Andrew Revkin from Dot Earth explores whether China will soon switch to natural gas and the answer appears to be, yes.
Reports showed that China — which was once considered gas poor — now has estimated volumes greater than those of the United States (which are, as you know, enormous).
With the two greatest economies on Earth (U.S., China) embracing natural gas (and Russia supplying Europe with substantial amounts), we appear to be entering a new “gas age”.
Again from Revkin’s article:
The gas revolution isn’t all roses. People have legitimate worries about the environmental impacts of fracking—notably on air and water. There are also some worrying signs that fracking operations might emit lots of greenhouse gases—which, if true, would negate much (perhaps all) of the climate change benefits from a shift to gas. My read of that literature is that those fears have been overblown and new estimates based on serious measurement will be more reassuring.
Only time will tell how this new ‘gas age’ affects the planet.
