More Shale Gas Used by Utilities = Less CO2 Released

The International Energy Agency announced yesterday that carbon dioxide emissions in the U.S. dropped by 450 million tonnes over the past five years, largely because of increased use of natural gas as a replacement for coal in recent years. Unfortunately carbon emissions worldwide continue to rise, increasing by one gigatonne last year to 31.6 gigatonnes. Fast growing economies like China and India are largely responsible for the increase, but it is nice to see the U.S. leading the way in the attempt to keep carbon dioxide in check, and shale gas is the biggest reason for these improvements.