考研英语阅读篇章: 天然气不能有效缓解全球变暖

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    考研英语阅读篇章: 天然气不能有效缓解全球变暖　
    Both shale gas and conventional natural gas have a larger greenhouse gas
footprint than do coal or oil, especially for the primary uses of residential
and commercial heating. Dr. Robert Howarth, a professor of ecology and
environmental biology, came to this conclusion after assessing the best
available data and analyzing greenhouse gas footprints for both methane(甲烷)
(including shale gas and conventional gas) and carbon dioxide over a timescale
of 20-years following emissions.
    The findings are published in Energy Science & Engineering.
    "While emissions of carbon dioxide are less from natural gas than from coal
and oil, methane emissions are far greater. Methane is such a potent greenhouse
gas that these emissions make natural gas a dangerous fuel from the standpoint
of global warming over the next several decades," said Dr. Howarth. "Society
should wean ourselves from all fossil fuels and not rely on the myth that
natural gas is an acceptable bridge fuel to a sustainable future."