MUENCHHAUSEN
AN
ELECTRONIC NEWSLETTER ABOUT
ENVIRONMENT, ENERGY,
RENEWABLE
RESOURCE TECHNOLOGY,
AND RELATED TOPICS
By BOOTSTRAP PRESS, INC.
BETHESDA, MD
JJGREENBARON(at)VERIZON.NET
===============================================================
AUGUST 15, 2013
===============================================================
WELCOME!
The Green Baron (TGB) welcomes one and all who take the time to read Muenchhausen. He aims to “tell it like it is” as much as possible, and avoid advocacy and ideological positions. There are enough of those to go around in other publications. The Green Baron also welcomes comments from anyone who may read Muenchhausen. Please send comments to the e-mail address above.
SHALE RESERVES, "FRACKING"
US shale reserves now account for almost unbelievable volumes of oil and natural gas. For oil alone, so-called "proved" reserves have grown by 15%, or nearly 3.8 billion barrels (bbl) last year alone. As for natural gas, proven reserves were 131.616 trillion cubic ft as of Dec. 31, 2011, and have no doubt increased sharply since then, perhaps by 10% (1, 2). The Energy Information Administration's chart on shale gas reserves (1) does not include Pennsylvania, to TGB's surprise. The date of the chart's release is Aug. 1, 2013.
It often is said that exploitation of these US oil and gas reserves eventually will render America energy-independent. One hears stories about the US becoming and Saudi Arabia of natural gas and perhaps even of oil, thanks to shale reserves; this view may indeed have verisimilitude. Other articles and broadcasts cast doubt on the eventuality of US energy-independence, given questions about the physical and environmental safety of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") technology.
There have been reports of mild earthquakes in Ohio. Some blame these tremors on changes in subterranean rock structures allegedly brought about by fracking. Yet others tell of hazards above ground, such as water coming from residential taps suddenly bursting into flame (3). The flame is fed by methane gas (CH4) that is said to migrate into groundwater and thence to water taps.
Methane flame, water tap, Bradford County, PA (3)
Problems with well water, blamed on methane contamination from fracking procedures, have prompted an investigation by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in and around Dimock, PA. Dimock is located in Susquehanna County, not far south of the New York State border. An unnamed EPA investigator from a regional office found that fracking could have caused methane to leak into domestic water. The drilling company, by contrast, stated that it found the methane to be naturally occurring, and not related to the fracking. EPA, so far, has characterized its findings as preliminary and said that further study is needed. An EPA spokeswoman said that the data "have not been peer-reviewed and do not in any way reflect [EPA] position (4). TGB comment: Note that the headline (4) does not reflect the EPA spokeswoman's statement.
Nevertheless, residents of Dimock are petitioning for a reopening of EPA's investigation, whose results were unpublished, and hand-carried their petition to EPA headquarters in Washington, DC. They may have based their petition on a film called Gasland and other reports that characterize well-water contamination as a serious effect of fracking, and on an unreleased EPA internal Power Point presentation by an EPA employee. EPA "will review" the petition (5). Meantime, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is actively looking into the matter (6).
Fracking effect on Dimock's water? (6)
It might, however, be kept in mind that part of current federal policy is to wean America from fossil fuel altogether, and that fracking and extraction of oil/gas by other means to gain energy independence represent a line of least resistance, which may be expedient, but is unethical and immoral. Query: How can "green energy" make up for the loss of fossil fuel in a manner conducive to the type of economy in the US?
REFERENCES:
1. US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_enr_shalegas_dcu_nus_a.htm
2. Mufson, S. "Shale fuels a record rise in U.S. oil reserves". Washington Post, Aug. 2. 2013, p. A9.
3. National Public Radio. http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/methane-migration/
4. Drajem, M. "EPA official's report links fracking to methane in Pa. town's water". Washington Post, July 30, 2013, p. A11.
5. Geimann, S. "Pennsylvania Residents Ask EPA to Reopen Fracking Probe". Aug. 13, 2013. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-13/pennsylvania-residents-ask-epa-to-reopen-fracking-probe.html.
