November 14, 2010 12:34 PM
While some complain that extracting natural gas from shale rock formations is tainting their water supply, others who have allowed drilling on their property are getting wealthy. Lesley Stahl reports.
Energy: The Pros and Cons of Shale Gas Drilling
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See all 78 CommentsWe would all do well to remember the meaning of the term "frack" in all the versions of Battlestar Galactica....
One small fact to correct an error in the program: as I had never heard of Dimock, PA, I looked it up. It is indeed in the far northeastern PA portion of the Appalachians, which are more like foothills there, but the town is definitely not part of what is termed "Appalachia." I realize it is popular to use the term Appalachian to describe, inaccurately, any poverty-stricken area within reach of our eastern mountain range. Dimock is just another little town unlucky enough to be in the massive geological range the natural gas advocates want to mine with fracking.
The head of the DEC just quit.
The legislature just passed a moratorium on fracking shale in New York.
All for good reasons - that even a cartoon character can explain -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z_t4NsXgnmw
http://www.otsego2000.org/
Oil is the best energy source now, but it is becoming increasingly expensive as we deplete this resource, and is harder to find, and wells must go deeper. Natural gas is a good alternative. It is better than corn ethanol because corn can be used as food, and therefore, the incremental value of ethanol is minimal so the cost does not exceed the benefit. It is better than solar or wind as these alternatives are not feasible to supply the billions of people needing energy. Only nuclear energy is perhaps a better alternative, but once again this method has even more dangerous implications regarding the environment. Turning garbage into fuel is still way too expensive, and also has serious impacts on the environment.
Natural gas burns cleaner, and is right here in the US. Natural gas drilling technology is getting better. Like everything, mistakes will be made. But hopefully we learn from these mistakes. There will be winners and losers as a result of this change, there always are when changes are made. Natural gas could benefit our economy with new jobs, with reduced payments to OPEC nations thus keeping the USA wealth in the US. And in while we are using it, we can continue to look for other viable energy options.
Change occurs quickly. Wealth is transferring out of the US to the middle east at a phenominal rate. USA borrowing to pay for the lack of jobs and income in our country is exacerbating our wealth as we must now make interest payments on the debt to other countries. We must do something, and it must be a realisic something, not pie in the sky options. If we want the US to continue to be a great nation, and we want our youth to be able to get jobs and have a chance to live the american dream, we need to give natural gas a chance. It is the best current alternative for the USA.
I strongly disagree with representations of Chesapeake Energy CEO McClendon in the program. Mr. McClendon stated that because fracking wells are drilled to very deep levels, the layer of rock between the deep horizontal portion of the fracking wells and the shallower drinking water aquifers, acts as a barrier preventing fracking chemicals from reaching the aquifers. A different conclusion was reached in a joint project of the New York City Department of Environmental Protection and two scientific and engineering firms specializing in water supply, treatment, distribution, groundwater geology, risk assessment, etc. The NYCDEP Report assessed the potential impact of hydraulic fracturing in the New York City watershed region on New York?s water supply. The findings of the report can be equally applied to show the dangers of hydrofracking nationwide.
The NYCDEP report included a study of the geologic rock faults, fractures etc, in the watershed area. The report notes that geologic features such as faults and fractures can serve as conduits through which water and contaminants can travel underground. The report noted that geologic features are only partially mapped, and it is almost certain that additional unmapped faults and fractures exist. It also noted that there are known vertical faults extending through multiple layers of the Marcellus shale formation. The report concluded that the intervening rock masses between the Marcellus formation and fresh water aquifers should not be considered as an impermeable barrier which would prevent migration of fracking fluids, since they are fragmented by a significant number of fractures.
The report also states that the process of hydraulic fracturing can stress or alter subsurface features, can inadvertently result in fractures beyond a targeted shale formation, and can aggravate and enlarge naturally occurring faults and fractures. The report noted that contaminated water can also migrate due to faulty well casings. The report concluded that hydrofracturing diminishes the isolating properties of the targeted shale, compromising the integrity of this subsurface barrier between surface aquifers and naturally occurring low quality non-potable water found below the shale formation, as well as fracking fluids introduced into the shale.
A Wall Street Journal internet article reported that numerous earthquakes have been attributed to gas drilling, and drilling in general. A publication of Schumberger LTD. also connected earthquakes to gas and oil production. Earthquakes, whether naturally occurring or induced by human activity, could also disturb rock formations to open pathways for fracking fluid to migrate and contaminate drinking water.
Mr. McClendon is disingenuous in stating that no explosions can occur in connection with hydrofracturing because there is no oxygen in the rock formation. The pressure and volume of chemical-laced fluids in the fracking process must be great enough to cause the hard shale rock to fracture and release gas. Shouldn?t the process of fracking itself be considered an explosion?
The claim in the 60 Minutes piece that gas fuel produces fewer carbon emissions than oil is disputed by Cornell University Professor Robert W. Howarth. Professor Howarth states that such claims are based on comparisons of end consumer uses of these fuels alone. Professor Howarth?s assessment concludes that emissions during production and fugitive methane leakage rates should be included in a comparison, and that under such a comparison, greenhouse gas emissions for gas produced by horizontal hydraulic fracturing are comparable to or may be worse than those of oil or coal.
Sunday?s 60 minutes report left many viewers with the impression that hydraulic fracturing for natural gas is a viable option to fill the nation?s energy needs, and can be made safe with regulation. In my opinion, hydraulic fracturing is an experimental technology which could not be made safe by regulation. Moreover, regulation is only as good as its enforcers. At this time, states are cutting back in their environmental enforcement agencies to balance their budgets. Enforcement can vary widely and can be dependent on the attitude of the officials currently in power. We have already seen in the Gulf oil spill, an example of how things can go disastrously wrong, even when regulation is in place. Reports claim that prior to the Gulf disaster, environmental regulators were in bed (figuratively and literally) with the oil companies!
I ask that you follow up with a more balanced report including an interviews with experts on the dangers of hydraulic fracturing gas drilling.
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