Gas

GAS

Like coal and oil, natural gas is a fossil fuel. Fossil fuels (which we burn to power transportation, heating & cooling, and electricity) are non-renewable sources of energy formed in the earth over the past millions of years, typically from the remains of marine microorganisms and plants. Sealed off from oxygen and put under ever-increasing amounts of heat and pressure, this organic matter undergoes a thermal breakdown process that ultimately converts it to hydrocarbons.

The lightest of these hydrocarbons occur in a gaseous state known collectively as “natural gas,” which in its pure form is a colorless, odorless gas composed primarily of methane.

Natural gas currently supplies nearly 1/3 of the United States’ primary energy and is the primary heating fuel for approximately half of U.S. households.

Natural gas is a growing energy source — generating less carbon dioxide than coal when burned and cheaper than other fossil fuels.

It has been seen by many as playing a strategic role in the clean energy transition — a means to reduce both local air pollution and coal-associated carbon emissions, a means of quick-ramping dispatchable and reliable power, a plentiful, economically-attractive fuel. However, concerns about methane emissions and the overall carbon budget have called into question the future for gas.

What is natural gas?

CURRENT NEWS

Democrats tell DOE to reboot natural gas export reviews

By Carlos Anchondo 11/15/23
The Department of Energy should update how it decides whether licenses for natural gas export projects are in the public interest, more than 60 Democratic lawmakers told the agency in a letter Tuesday.
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Georgia’s largest utility looks to natural gas as it says it needs to generate more electricity soon

By Jeff Amy 10/28/23
Georgia Power Co. says increased demand for electricity is coming fast, asking regulators Friday to let it secure more power generation ahead of schedule.
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Feds OK natural gas pipeline expansion in Pacific Northwest over environmentalist protests

By Claire Rush 10/20/23
Federal regulators on Thursday approved the expansion of a natural gas pipeline in the Pacific Northwest over the protest of environmental groups and top officials in West Coast states, who said it goes against the…
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One key step in the energy transition? No new gas lines.

By Allyson Chiu and Maxine Joselow 10/18/23
Some buildings in the future could feature one notable difference from many that exist today: no connection to a gas line. That’s one of the recommendations in a sweeping report from the National Academies of…
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The next front in the climate fight: U.S. exports of natural gas

By Maxine Joselow and Timothy Puko 10/17/23
Environmentalists are gearing up for their next giant climate fight: They want to force a showdown with the Biden administration over the massive expansion of U.S. natural gas exports. Less than a decade ago, U.S.…
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It seems like the next big fight

By Bill MCKibben 09/25/23
The great privilege of being a journalist is that you get to ask questions, and people generally answer them, so you find stuff out. And sometimes that stuff is shocking.
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The Biden Administration’s Next Big Climate Decision

By Bill McKibben 09/22/23
Earlier this year, the Biden Administration approved the Willow Project, a huge oil-drilling complex to be built in Alaska on thawing permafrost that may need to be mechanically refrozen before it can be drilled. Not…
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Pipeline problems could cut off nation’s 100-year gas supply

By Anthony Hennen 09/14/23
A recent analysis determined the United States sits on a century's worth of gas supply, but industry experts warn there aren't enough pipelines to access it. The report from the Potential Gas Committee, part of…
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US again leads world in growing gas exports, climate-damaging emissions

09/13/23
The United States regained the dubious distinction as the world’s top exporter of liquified methane gas (LNG) in the first half of 2023, the U.S. Energy Information Administration announced Tuesday.
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New Pennsylvania Legislation Aims to Classify ‘Produced Water’ From Fracking as Hazardous Waste

By Jake Bolster 09/06/23
Katie Muth knew it would be a long shot. This January, the Pennsylvania state senator reintroduced three pieces of legislation aimed at closing loopholes in the laws governing how the oil and gas industry disposes…
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New gas pipeline rules floated following 2018 blasts in Massachusetts