6. http://dearsusquehanna.blogspot.com/2010/09/marcellus-shale-cabot-may-be-forced-to.html
RESOURCE TECHNOLOGY,
AND RELATED TOPICS
By BOOTSTRAP PRESS, INC.
BETHESDA, MD
JJGREENBARON(at)VERIZON.NET
===============================================================
AUGUST 15, 2013
===============================================================
WELCOME!
The Green Baron (TGB) welcomes one and all who take the time to read Muenchhausen. He aims to “tell it like it is” as much as possible, and avoid advocacy and ideological positions. There are enough of those to go around in other publications. The Green Baron also welcomes comments from anyone who may read Muenchhausen. Please send comments to the e-mail address above.
SHALE RESERVES, "FRACKING"
US shale reserves now account for almost unbelievable volumes of oil and natural gas. For oil alone, so-called "proved" reserves have grown by 15%, or nearly 3.8 billion barrels (bbl) last year alone. As for natural gas, proven reserves were 131.616 trillion cubic ft as of Dec. 31, 2011, and have no doubt increased sharply since then, perhaps by 10% (1, 2). The Energy Information Administration's chart on shale gas reserves (1) does not include Pennsylvania, to TGB's surprise. The date of the chart's release is Aug. 1, 2013.
It often is said that exploitation of these US oil and gas reserves eventually will render America energy-independent. One hears stories about the US becoming and Saudi Arabia of natural gas and perhaps even of oil, thanks to shale reserves; this view may indeed have verisimilitude. Other articles and broadcasts cast doubt on the eventuality of US energy-independence, given questions about the physical and environmental safety of hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") technology.
There have been reports of mild earthquakes in Ohio. Some blame these tremors on changes in subterranean rock structures allegedly brought about by fracking. Yet others tell of hazards above ground, such as water coming from residential taps suddenly bursting into flame (3). The flame is fed by methane gas (CH4) that is said to migrate into groundwater and thence to water taps.
Methane flame, water tap, Bradford County, PA (3)
Problems with well water, blamed on methane contamination from fracking procedures, have prompted an investigation by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in and around Dimock, PA. Dimock is located in Susquehanna County, not far south of the New York State border. An unnamed EPA investigator from a regional office found that fracking could have caused methane to leak into domestic water. The drilling company, by contrast, stated that it found the methane to be naturally occurring, and not related to the fracking. EPA, so far, has characterized its findings as preliminary and said that further study is needed. An EPA spokeswoman said that the data "have not been peer-reviewed and do not in any way reflect [EPA] position (4). TGB comment: Note that the headline (4) does not reflect the EPA spokeswoman's statement.
Nevertheless, residents of Dimock are petitioning for a reopening of EPA's investigation, whose results were unpublished, and hand-carried their petition to EPA headquarters in Washington, DC. They may have based their petition on a film called Gasland and other reports that characterize well-water contamination as a serious effect of fracking, and on an unreleased EPA internal Power Point presentation by an EPA employee. EPA "will review" the petition (5). Meantime, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection is actively looking into the matter (6).
Fracking effect on Dimock's water? (6)
It might, however, be kept in mind that part of current federal policy is to wean America from fossil fuel altogether, and that fracking and extraction of oil/gas by other means to gain energy independence represent a line of least resistance, which may be expedient, but is unethical and immoral. Query: How can "green energy" make up for the loss of fossil fuel in a manner conducive to the type of economy in the US?
REFERENCES:
1. US Energy Information Administration (EIA).
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_enr_shalegas_dcu_nus_a.htm
2. Mufson, S. "Shale fuels a record rise in U.S. oil reserves". Washington Post, Aug. 2. 2013, p. A9.
3. National Public Radio. http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/tag/methane-migration/
4. Drajem, M. "EPA official's report links fracking to methane in Pa. town's water". Washington Post, July 30, 2013, p. A11.
5. Geimann, S. "Pennsylvania Residents Ask EPA to Reopen Fracking Probe". Aug. 13, 2013. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-08-13/pennsylvania-residents-ask-epa-to-reopen-fracking-probe.html.
6. http://dearsusquehanna.blogspot.com/2010/09/marcellus-shale-cabot-may-be-forced-to.html
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Posted By Blogger to Muenchhausen at 8/15/2013 04:31:00 PM
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