Concern grows over methane leaks from oil and gas wells With the
fracking boom building, natural gas is touted as a clean energy
source. But the hard truth is that the gas drilling sector—which
includes the controversial practice of hydraulic fracturing or
fracking—has worsened air quality in many areas. In some parts
of the country undergoing such a boom, air quality has fallen
below levels the EPA determined to be safe. Unfortunately, the
growing problem is that the production, transmission and
distribution of oil and natural gas emit large amounts of
harmful pollutants into the air, often without any controls to
protect the surrounding communities and our air. And those
pollutants include methane, a greenhouse gas more than 20 times
as potent as carbon dioxide, which is also the primary component
of natural gas itself. This EnergyWire article points to
research where scientists have estimated that anywhere between
one to 10 percent of natural gas produced ends up leaking out
into the air through a variety