By The Associated Press 08/24/23
Federal regulators are proposing a series of rules changes aimed at toughening safety requirements for millions of miles of gas distribution pipelines nationwide following a string of gas explosions in Massachusetts in 2018.
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Why Texas regulators refuse to investigate role pipelines played in 2021 blackouts

By Chris Tomlinson 08/16/23
If a gas station on an interstate highway raised prices by 1,500 percent during an evacuation from a hurricane, state and federal authorities would prosecute the owner to the fullest extent of the law.
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KEY RESOURCES

Is Natural Gas A Fossil Fuel? Here’s What to Know

02/18/22
Is natural gas a fossil fuel? The answer to this question is a bit complicated. Natural gas is, in fact, a fossil fuel, but it is not the same type of fossil fuel as coal…

Creating safe, healthy & affordable communities through all-electric, Clean energy ​homes & buildings

02/02/22
The Building Decarbonization Coalition unites building industry stakeholders with energy providers, environmental organizations and local governments to power our nation's homes and workspaces with clean energy.

Pennsylvania State Energy Profile

10/21/21
Pennsylvania's marketed natural gas production, primarily from the Marcellus Shale, reached a record 7.1 trillion cubic feet in 2020, and the state is the nation's second-largest natural gas producer after Texas. Pennsylvania is the third-largest…

FracTrackerVideos

05/19/21
This video highlights FracTracker Alliance's current staff and why we do what we do.

Natural Gas

04/25/20
Natural gas is a vital component of the world’s supply of energy. It is one of the cleanest, safest, and most useful of all energy sources. Despite its importance, however, there are many misconceptions about…

Natural Gas

04/22/20
Natural gas is an abundant resource across the United States, and new discoveries and extraction methods have led to a dramatic rise in shale gas development -- making America the world’s leading natural gas producer.

What You Need To Know About Energy: Natural Gas

03/05/20
Natural gas provides 29% of our energy and is used to heat about half the homes in the United States. It is also a raw material in a variety of common products, such as paints, fertilizers,…

Natural gas explained

03/05/20
U.S. dry natural gas production in 2020 was about 33.5 trillion cubic feet (Tcf), an average of about 91.5 billion cubic feet per day and the second-highest annual amount recorded. Most of the production increases…

MORE NEWS

Environmental groups mount legal challenge to Alaska natural gas export approval

By Yereth Rosen   08/11/23  
Two environmental groups on Friday asked a federal appeals court to overturn the Biden administration’s approval of exports from Alaska’s yet-unbuilt project that would ship natural gas from the North Slope.
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‘Death stars on sinking land’: How liquefied natural gas took over the Gulf Coast

By Lylla Younes and Jake Bittle   08/02/23  
To visit the country’s newest hub for exporting liquefied gas to Europe, follow the Mississippi River southeast from New Orleans, past the recently shuttered Phillips 66 refinery in Alliance and deeper into Plaquemines Parish, a…
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Green groups demand US end talks on natural gas certification

By Timothy Gardner   07/20/23  
A group of nearly 150 environmental justice groups urged the Biden administration on Wednesday to abandon talks with global energy companies on standards for "certified" natural gas, a form of the fuel that producers market…
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Gas leaked from bad fitting at Pennsylvania chocolate factory where 7 died in blast, report says

By Michael Rubinkam   07/18/23  
Natural gas leaked from a defective fitting at a Pennsylvania chocolate factory where a powerful explosion leveled one building, heavily damaged another and killed seven people, federal safety investigators said Tuesday as they continued to…
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Chart: The US is now exporting more LNG than ever before

By Maria Virginia Olano   07/14/23  
While the Biden administration touts the success of the Inflation Reduction Act and its other clean energy accomplishments, a contradictory trend is quietly unfolding: The U.S. is exporting record-breaking amounts of liquefied natural gas. In…
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Leaks Can Make Natural Gas as Bad for the Climate as Coal, a Study Says

