Let’s be clear. Natural gas is not an environmentally-friendly choice. Though greenhouse gas emissions from burning natural gas are lower than from burning oil, natural gas is still a fossil fuel.
The use of fossil fuels for power releases greenhouse gases, which are gases that absorb infrared radiation and therefore contribute to climate change.
Drilling for and extracting natural gas also releases greenhouse gases. Natural gas production releases methane, which is 34 times stronger than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the earth’s atmosphere over a 100 year period and 86 times stronger over a 20 year period.
Additionally, drilling for natural gas can cause an increase in concentrations of hazardous air pollutants including two of the six “criteria pollutants” regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency because of their harmful effects on health and environment in the areas where drilling occurs. Exposure to these air pollutants is linked to respiratory issues, cardiovascular disease and cancer.
Right now, many New York State legislators, including six representatives from Long Island, are fighting with the governor and environmental groups who oppose the construction of a natural gas pipeline in New York Harbor.
Natural gas pipelines are significant environmental threats. To build a natural gas pipeline and drill for natural gas, land needs to be cleared. This obviously alters the landscape and harms local ecosystems.
Without plants and trees to hold the soil in place, the land erodes where sites are cleared for well pads, pipelines and access roads. Wildlife habitats are fragmented by the access roads and infrastructure. Migration patterns are interrupted, and the very existence of species is threatened.
Eroding soil carries pollutants, dirt and minerals into nearby water sources threatening the quality for marine life and human use.
Natural gas production typically produces large volumes of contaminated water that must be disposed of.
Any disposal option, whether back into the ground or through a treatment system is costly and presents environmental threats to underground water sources, like the one we Long Islanders rely on, and to surface waters receiving the discharge or runoff. Finally, natural gas pipelines can and have exploded causing loss of life and property damage.
Pipelines may leak for months before the leaks are detected and any corrective action is taken. Leaking natural gas pipelines release methane into the air, further contributing to climate change. Although regulations require pipeline inspections, they do not require repair of all leaks. Over time, small methane leaks add up to major contributors to global climate changes.
Our focus must be on renewable energy sources if we have any hope of holding global climate change to less than a 1.5-degree Celsius increase in temperature.
Instead of pursuing a natural gas pipeline in New York Harbor, New York State communities should establish microgrids as an alternative energy source and potential great use for brownfields (a former industrial or commercial site where future use is affected by real or perceived environmental contamination).
A microgrid is a local energy grid with local control capability. It can disconnect from the traditional grid, that relies on a central power source to provide energy to homes, businesses and more, and operate autonomously.
A microgrid can rely on locally generated renewable energy, which eliminates “line losses” – the loss of energy when power travels long distances. Microgrids can be large enough to support a community or small enough to power a single facility. New York is one of the seven states where most of the microgrids in the United States are located.
New York State offers financial incentives to convert brownfields into solar farms. These sites are excellent for local energy production because (1) they are often large and located in areas with the existing infrastructure needed to support development and (2) they can be very difficult and expensive to develop for other uses because of existing contamination. In fact, the U.S. Department of Energy calls these converted sites “brightfields” because they are otherwise unused contaminated or polluted areas used for solar development.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has compiled a list of more than 80,000 brownfields vetted as suitable for renewable energy development.
So, hold off on turning on your heat a little longer, put on a sweater and investigate solar panels, solar hot water and geothermal for your home and business. And maybe call your state legislator and encourage them to focus on converting some of Long Island’s hundreds of brownfields into local renewable energy microgrids.
