Last updated on April 8, 2022
In Canada, heating accounts for 62% of GHG emissions produced in the home and the vast majority is from burning natural gas.” [1]
In 2021, there was a total of 664 MT of CO2e emitted in Canada. 13%, or 86 MT, comes from homes and buildings and 62%, or 53.5 MT, of CO2e comes from burning natural Gas. “Natural” gas is not, in fact, natural – it is derived from fossil fuels and consists mainly of methane. It is a non-renewable hydrocarbon. “Methane is more than 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the atmosphere.” &
As much as 60 percent of natural gas production in the US is from fracking . Fracking is a type of drilling that uses pressurized liquid to fracture the bedrock and access the gas deep below the earth’s surface. Each fracking well will use between 5.5 million litres and 36.7 million litres of fresh water during its production life and this water is too contaminated to be re-used . Not only does fracking cause pollution of the ground and surface water, it also presents a threat to our wildlife and our ecosystems .
Fracking moratoriums are in place in New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland & Labrador, and Quebec.
References
[2] www.epa.gov/gmi/importance-methane ~ Methane is also a greenhouse gas
[3] www.edf.org/climate/methane-crucial-opportunity-climate-fight
[4] news.climate.columbia.edu/2014/06/06/the-fracking-facts/