EDF and Google To Map Natural Gas Leaks

The Environmental Defense Fund and Google's Earth Outreach program are going to map natural gas leaks in Boston, Indianapolis and New York's State Island. The interactive maps are the first step of a pilot project to use Google's Street View cars to measure environmental indicators. EDF says it worked with utilities to validate the findings.

The American Gas Association (AGA) notes that only a small fraction of natural gas leaks come from local utility pipelines.  AGA also notes that utilities have lowered emissions by 22% since 1990. AGA says that  in their attempt to raise the awareness of natural gas emissions, the EDF campaign understates that utilities are working with state and local policymakers to effectively reduce emissions by adopting innovative rate mechanisms to upgrade, replace and modernize natural gas distribution pipelines for safety and economic reasons.  (Frank Maisano)