By Hiroko Tabuchi   07/13/23  
Natural gas, long seen as a cleaner alternative to coal and an important tool in the fight to slow global warming, can be just as harmful to the climate, a new study has concluded, unless…
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Mountain Valley Pipeline Halted as Legal Wrangling Heats Up

By Coral Davenport   07/12/23  
A federal court in Richmond has halted construction of the Mountain Valley Pipeline, setting off a battle with Congress that could end up at the Supreme Court.
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Gas industry knew about indoor pollution from stoves 50 years ago, investigation reveals

By Lottie Limb   07/03/23  
The American Gas Association was aware about health concerns in the early 1970s, rediscovered documents show. The gas industry has known that its stoves could be harmful to human health for more than 50 years,…
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America’s Biggest Power Source Wasn’t Built for Extreme Weather

By Naureen Malik   06/27/23  
In the 15 years since the American fracking boom unleashed a torrent of abundant, cheap and domestically available natural gas, the country has leaned into the fuel — and hard. Hundreds of new, state-of-the-art gas…
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Montana gas power plant can resume construction, judge rules

By Matthew Brown   06/10/23  
NorthWestern Energy will resume construction of a natural gas power plant along Montana’s Yellowstone River following a two-month delay, a company spokesperson said Friday, after a state judge revived a pollution permit for the project…
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Climate advocates protest Mountain Valley Pipeline outside White House

By Ellie Silverman   06/08/23  
Danger Winslow held a microphone in his hand — the stand too tall for the 7-year-old to reach — and told hundreds of people why he returned to the nation’s capital to protest.
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Looking at the White House Through Wildfire Smoke

By Bill McKibben   06/08/23  
I’m sitting on a rocking chair just outside the White House fence on Thursday afternoon, and I can more or less make out the seat of American executive power through the haze. In the morning,…
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The debt ceiling deal bulldozes a controversial pipeline’s path through the courts

By Bill Chappell   06/01/23  
The controversial natural gas pipeline has been stalled by court challenges — but now the Mountain Valley Pipeline has new momentum, thanks to a debt ceiling deal that gives sweeping approvals to the project.
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Major polluter escapes EPA power plant rule

By Benjamin Storrow   05/25/23  
The agency goes easy on gas-fired steam turbines, which generally operate only when demand is high. But the units are among the country's largest emitters of planet-warming pollution.
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Federal Agency Lawfully Approved $39 Billion Alaska LNG Project

By Samantha Hawkins   05/16/23  
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission lawfully authorized a liquefied natural gas project in Alaska, the D.C. Circuit ruled Tuesday—denying environmental groups’ petition to review the decision.
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The U.S. is taking a giant step toward meeting its climate goal

By Timothy Puko   05/11/23  
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday announced a proposal for the tightest limits ever on power plants’ planet-warming pollution, a policy it must enact to meet President Biden’s pledge to halve U.S. emissions by 2030…
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Climate misinformation is becoming law

By Arielle Samuelson and Emily Atkin   05/11/23  
It was a big deal when Ohio Governor Mike DeWine signed a law designating methane gas as “green energy” in January. The bill’s passage was covered by local news, national news, industry publications and glossy…
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New York becomes the first state to ban natural gas stoves and furnaces in most new buildings

By Rachel Ramirez and Ella Nilsen   05/03/23  
New York is the first state in the country to ban natural gas and other fossil fuels in most new buildings – a major win for climate advocates, but a move that could spark pushback…
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Here’s what sets Denver’s mayoral finalists Mike Johnston and Kelly Brough apart on climate change

By Sam Brasch   05/03/23  
The lack of discussion makes some sense if you’re a political consultant. When Denverite surveyed more than 100 residents last summer, the environment ranked as the fourth most important issue behind housing affordability, crime and…
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New York poised to pass first statewide law banning natural gas in new buildings

By Emma Newburger   05/02/23  
New York is poised to become the first state in the country to pass a law banning fossil fuel combustion in most new buildings, getting rid of gas stoves, furnaces and propane heating in favor…
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How will court’s rebuke of Berkeley’s natural-gas ban affect the national movement it began?

