[ExI] USA co2 emmissions plunge to 1994 levels

[Eugen Leitl]

On Thu, Apr 25, 2013 at 03:44:57PM -0700, spike wrote:

> Wouldn't it be hilarious if the USA, after refusing to sign on to the Kyoto
> agreement, became the only one of the industrialized biggies to meet the
> goals it proposed?

It won't, because methane is a much more potent greenhouse
gas than carbon dioxide, and is released in very large quantities 
during fracking. In fact some operators are not even flaring it,
according to plume measurements from air. 

The unconventional oil and gas story is another expensive
mistake in the series (see bioethanol and biofuels in
general). Fortunately, it's short-lived, so it will 
self-correct within a decade.

In general the whole attempt to limit the rate of fossil 
depletion and carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas release 
is over. We now know that we'll burn everything with a net 
positive energy contet, and even most of that below -- 
sure beats synfuel.