduce air pollution and therefore prevent disease, extend life and lower health care costs. It will free billions of public dollars spent on fossil fuel subsidies and protect our planet.

Models for effective climate action exist. In July 2019, New York State enacted comprehensive energy and climate legislation, pledging that by 2050 it would reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 85%. To meet this target, New York is developing the country’s largest wind farm and continuing collaboration with Ireland and Denmark. It has also created financial incentives for clean vehicles, including trucks and buses, and tax incentives for energy conservation. Idaho Power, the largest utility in a highly conservative state, pledged to generate 100% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2045. The United Kingdom committed to achieving zero carbon emissions by 2050.

Natural gas was presented as a bridge to the future. The data now show that it is merely a link to the past. We believe the time has come to reject the false promises of natural gas.