Posted on 01/05/2012 9:18:36 PM PST by Olog-hai
Former Cuban leader Fidel Castro said on Thursday the world was on an "inexorable march toward the abyss," which he blamed in part on the discovery and exploitation of vast reserves of so-called "shale gas" around the world.
Shale gas is natural gas locked in rock formations that in the past decade has been found in great abundance around the world and is now considered a top source of future energy.
Castro, 85, wrote in one of his occasional columns published in Cuban state media that "numerous dangers threaten us, but two of them—nuclear war and climate change—are decisive and both are ever further from approaching a solution." …
Shale gas production is criticized in some quarters because it requires extensive "fracking," which uses water, sand and chemicals to fracture the rock where the gas is trapped to allow it to flow out of the well. Fracking, opponents say, contaminates groundwater sources and can cause other problems.
Castro sided with the critics, quoting reports on the negative effects of fracking and research that said shale gas emits more greenhouse gases than gas produced from conventional wells.
"It is sufficient to point out that among the numerous chemical substances injected with the water to extract this gas is found benzene and toluene, which are substances terribly carcinogenic," he wrote.
The information on shale gas was something "no political cadre or sensible person could ignore," he said.
Castro said he was so intent on getting the word out, he had "let the festive days of the old and new year pass by" working on his column. …
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
I'm continually amazed at how a dead guy like Fidel keeps on coming up with this stuff.
I wonder what keeps that old man alive, maybe clone’s..
My mother always had a saying about such people, “The devil takes care of his own”.
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