methane help

Question

assuming it were practical, would meeting our energy needs entirely from methane do away with damage to the environment? explain your answer

Answer 1

Here are a couple of things to consider:

 

What specific kind of damage to the environment are they talking about?  If it's global warming, for example, then there would still be CO₂ released into the environment from burning methane, just as there is from burning other fuels.  Also, methane is a greenhouse gas, so any leakage of methane from the production process and from the distribution network would add even more to the problem of global warming.

 

On the other hand, methane burns more cleanly than petroleum, and because it is a gas there would be no damage to the environment from spills.  So there would be less impact on the physical environment of the earth and on the breathability of the air.

 

The question is, what's the net result?  Would the negative impact of methane on global warming outweigh the potential benefits of the direct environment benefits?  That's for you to consider.

 

Jon