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- CNG Cars: Pro and Con (Post-Gazette.com)
There are some technologies with which you just don't want to be on the cutting edge."
"The Honda Civic GX, a car powered by compressed natural gas, is a perfect case in point."
"The company will sell the cars to companies or governments as fleet vehicles, but those fleets have their own refueling systems and mechanics." 08-08
Papers
- -03-09-12 Study: Quakes Linked to Gas Drilling (CBS News)
"A dozen earthquakes in northeastern Ohio were almost certainly induced by injection of gas-drilling wastewater into the earth, Ohio oil and gas regulators said Friday as they announced a series of tough new regulations for drillers."
"Northeastern Ohio and large parts of adjacent states sit atop the Marcellus Shale geological formation, which contains vast reserves of natural gas that energy companies are rushing to drill using a process known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking.”
"That process involves freeing the gas by injecting water into the earth, but that water needs to be disposed of when companies are done with it. Municipal water treatment plants aren't designed to remove some of the contaminants found in the wastewater, including radioactive elements. Deep injection is considered one of the safest methods for disposing of the wastewater." 03-12
- -03-10-12 Study: Quakes Linked to Gas Drilling (CNN News)
"Hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as fracking, involves injecting a mixture of water and chemicals deep into the earth. The pressure causes shale rock formations to fracture and natural gas is released in the process. The fluid is then extracted and the natural gas is mined through the well. Some fracking operations have been linked to the contamination of drinking water supplies, and that led to a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing in New York."
"New Yorkers only have to look over the border in Pennsylvania to find an example of a fracking operation gone wrong.”
" 'In the community of Dimock, Pennsylvania,' Sinding said, 'an aquifer was contaminated by bad drilling and fracking practices by a gas company. In addition to which there were a huge number of spills. It was a sort of horror story of what goes wrong when an industry isn't effectively regulated.' "
"A pair of university studies that came out over the past few months, one from the University of Texas and the other from Stanford, showed the process of fracking itself doesn't appear to pose a risk to drinking water. The studies found no record of a drinking water supply being contaminated by fracking fluids injected into shale formations several thousand feet below the Earth's surface. But the studies reported that shoddy drilling practices, accidents and poor oversight above ground have led to contaminated water wells." 03-12
- -Study: Some Fracking for Gas Can a Pose Long-Term Risk for Water Sources (Truth-Out.org)
"A recent study has found that, under certain conditions, the chemical-laced water used in hydraulic fracturing can migrate through fractures and faults up to overlying aquifers in as little as tens of years."
"The study, done by hydrogeologist Dr. Tom Myers and published in the peer-reviewed Ground Water, raises renewed questions about the potential for hydraulic fracturing to fundamentally alter shale rock formations and the hydrogeologic cycle in ways that could affect freshwater drinking supplies." 11-12
- -Coast Guard Wants Barges to Move Fracking Wastewater (ABC News)
"The U.S. Coast Guard wants to allow barges filled with fracking wastewater to ply the nation's rivers on their way toward disposal. Many environmentalists are horrified, but industry groups say barge transport has its advantages." 12-13
- -Editorial: Oil Companies Should Be Allowed Broad Ability to Export (ExxonMobilePerspectives.com)
"It’s a false choice to claim that increasing exports comes at the expense of domestic manufacturing. In fact, says Jack, the coalition’s “ill-considered policies could have disastrous consequences” for our economy." 02-13
- -Map of U.S. Energy Sources (U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Provides a breakdown of energy sources within the United States. Includes company or agency providing the energy.
- -Study: Increased Seismic Activity Linked to Fracking (Homeland Security Newswire)
"From 1970 to 2000 the number of magnitude 3.0 or greater temblors in the U.S. mid-continent averaged twenty-one annually; by 2011 the number of such quakes had increased to 134; a new study by the U.S. Geological Survey links the increase of seismic activity to the increase in the use of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking."
- -Study: Switch from Coal to Natural Gas Questioned (ScienceMag.org)
"Natural gas (NG) is a potential “bridge fuel” during transition to a decarbonized energy system: It emits less carbon dioxide during combustion than other fossil fuels and can be used in many industries. However, because of the high global warming potential of methane (CH4, the major component of NG), climate benefits from NG use depend on system leakage rates. Some recent estimates of leakage have challenged the benefits of switching from coal to NG, a large near-term greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction opportunity (1–3). Also, global atmospheric CH4 concentrations are on the rise, with the causes still poorly understood (4)." 02-14
- -The Gas Fracking Debate (ABC News)
"Drilling hasn't been allowed since 2008, when the state began an environmental review of high-volume hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, which frees gas from shale by injecting a well with millions of gallons of water mixed with chemicals and sand. After drillers poured into Pennsylvania in 2008, environmental problems including methane-contaminated private water wells, salt in rivers from wastewater dumping and spill-polluted streams prompted regulatory reforms in that state and touched off a vocal opposition movement in New York."
