Renewable Urgency

Natural gas is often described as a "bridge" to a more fully renewable energy system.  For example, there has been a shift from coal to gas in electrical generation.  But Naomi Oreskes makes the case that increasing use of gas is leading to more climate change.  A major concern is leakage--even small amounts have a large effect due to the potency of methane as a greenhouse gas.  President Obama is just now taking steps to reduce pipeline leaks.  Compounding the problem is evidence that methane hydrates in the Arctic Ocean are beginning to destabilize--a positive feedback from warming that has already occurred.

A further complication is the result of a study conducted by Aarhus University in Denmark, Vermont Law School, and CNA Corporation that projects a water shortage by 2040 largely due to the cooling demands of energy production from fossil fuels.  But NASA has demonstrated what is possible with its Sustainability Base.

Update (August 6):  More on the effects of warming in the arctic.  And Brian Merchant follows up on a "tweet" from glaciology professor James Box:

"Even if a small fraction of the Arctic carbon were released to the atmosphere, we're fucked," he told me. What alarmed him was that "the methane bubbles were reaching the surface. That was something new in my survey of methane bubbles."

Update (August 26):  Jeff Spross reports on the discovery of methane bubbles in the Atlantic Ocean off the east coast of the U.S.  This seems to be unexpected since that region isn't known as a methane reservoir.

Update (September 8):  Bill McKibben discusses study results indicating that natural gas leaks make methane worse than burning coal.

Update (October 19):  A study published in Nature with lead author Haewon McJeon from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory says that increased use of natural gas prevents the expanded use of renewable energy sources which are better at avoiding additional global warming.

Update (April 19, 2015):  Michael Klare is optimistic about a renewable transition.

Update (October 24, 2015):  Methane bubbles are showing up off the western coast of the United States.