True cost of natural gas (LTE)

Editor, Gettysburg Times,

Thanks to Matt Espenshade for his Op-Ed in the April 30 Gettysburg Times touting all the economic benefits to the state and nation of Pennsylvania’s natural gas industry, particularly its value to agriculture, which is an energy-intensive endeavor. He is correct in saying that “natural gas is a cleaner-burning fossil fuel,” since burning it emits less carbon dioxide into the atmosphere than does the burning of coal or oil, but he misses its main environmental drawback. The unburned gas, when leaked into the atmosphere, traps some forty times more heat than does the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide. So, leakage of even a tiny amount of this potent greenhouse gas can vastly increase atmospheric warming and accelerate climate change.

Every engineer and plumber who designs or maintains piping systems for gas or liquids will tell you that their biggest challenge is finding and fixing leaks. They will also tell you that no system is 100% leak proof. The best way to avoid the leaking of natural gas into the atmosphere is to leave the gas in the ground.

It would be near impossible, however, to get consensus on shutting off natural gas wells. We can reach consensus, though, on another way to manage the threat: strong government regulation of the industry, backed up by strong enforcement, all paid for by taxing the industry, so the price of natural gas better reflects its true cost. Pennsylvania is the only oil- and gas-producing state in the nation that does not impose a severance tax on energy companies. It is way past time for Pennsylvania to change this. No more tax breaks for gas producers.

Jeff Colvin, Gettysburg