First…there are some BIG announcements coming soon. Be sure to stay tuned in the next few days for the fun!
I am still waiting on several assignments to publish, but did see the NY Times finally run this article by Cliff Krauss and Jad Mouawad on the cleaning process for the millions of gallons of water used to fracture shale rock in order to release the natural gas.
The story on natural gas seems to be getting bigger and bigger…as does the industry itself. I’m not sure if I am going to continue taking pictures, but I do find myself continually saying, “time to buy stock in natural gas.”
While natural gas is a cleaner energy then the burning of coal, I am worried about the environmental impacts of draining and sucking our shale deposit’s gas reserves. Once gone, won’t this free flowing cash cycle end?
Many of these wells are built in urban places…golf courses and country clubs are not resistant to offers of money. “Hazards like methane contamination of drinking water wells, long known in regions where gas production was common, are spreading to populous areas that have little history of coping with such risks, but happen to sit atop shale beds.”
Also, look at ALL this extra crap which is used in the process. When the drills enter the ground they mix massive amounts of water, sand, and chemicals to separate rock and help gas flow. Of course, these companies process, clean, and distill the excess water to be reused again. While the science says it is cleaned, I continue to wonder where the mistakes show up and how much waste goes unreported. More striking is the unknown affects on the ground water around these wells. From the article, “A string of incidents in places like Wyoming and Pennsylvania in recent years has pointed to a possible link between hydraulic fracturing and pollution of groundwater supplies. In the worst case, such pollution could damage crucial supplies of water used for drinking and agriculture.”
This is obviously bad politics for these massive companies, although there is relatively low toxicity found (or reported). It’s the same story as companies claim their methods are sound and environmentalists claim there hasn’t been enough research. We’ll see who is correct.
Stay tuned for the BIG news!
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