This Earth Day, the United States has a lot to celebrate.  Thanks in large part to shale development, CO2 emissions in the United States are at their lowest level in twenty years.

As the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) explained in its latest assessment:

“[The] rapid deployment of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling technologies, which has increased and diversified the gas supply… is an important reason for a reduction of GHG emissions in the United States.” (Ch. 7, p. 18)

As U.S. Senator Tim Kaine (D-Va.) explains, “We’ve been improving our emissions in this county without agreeing to the Kyoto accords, without Congressional action because of innovation form the natural gas area.” EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy credits natural gas as being a “game changer” in achieving emissions reductions.

It’s little wonder, then, why Cal-Berkeley physics professor Richard Muller recently said, “Environmentalists who oppose the development of shale gas and fracking are making a tragic mistake.”

Watch EID’s Earth Day Video — “U.S. Slashes CO2 Emissions, Thanks to Shale.”  Happy Earth Day from Energy In Depth!