[Congressional Record Volume 158, Number 94 (Wednesday, June 20, 2012)]
[House]
[Page H3812]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                              NATURAL GAS

  (Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania asked and was given permission to 
address the House for 1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Madam Speaker, on June 4, America's 
Natural Gas Alliance issued a report contesting the EPA's recent study 
on greenhouse gas emissions and natural gas development. Specifically, 
the study found that methane emissions from shale operations are 86 
percent lower than EPA estimated. Furthermore, methane doesn't remain 
in the atmosphere for long relative to other gasses.
  Unfortunately, some energy alternatives receiving government 
subsidies have worse emissions than what we thought. The new book, 
``Green Illusions,'' by Ozzie Zehner, shows that building solar cells 
releases substantial quantities of emissions like sulfur hexafluoride, 
which lasts 267 times as long in the atmosphere, and have nearly 
doubled since 1998.
  According to a May report from the International Energy Agency, U.S. 
carbon emissions are down more than any other country. In fact, since 
2006, U.S. emissions have fallen 7.7 percent, with the increased use of 
shale gas as a key factor in the drop, according to the Agency's chief 
economist.
  This leads to a conclusion that many might find paradoxical. If 
global warming is a problem we need to address, then we should welcome 
the increased production and use of natural gas as a prime energy 
source.

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