"About 25 municipalities have enacted bans on gas drilling, and about 75 others have enacted moratoriums. Dozens of other communities are considering them."
"The majority of those communities are outside the region most likely to see development. Only one, the city of Binghamton, is in one of the prime counties, Broome."
"The Joint Landowners Coalition of New York, which represents about 70,000 landowners seeking to lease land for gas drilling, is working to counter the push for municipal bans." 05-12
- -The Golden Age of Gas: Changing Global Politics (CNN News)
"It's becoming increasingly clear that the shale gas revolution is a game-changer not just for the energy industry, not just for the U.S. — but for geopolitics."
"And in a short time, its success has led to the drilling of 20,000 wells in America, the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs, and a guaranteed supply of gas for perhaps 100 years. The International Energy Agency says global gas production will rise 50% by the year 2035; two-thirds of that growth will come from unconventional sources like shale — a market the U.S. completely dominates." 06-12
- -U.S. to Become the Largest Oil Producer (CNN News)
"The United States will overtake Saudi Arabia to become the world's biggest oil producer before 2020, and will be energy independent 10 years later, according to a new forecast by the International Energy Agency." 11-12
- -What Is Fracking? (CNN News)
""Fracking," as the process is commonly known, involves injecting a mixture of water and chemicals deep into the Earth. The pressure causes shale rock formations to fracture, and natural gas is released. The fluid is extracted, and the natural gas is mined through the well." 06-12
- Biomass Energy from Methane (New York Times)
"The process runs at a relatively low temperature, 1,750 degrees Fahrenheit, far too low for nitrogen oxides to form. It destroys other stray but troublesome pollutants that may be present in the landfill gas, like volatile organics, and it produces electricity. And company executives say that it does so at low concentrations of methane, 1.5 percent. (Ordinary pipeline gas is about 80 percent methane.)" 01-12
- EU Nations Make Ocean "Land Grab" (Guardian Unlimited)
"A vast tract of the Atlantic seabed more than 200 miles off shore is being claimed by a coalition of four European countries eager to expand their oil and gas prospecting rights."
"No country may claim any part of the seabed more than 350 miles from its shore. Once rights are established, states may extract the minerals and natural gas or oil discovered in the annexed seabed." 06-06
- Editorial: Gas Fracking "Likely" Polluted Ground Water (Time.com)
"EPA constructed two deep monitoring wells to sample water in the [Pavilion, Wyoming] aquifer. The draft report indicates that ground water in the aquifer contains compounds likely associated with gas production practices, including hydraulic fracturing. EPA also re-tested private and public drinking water wells in the community. The samples were consistent with chemicals identified in earlier EPA results released in 2010 and are generally below established health and safety standards."
"Personally, I still feel the way I did when I wrote TIME’s cover story on fracking last year: shale gas is a potentially very valuable resource for the U.S., one that could help us reduce air pollution and carbon emissions by replacing dirty coal generation. But there are still major questions about the environmental effects of shale gas drilling and fracking—especially as it scales up and moves to more crowded parts of the country. The EPA’s draft study in Pavilion only underscores those concerns—and shows why many Americans are still hesitant to embrace the fracking revolution." 12-11
- Farm Methane Projects (NativeEnergy.com)
"The project will use an anaerobic digester to capture methane gas from cow manure. By using methane to produce electricity with a 165 kW generator and recovering the waste heat to both heat the digester and reduce the use of oil-fired water heating required on the farm, the farm will consume less heating fuel and will displace electricity on the grid, keeping tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) pollution out of the air right here in your region!" 06-06
- Gas Pipeline for Alaska Signed into Law (U.S. News)
"Two days before she was picked as John McCain's running mate last week, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska presided over what she called 'one of the most historic and exciting events' in Alaska since statehood when she signed a bill that could clear the way for a massive natural gas pipeline."
"It's an ambitious project. The price tag for the planned 1,715-mile pipeline is an estimated $26 billion—and it's been a long time in the making. Alaskans have been eyeing their vast natural gas resources and attempting to sell them to buyers for decades."
