http://blogs.agu.org/magmacumlaude/2010/11/12/gas-seeps-in-western-ny/
Posted on 12/07/2010 11:02:16 AM PST by SeekAndFind
Echoing President Barack Obama’s post-election statements on energy policy, U.S. Interior Secretary Ken Salazar hosted a forum in D.C. this week to discuss the important role natural gas stands to play in America’s energy future. At the same time the meeting’s participants detailed the economic and environmental advantages of cultivating this vast resource, the New York State Assembly was voting to ban the drilling process to extract gas until at least May 2011.
These two events illustrate a growing political divide in what should otherwise be a straightforward issue.
Much of this wedge is being driven by activists who oppose all fossil fuels and lobbyists for other energy sources eager to make natural gas less competitive. The situation suggests that this fight is about politics and money rather than consumer safety, as natural gas opponents claim.
You see, this is not a debate about whether to use fracking instead of an alternative process. No viable alternative exists.
Natural gas from the type of reservoirs we have in the United States cannot be produced economically without these well stimulation activities. No fracking, no gas production. There should be no doubt about that.
The EPA declared the hydraulic fracturing drilling process safe as recently as 2004. “Fracking” — as it’s more commonly known — is the process necessary to liberate gas deposits from pockets of shale rock formations thousands of feet below the earth’s surface. Since one of the opposition’s main criticisms targets chemicals used in gas drilling, it’s worth noting that each of these chemicals have undergone extensive reviews and been determined safe by federal agencies in addition to their inspection as part of the fracking process.
Despite millions of well treatments throughout the world for more than 60 years and extensive body of scientific evidence supporting fracking,
(Excerpt) Read more at blogs.forbes.com ...
A GAS and oil trade association is calling on New York state lawmakers not to enact a moratorium on drilling for natural gas in the Marcellus Shale formation.
The Independent Oil and Gas Association of New York says the moratorium, which currently is under consideration by the state Assembly, would halt most gas and oil drilling currently allowed. The group also says the proposed moratorium has flaws that would harm the state’s entire gas and oil industry.
Environmental groups favor a moratorium because they believe hydraulic fracturing (or “fracking”), the process used to extract natural gas from the ground, contaminates water sources.
The Independent Oil and Gas Association says the moratorium would bar safe drilling, result in the loss of 5,000 jobs and jeopardize $1 million in annual revenue the state collects in fees for traditional drilling permits.
“The members of the Assembly must understand that (the proposed moratorium) would jeopardize an industry that has operated safely in New York for more than 100 years and employes more than 5,000 people today,” said Brad Gill, executive director of the association. “We hope the Assembly will allow the DEC to complete its review of the state’s regulations governing high-volume fracturing and not cave to the smear campaign being waged by radical opponents against the people of our industry.”
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Ping.
I used to live in western NY.Few people employed in that area are employed outside of the gasand oil industries or their support industries.If they shut this down then that area of NY dies.I don’t think there is enough tourism for lake Erie to make up the difference.I don’t get their complaint though the water is pumped out but it goes right back into the ground when it is pumped?
Apparently environmental advocates oppose energy usage supplied by the use of oil, natural gas, coal, nuclear power, electricity generated by hydro dams, the cutting of trees, and the use of massive cages filled with gerbils turning turbines. What is left. I worry because it is soon Winter.
Don’t mention WIND POWER because the building of giant turbines and the construction of towers requires huge amounts of ENERGY that environmentalists don’t want created.
Sounds like CATCH 44 (twice as bad as Catch 22)
The author of this article has a good web site with a lot of energy related topics, as well as this article here:
This is a big issue in Southwestern Pennsylvania, too. I have not seen or heard much about what measures are being taken to prevent groundwater contamination. As the fracking technology is applied more and more, there are more claims about groundwater contamination, and even releasing natural gas. This is not a good thing for people with wells.
In SW Pennsylvania there are many homes located above the shale deposits being mined for natural gas with fracking. There are valid concerns for the safety of the ground water. What assurance is there that this potential problem is being adequately addressed, especially with new initiatives to safely capture this valuable natural resource?
I have studied the situation and I find it is mostly envirowacko lies. I have a couple hundred web sites in my favorites, but only time to share these:
A good one here:
You might find this forum useful:
A lot of lies have been about the Dimock “contamination”. But, people don’t realize they have probably always had gas in their water and didn’t know it until they had it tested.
Natural gas is nearly everywhere in the earth:
http://www.worldoil.com/Cabot_defends_water_quality_near_Dimock_PA_operations.html
Good info consistent with what I have found.
I’m looking forward to the Haynesville Shale development eventually reaching us.
The enviro-wackos are, as usual, full of gas.
The fracking that is used to extract the gas found in the Marcellus Shale, occurs at 10,000 feet below the surface while ground water is found anywhere from 50 to 750 feet.
They know these numbers, yet will continue to argue that any thing that happens in the belly of giha effects every other single organism {or in their case, orgasm}.
A cow fart in India will change the water level in the Arctic Circle, hence seals will have fewer pups and polar bears will starve.
http://blogs.agu.org/magmacumlaude/2010/11/12/gas-seeps-in-western-ny/
Thanks
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