Fracking's Methane Leakage to Be Focus of Many Studies This Year

The early years of the shale boom came with a widely held assumption that the vast quantities of natural gas liberated through high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, would help slow climate change by displacing coal-fired power plants and speeding the transition to a clean-energy future.

But that notion was seriously challenged as scientists began studying the life cycle of natural gas.  Although natural-gas power plants emit fewer greenhouse gases than coal plants, the process of extracting, processing and transporting natural gas releases unknown amounts of methane into the air.

Because methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, the shale boom's net impact on climate change remains unclear.  That uncertainty has widened the rift between fracking supporters and opponents, and was cited as one of the reasons behind New York's recent fracking ban.

It has also prompted a slew of scientific studies, many of which are scheduled for this year.

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