Here’s a little myth-buster session just for you blog
readers and please feel very free to share with friends and family, you may
just save them money!
 |
| Gas Vs Electric |
Myth #1 – Natural gas is a clean energy alternative to coal
generated electricity.
Don’t be fooled by the natural
in natural gas, technically it is
natural (like all fossil fuels) as it is formed from organic plant and animal
matter that has been subject to heat and pressure over thousands of years, however
it is not renewable, the drilling, extraction and pipelining often leads to
release of methane (a serious GHG) and it’s combustion leads to carbon emissions.
One report says 8% of all gas (methane) is being lost to the atmosphere during
transfer from the gas fields to our homes and this unburnt gas can be 100 times
more damaging to the climate than carbon generated from its combustion.
Myth #2 – Natural gas is cheap (compared to electricity).
Once upon a time this was true but it has now moved in the
fiction category. Natural gas has been sold to homeowners as a clean, efficient
and cheap alternative to electricity especially when used for household water heating
and cooking requirements which may have been true a number of years age (except
for the ‘clean’ bit, see myth #1). Recent advances in modern appliances such
electric heat pumps for space heating, electric hot water heat pumps and
induction cooktops have completely blown natural gas out of the water in terms
of efficiency, running costs and emissions!...even when using conservative
figures AND not including any fugitive emissions associated with extraction and
pipelining the gas to the user (A past guest of ours Matthew
Wright has published his research on this exact topic).
So Natural Gas is neither environmentally cleaner NOR
cheaper to use anymore AND as we heard on this week’s show, the price is almost
certain to rise by 200-300% in the near future once the gas export terminals
are completed off the Queensland coast (right on the World Heritage Listed Great
Barrier Reef mind you).
To really nail this one on the head in terms of what energy
source to use, electricity or gas? Using electricity from the grid, generated
from the burning of coal is more environmentally friendly in terms of emissions
and it is also better on your hip pocket. This feels like a kind of half win
where we have chosen the lesser of two carbon emitting evils, however we can
make this a WIN WIN by using a renewable power source like Solar PV to power our
electric appliances and voilà,
no emissions, no operating costs, just an upfront investment with incredibly fast
payback.
 |
| Not quite what we mean by solar powered cooking but hey, this could work! |
Listen
to the show to hear more about why gas prices will rise and also hear from
an expert psychologist on why humans are wired to ignoring the impacts of
climate change.
Here are the links to the ABC Radio National interviews we
played on our show:
Gas
Prices – ABC Radio National, Saturday Extra with Geraldine Doogue speaking
to Giles Parkinson, originally broadcast on 12 July 2014 and then repeated on 3
January 2015.
Ignoring
Climate Change – ABC Radio National, Late Night Live presented by Phillip
Adams speaking with George Marshall, broadcast 4 February 2015.
Next week, we are chatting to Paul Gale-Baker about all
things Permaculture. Not sure what that is? Well tune in to find out!
Music from this week:
Through The Roof by Hermitude
Paper Heart’s by Em George
Listen Up by Dark Fair