By Katie Lauer   04/30/23  
When Berkeley became the first U.S. city to ban construction of new natural gas lines in 2019, it pioneered an approach to reducing carbon emissions and pollutants that has since spread around the Bay Area…
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National Grid plans to hike gas bills by 17%, files plan with regulators

By Christian Murray   04/29/23  
The company filed its proposed rate increases on Friday with the New York State Public Service Commission, the governing body that must sign off on them before they can go into effect. The proposal calls…
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How New Yorkers’ Food Scraps Get ‘Digested’ to Provide Gas for Homes

By Robin Shulman Agüeros   04/19/23  
For 20 years, New York City officials have discussed developing a compost program, and for a decade they have experimented with small-scale versions. Finally, last month, Mayor Eric Adams launched a citywide initiative to collect…
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Louisiana energy companies wasted $82 million in natural gas, study finds

By Wesley Muller   04/13/23  
A new environmental advocacy group analysis released Thursday found Louisiana’s oil and gas industry wasted over $82 million worth of natural gas in 2019, which is more than two-thirds of the state’s yearly residential consumption.
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Court throws out crucial water permit for Mountain Valley Pipeline

By Naveena Sadasivam   04/05/23  
In exchange for his help passing the most far-reaching climate law in U.S. history, Senator Joe Manchin hoped to fast-track a 303-mile natural gas pipeline that’s being built in his home state of West Virginia.…
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Europe was the main destination for U.S. LNG exports in 2022

By Victoria Zaretskaya   03/22/23  
U.S. exports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) averaged 10.6 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in 2022, increasing by 9% (0.8 Bcf/d) compared with 2021, according to our Natural Gas Monthly. The increase in U.S.…
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Despite Rules, New Mexico Oil and Gas Producers Keep Polluting

By Jerry Redfern   03/17/23  
Driving around the Permian Basin in early February, it was impossible to miss. New Mexico has increased its oil production tenfold since 2010 and was the first major oil-producing state to surpass its pre-pandemic output…
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PG&E delivers bill shocks to customers amid soaring natural gas prices

By George Avalos   02/27/23  
Soaring prices for natural gas and this winter’s icy blasts have jolted unsuspecting PG&E customers with brutal — and fast-rising — monthly utility bills.
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Energy Department exploring clean natural gas designation

By Zack Colman and Ben Lefebrve   02/24/23  
The Energy Department is exploring a plan to offer a government endorsement for natural gas that meets a minimum standard for cleanliness — a move aimed at helping U.S. gas producers maintain sales even as…
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The plastic train wreck should be a wake-up call

02/17/23  
Thanks to a mountain of deadlines a mile high, I haven't yet been able to focus as much attention on the East Palestine train derailment as I'd like, but two things were very clear to…
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The Coming Chemical Boom

02/16/23  
Shale gas fueled a boom in the drilling industry and has provided cheaper fuel, displacing dirtier coal to generate electricity. It’s also feeding a spinoff industry in chemicals. Shell is building a multi-billion-dollar petrochemical plant…
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The gas bill is $907.13? Sticker shock for Californians as prices soar

By Laura J. Nelson   02/15/23  
Brent Eldridge had heard that prices for natural gas were high this winter, but nothing prepared him for how bad it could be. When he opened the envelope from Long Beach’s utility department, he couldn’t…
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Environmental Groups and Native Leaders Say Proposed Venting and Flaring Rule Falls Short

By Autumn Jones   02/15/23  
Oil companies collect crude in tanks by their pumps but often vent the methane gas that also comes up out of the ground into the air, unwilling to invest in the infrastructure to capture it. …
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The brutal European winter that wasn’t

By David Wallace-Wells   02/15/23  
This was supposed to be a winter of energy crisis in Europe. Beginning last spring, not long after the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the fear of gas shortages spread across the continent, along with fears…
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It’s not about gas stoves

