Green Grilling Debate: Charcoal vs. Gas

There has already been lively discourse over the flavor attributes of charcoal vs. gas grills.  Now, debates have been emerging around the country about whether is is greener to  grill over charcoal barbeques or on gas grills.  Which patio toy produces fewer carbon dioxide emissions in the long run?

In an article published in the The New York Times green issue, Tris West, an environmental scientist at Oak Ridge National Laboratories, calculated emissions from the two methods. He concluded that since charcoal is derived from wood products— trees that absorb atmospheric carbon as they grew — burning it on the grill approaches a “net zero” resulat in terms of carbon emissions.  By comparison, gas grills use propane which is a fossil fuel that adds to greenhouse gas accumulations. However,  West cautions that the polemics become a tad more complicated because burning charcoal may release particulates into the atmosphere. 

The good news is that your choice won’t effect any significant change in mass carbon emissions. By West’s estimation, the total amount of carbon dioxide released from barbecue grills on July 4 is on the order of .003 percent of the annual U.S. total.  Has the issue returned to flavor now?