NaturalGasProsandCons

Naturalgasisoneofthebigthreefossilfuelsthattheworldrunson.In
recentdecades,therehasbeenmoreofanefforttomoveawayfromcoal
andgaswhenitcomestoprovidingheatandpowerastheyproduce
high
levelsofpollution
.Thereservesforcoalandnaturalgasarealsobeing
swiftlydepleted,Naturalgasistheobviouschoiceforreplacingthemasa
majorenergysource
,buttherearemanyprosandconsofnaturalgasuse.
Proponentsofbothsides,whenitcomestotalkingabouttheprosandcons
ofnaturalgashaveatendencytoonlysticktoisolatedfactsinpromoting
theirview.Therealscientificevaluationoftheviabilityofanenergysource
comesinseeingbothsidestogether.Inordertodecidehowviablenatural
gasisforpower,youhavetoconsiderthe
prosandconsofnaturalgas
at
thesametime.

ProsofNaturalGas
1.ProducesLessSoot:
Naturalgasisalwayspointedtowardswhenit
comestoproducingless
pollution
thanotherfossilfuelsinitsproductionas
itsbyproductsareingaseousform.Itburnscleanerthangasolineordiesel.
Itreleases45%lesscarbondioxidethancoaland30%lessthanoiland
hasthereforelessimpactonthe
environment
.

2.AbundantSupply:
Itisabundantandavailableworldwide.Thereare
overatrillionbarrelsofnaturalgasreservesintheUSalonethathavenot
beenharvested.Justlikeoilandcoal,naturalgasisafinitesourcethathas
tobeconservedtobeaviablepowersource.Inthecomingyears,many
sitesarewaitingtobediscovered.

3.InfrastructureinPlace:
Thetechnologytoproducenaturalgasalready
existsasthesameisusedtoharnessfossilfuels.Thefamiliaritywiththe
currenttechnologymakesiteasierforustoharnessnaturalgasinthe
sameway.Itisusedextensivelyforpowergenerationandheat.

4.Cheaper:
Naturalgasvehiclesarefarmoreenergyefficient,asareother
enginespoweredbyitwhichmakesthemcheapertorun.Giventhatmost
oftheenginesintheworldofalltypesaregasbased,thecostofconverting
orreplacingthemisprohibitive.Itismostcommonusedfuelinhomesfor
heatingandcookingpurposes.

5.Transportation:
Naturalgascanbeeasilytransportedviaships,tankers
andpipes.Itislighterandeasiertotransportintermsofcarbonfootprint.
Thismakesnaturalgasaviableoptiontobeusedinresidentialhomes.
Oneofthemainbenefitofnaturalgasisthatitisusedtomakeplastics,
chemicals,fertilizersandhydrogen.

ConsofNaturalGas

1.HighlyInflammable:
Naturalgasisahighlyflammablesubstancethat
cancausesignificantlymoredamageshouldtherebeanaccident.Natural
gasleakscancausefiresorexplosions,ifnothandledcarefully.Itis
colorless,tastelessandodorlessandcannotbedetectedbysmellunless
anodorantisaddedtoit.

2.GreenhouseGasEmissions:
Whennaturalgasisburnt,itreleases
carbondioxide,monoxide,andothercarboncompoundsinthe
atmosphere.Thesegasestransfercarbonfromtheearthtothe
atmosphere,thuscontributingtowardsgreenhouseeffect.

3.
NonSustainable:
Naturalgasisnonrenewableandwilleventually
expireonedaylikeotherfossilfuels.Itisnotasustainableformofenergy
andisnotananswertoevergrowingenergycrisisproblemthatthisworld
isfacing.Theneedistolookbeyondthatandinvestheavilyisrenewable
formoftechnologies.

4.NotEasytoUse:
Tousenaturalgas,allthecomponentsexcept
methanehavetobeextracted.Thisresultsinseveralbyproductssuchas
hydrocarbons(ethane,propane,etc.),sulfur,watervapor,carbondioxide,
andevenheliumandnitrogen.

5.ExpensivePipelines:
Theinfrastructureneededtousenaturalgasis
veryexpensiveaslongpipes,specializedtanks,andseparateplumbing
systemsneedtobeused.Longdistancetransmissionandtransportation
requiresextracost.Fixingofleakingpipesaddtotherunningcost.
Asyoucansee,nothingiseasywhenitcomestobalancingtheprosand
consofnaturalgas.Whileithasntbeenasheavilyusedasotherfossil
fuels,andthereforethereisagreatersupplyofititisalsoalimited
resource.Byswitchingtoaheavierdemandonthatresource,itcan
becomejustasdepletedasourotherfuelreserves.Italsohasitsown
downsideswhenitcomesto
environmentaldamage
andpollution.

Inweighingthemain5prosandconsofnaturalgasitisimportantto
rememberthatthedecisionthathastobemadeisonethatseeksbalance.
Asaworld,weneedtorelieveourdemandonthealreadystrained
resourcesofcoalandoil,andnaturalgasmaybetheperfectwaytodothat
intheshortterm.Youcantlosesightofthelongtermimpactofincreased
naturalgasuse.Theprosandconsofnaturalgasneedtoalwaysstayat
theforefrontofanyinitiativetofurtheradvancethedevelopmentof
sustainableandrenewableenergysourcestoo.