A report released this week in the journal Science entitled, “Methane Leaks from North American Natural Gas Systems,” suggests that continued scrutiny of the natural gas industry is justified. Its lead author, Adam Brant, a Stanford University assistant professor, who studies the environmental impacts of energy systems, documents that the amount of methane gas escaping from natural gas drilling operations is larger than previously thought. And because methane is a greenhouse gas that is 30 times more potent than carbon dioxide, the natural gas industry's long-held “clean fuel” claims now warrant further examination. A great summary of the report can be found on Joe Romm's Climate Progress blog.