02/15/23  
The recent kerfuffle over gas stoves isn’t about gas stoves. If you’re not up to speed on the issue, it began when Richard Trumka, Jr., who sits on the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, was…
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California declared war on natural gas. Now the fight is going national

By Sammy Roth   02/09/23  
In July 2019, elected officials in the Bay Area city, a national leader in progressive politics and environmental protection, voted to ban gas hookups in most new homes. That meant no gas furnaces, boilers or…
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In the Fight Over Gas Stoves, Meet the Industry’s Go-To Scientist

By Hiroko Tabuchi   01/29/23  
Longstanding research shows the health dangers of gas-burning ranges. Utilities are turning to Julie Goodman, a toxicologist with a firm whose work raises questions about the science....
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‘I use it because it’s better’: why chefs are embracing the electric stove

By Whitney Bauck   01/29/23  
The evidence that gas stoves are bad for human health has grown so staggering over the last few years that the US Consumer Product Safety Commission recently announced that it would consider banning the appliances.…
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US renters have growing worries over gas stoves – and few options

By Aliya Uteuova   01/27/23  
New research has revealed the extent of indoor air pollution caused by gas stoves. Switching to alternatives like electric or induction stoves is the best way to reduce the health risk of burning fossil fuels…
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Video: I measured pollution from my gas stove. There was a lot of it

By Michael Thomas   01/27/23  
Want to know how bad your gas stove really is? Put air-quality monitors in your home and then talk through your findings with an air-quality expert.
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FERC denies Sierra Club request to hold up Rio Grande LNG

By James Osborne   01/19/23  
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission cleared developers to move ahead on the Rio Grande LNG terminal in South Texas, despite a federal court ruling last year more environmental review was needed. The Sierra Club had…
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Liquefied Natural Gas Will Have a Less Frenzied 2023

By Megha Mandavia   01/19/23  
Last year was the year of liquefied natural gas. Russia’s decision to curtail pipeline gas supplies to Europe sent prices through the roof and threatened to push Europe into recession. The panic-induced price spike of…
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How dark money groups led Ohio to redefine gas as ‘green energy’

By Maxine Joselow   01/17/23  
Conservative groups helped Ohio lawmakers push the narrative that the fuel is clean, documents show. They are taking their campaign to other states.
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This is all the gas industry’s fault

By Emily Atkin   01/14/23  
It can be hard to fully appreciate the effect that fossil fuel industry marketing has had on shaping American culture and values—and thus how difficult it can be to undo its conditioning. But in the…
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The new soldiers in propane’s fight against climate action: television stars

By Hiroko Tabuchi   01/11/23  
An industry group is spending millions of dollars to push back against efforts to move heating away from oil and gas....
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U.S. agency examines secret pollution from gas stoves

By Shannon Osaka   01/10/23  
For years, scientists and health advocates have tried to bring attention to a secret source of air pollution sitting in 40 million homes around the United States — which jump-starts childhood asthma, increases the risk…
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2022 Will Be Remembered as the Year the U.S. Became the World’s Largest Exporter of Liquified Natural Gas – Inside Climate News

By Nicholas Kusnetz   01/01/23  
When environmentalists look back on 2022, they might remember it as the year the United States finally passed a major climate change law. Some advocates worry, however, that this significant victory is being undermined by…
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FERC climate reviews in limbo as Glick departs

By Miranda Willson   12/15/22  
The head of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission had big plans at the start of the Biden administration for assessing planet-warming emissions from new gas pipelines.
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Consumer safety board to weigh regulations on gas stoves

By Rachel Frazin   12/14/22  
The U.S. agency in charge of making sure the country’s consumer products are safe will weigh regulations on new gas stoves, one of the board’s commissioners said on Wednesday.
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The U.S. wants to slash carbon emissions from power plants. Natural gas is in the way

By Michael Copley   12/05/22  
Under President Joe Biden, the United States aims to cut all carbon pollution by 2035 from the power plants that run American homes and businesses. It's a first step toward the broader goal of zeroing…
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