“Responsible development of natural gas is an important part of our work to curb climate change and support a robust clean energy market at home.  It also has huge potential to help power our factories and our vehicles, while at the same time cutting our dependence on foreign oil.”

That should be a pretty big wake up call to anti-hydraulic fracturing activists who have been trying for years to argue that methane “leakage” cancels out the climate benefits of natural gas. Turns out, the new head of the EPA – not exactly a shill for oil and gas producers! — begs to differ. And, by pointing to the fact that natural gas would “support a robust clean energy market at home,” McCarthy sets the record straight on opponents’ claims that natural gas could “crowd out” renewables.  In reality, natural gas provides the baseload power needed for increasing renewable generation, and this is something that leaders in the renewable energy industry have also emphasized.  But McCarthy didn’t stop there.  She also talked about the clear economic benefits of natural gas development:

“Industry experts predict that natural gas alone can support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. Right now, this industry is supporting nearly 140,000 jobs in Colorado.”

The article is from energyindepth.org