"The pipeline, which is scheduled to be completed by 2018, is expected to carry about 4.5 billion cubic feet a day—the equivalent of about 8 percent of the country's current natural gas production. (Today, in fact, the eight largest natural gas-producing shale fields in the U.S. yield a combined 6.6 billion cubic feet a day, according to a recent private report.)" 09-08
- Mitchell's Tenacity Led to U.S. Oil and Gas Boom (ABC News)
"The technological breakthrough pioneered by George P. Mitchell, the billionaire Texas oilman and philanthropist who died Friday at age 94, reversed the fortunes of the U.S. energy industry and reshaped the global energy landscape."
"As Mitchell was doggedly pursuing the natural gas he and others knew was trapped in thin layers of sedimentary rock under several U.S. states, it appeared to most that the world was running out of oil and gas and what was left was found mostly in the Middle East."
"But after 20 years of trying, Mitchell finally learned how to combine horizontal drilling with hydraulic fracturing, a process together known now generally as fracking, to release natural gas at a rate fast enough to turn a profit. But the practice has also sparked powerful antagonism, especially in the Northeast, from residents and environmentalists opposed to increased industrial activity in rural areas and concerned that the fracking process or the wastewater it generates can contaminate drinking water." 07-13
- Natural Gas Trucks Are Coming (CNN News)
"Though little noticed by the four-wheel public, there is a revolution taking place in the world of long-haul 18-wheelers. Next year, truck manufacturers will begin churning out trucks with new 11.9-liter engines fueled by LNG -- a fuel that is significantly cheaper than diesel, is abundant in the United States and Canada, and is, arguably, clean." 12-12
- Over Half a Million Wells in the U.S. Hold Waste With Unknown Risks (MSNBC News)
"Over the past several decades, U.S. industries have injected more than 30 trillion gallons of toxic liquid deep into the earth, using broad expanses of the nation's geology as an invisible dumping ground."
"No company would be allowed to pour such dangerous chemicals into the rivers or onto the soil. But until recently, scientists and environmental officials have assumed that deep layers of rock beneath the earth would safely entomb the waste for millenia."
"There are growing signs they were mistaken."
"Records from disparate corners of the United States show that wells drilled to bury this waste deep beneath the ground have repeatedly leaked, sending dangerous chemicals and waste gurgling to the surface or, on occasion, seeping into shallow aquifers that store a significant portion of the nation's drinking water."
" 'There is no certainty at all in any of this, and whoever tells you the opposite is not telling you the truth,' said Stefan Finsterle, a leading hydrogeologist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory who specializes in understanding the properties of rock layers and modeling how fluid flows through them. 'You have changed the system with pressure and temperature and fracturing, so you don't know how it will behave.' "
Editor's Note: This is relevant to the extraction of natural gas through fracking. 06-12
- Pros and Cons of Natural Gas (CBS News)
" 'If you use natural gas, America can establish independence from OPEC and can put Americans back to work. We can lower our carbon emissions, and we can begin to improve the economy as well by not exporting a billion dollars a day of American wealth. The greatest wealth transfer in human history takes place every day. And it doesn't have to.' "
" 'The 2005 energy bill completely exempted the natural gas industry and fracking technology from any regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act. It's an outrage,' " said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club."
"As part of its study, the EPA asked nine companies to disclose to the government the chemicals used in fracking. Eight complied; only Halliburton said no, so last Tuesday the EPA subpoenaed them." 11-10
- Study: Liquified Natural Gas May Be Worse than Coal (ThinkProgress.org)
"An explosive new report from the U.S. Department of Energy makes clear that Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) is likely a climate-destroying misallocation of resources."
"That is, if one uses estimates for methane leakage based on actual observations." 06-14
- The U.S. to Become the Top Energy Producer by 2015 (CNN News)
"The United States will knock off Saudi Arabia as the world's top energy producer by 2015, but its power as a global energy force will fade over the next decade, according to a report from the International Energy Agency."
"But limited reserves will cap the surge in shale oil output within the next 10 years."
"As a major exporter, top producer Saudi Arabia is critical to future energy supplies. By contrast, the United States relies on its newfound energy wealth to power domestic consumption." 11-13
- Water-Smart Power (Union of Concerned Scientists)
"The country stands at a critical crossroads. Many aging, water-intensive power plants are nearing the end of their lives. The choices we make to replace them will determine the water and climate implications of our electricity system for decades to come." 08-13
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