One mustn’t look too far to find a story about natural gas production - whether from the perspective that it will transform the global economy or drive the climate past the point of no return. Whether you’re for gas or against it, the only chance we have to make clearheaded decisions about the issue is through credible measurements and complete transparency.

Without question, the economic opportunity presented by natural gas cannot be denied. A world that’s been slogging through a global recession and massive unemployment for far too long is looking for an economic catalyst, and natural gas may be it!

In a recent article in the NY Times, Dan Yergin, author of The Quest: Energy, Security, and the Remaking of the Modern World and chairman of IHS Cambridge Energy Research Associates, whom I had the pleasure of meeting in Davos this year, reports on how natural gas production, if done properly, stands to transform not just the U.S. but the global economy. Increased gas production in the western hemisphere, he writes, will mean fewer oil imports into the U.S. coming from the eastern hemisphere, which will in turn cause Middle Eastern exports to flow into Asia – a trend that stands to pull us out of the global recession.

But what about the dark side: contaminated groundwater, increased greenhouse gas emissions, toxic VOC leaks, land scaring, etc. etc.? Are these things inevitable? In the International Energy Agency’s recently released report “Golden Rules for the Golden Age of Gas,” Executive Director Maria van der Hoeven states, “The technology and the know-how already exist for unconventional gas to be produced in an environmentally acceptable way. But if the social and environmental impacts are not addressed properly, there is a very real possibility that public opposition to drilling for shale gas and other types of unconventional gas will halt the unconventional gas revolution in its tracks. The industry must win public confidence by demonstrating exemplary performance; governments must ensure that appropriate policies and regulatory regimes are in place.”

I wholeheartedly agree with Ms. Van der Hoeven, and I truly wish the natural gas industry to be wildly successful! That’s why we aim to provide solutions that will enable scientists, NGOs, industry personnel, regulators or anyone imaginable to provide complete transparency of emissions throughout the natural gas lifecycle, from fracking wells through distribution pipelines to kitchen stoves.

So let me tell you a little bit about the work Picarro Fellow Chris Rella is doing with Gabrielle Petron and Colm Sweeney of the University of Colorado at Boulder Cooperative Institute for Environmental Sciences and NOAA Global Monitoring Division,  with generous funding from the Environmental Defense Fund. Gabrielle, Colm, and Chris are measuring the methane emissions from the intensive oil and gas activities in Weld County, CO, just north of Denver. They’re taking an array of complex measurements from tall towers, airplanes, and mobile ground-based laboratories, alongside advanced measurements of local-scale meteorology.  By combining measurements of not just methane but other tracer gases, such as longer chain hydrocarbons, VOCs, and stable isotopes, they are working not only to quantify the total methane emissions from the region, but to determine what fraction of those emissions are from natural gas exploration and production.  

What I like about natural gas is its abundance and its incredibly promise to be a much needed clean source of fuel. What I like even more about Picarro’s customers is that their work and dedication is helping to ensure that this promise will be met.