Atmosphere Fossil Fuels Natural Gas 
Union of Concerned Scientists
OCTOBER 15, 2024
Power plants fueled by methane gas have a serious climate problem. The fuel, commonly known as natural gas, now powers the biggest portion of US electricity generation—more than 40 percent. Notably for a discussion of gas plants, that includes methane, which traps many times more heat than CO 2.
Union of Concerned Scientists
NOVEMBER 16, 2022
Union of Concerned Scientists’ (UCS) research shows that top fossil fuel producers’ emissions are responsible for as much as half of global surface temperature increase. of the observed rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide and 52 percent of the rise in global average temperatures between 1880 and 2015.
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Enviromental Defense
DECEMBER 2, 2024
In fact, studies show that clean energy is a more affordable option than continuing to rely on fossil fuels. In the most recent procurement (LT1), battery storage facilities came in at less than half the cost of natural gas-fired power. Battery storage is very cost-effective. In 2017, our grid was 96 percent non-emitting.
Real Climate
SEPTEMBER 19, 2021
But methane’s role in atmospheric chemistry and as a source of stratospheric water vapour means that it has a bigger effect on climate than just the direct effect of its concentration. There is also a very small impact of the CH 4 oxidation to CO 2 itself for any fossil-fuel derived methane. (a) W/m 2 for CH 4.
Physics World
JUNE 17, 2022
Levels of helium-4 in the Earth’s atmosphere have been increasing since at least 1974, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Diego, US that resolves a longstanding anomaly in atmospheric science. When the gas is extracted and burned, the helium is released into the atmosphere.
Union of Concerned Scientists
FEBRUARY 15, 2024
This approach originated from the recognition that many alternative fuels, especially ethanol, involve a lot of fossil fuels and other pollution in their production. This approach holds fuel producers accountable for reducing fossil fuel use and other global warming pollution in their supply chains.
Union of Concerned Scientists
FEBRUARY 9, 2024
Just how bad is fossil “natural” gas? Responsible for 12 percent of all US global warming emissions from human activities, methane traps significantly more heat per molecule than carbon dioxide, making it 86 times more harmful for the first 20 years after it is released into the atmosphere.
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