Posted on 02/23/2013 1:09:33 PM PST by Ernest_at_the_Beach
SHALE exploitation in North Dakota has lifted incomes and brought unemployment down to 3.2% of the workforce, the lowest level in the country.
Californians are rarely found looking longingly towards the Midwest. But the revelation that their state, with unemployment at 9.8% and America’s highest poverty rate, may be sitting on the largest deposit of shale oil in the continental United States has led some to wonder if their salvation lies 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) beneath them.
California has been an oil state since 1865. Thanks largely to reserves that can still be tapped by conventional means, it remains the third-largest producer in the country. Output has lately been declining by 2-3% a year, according to the state’s Energy Commission. But in 2011 the federal Energy Information Administration declared that the Monterey shale formation, which spans 1,750 square miles (450,000 hectares) in southern and central California, held 15.42 billion barrels of recoverable oil, 64% of the total estimated to be in the 48 contiguous states.
That should be an attractive prospect for a state with a history of unemployment and fiscal woe. But environmental scruples have long been as characteristic of California as budgetary mismanagement, and a battle is brewing. Opponents of the hydraulic fracturing ("fracking") technique often used to extract oil and gas from shale rock in "unconventional" drilling say regulations proposed by the state in December do not adequately protect against groundwater contamination or air pollution. Some mutter about earthquakes. Such concerns find receptive ears in a seismically active state with a large farm sector.
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
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The Solution To California's Problems Is Beneath Its Feet — But Rich Environmentalists Are Having None Of It
“Californians are rarely found looking longingly towards the Midwest. “
North Dakota moved to the Midwest?
As a Californian, I think we need to tread carefully in this matter. I hate environmentalists, especially when they block proven existing ongoing methods of extracting minerals. However, water is our most precious resource and we can’t risk contaminating it. Farmers are getting shafted because of water diversion (for various reasons, some having to do with environmentalists protecting fish). We can’t afford to spoil our remaining water.
>>North Dakota moved to the Midwest?<<
As a California ex-pat I can assure you that to a Californian the “Midwest” starts at the Navada State Line and ends somewhere a little short of Manhattan.
It is the dumbest claim ever that water will be contaminated by fracking a formation that deep.
Thanks Ernest_at_the_Beach.
The rich liberals in Santa Barabara don’t want oil rigs spoiling their million dollar views of the ocean.
Bastards.
It wouldn’t hurt to proceed cautiously. California is full of earthquake faults (full of faults in general), and we don’t fully understand them. My wife worked for PG&E, often had to go to geysers where they produced electricity from geothermal vents. (PG&E forced by politics to give it over to another company since then). I don’t know where that water comes from, but it’s a possibility it comes from very deep down in the earth. She also sometimes visited Diablo Canyon nuclear plant, which is near faults. Both involve use of water. Also, water is used in fracking. Water is a precious resource in short supply here.
The only information I could find about the Geysers is that the magma chamber is 4 miles down, with permeable rock above where the water converts to steam. So yes, some water is miles underground and returns to ground level as steam through vents (currently delivers 60 percent of electricity in region just north of San Francisco). I realize that this is far north of the Monterey shale formation and has nothing to do with it - just citing an example of deep water in northern California.
“The Solution To California’s Problems Is Beneath Its Feet — But Rich Environmentalists Are Having None Of It”
Here is an idea. Class warfare against the wealthy liberals in Kalifornia.
I doubt Water used in Fracking is loaded with germs....
Corporate farming does more to damage water than fracking ever did or is ever likely to (fertilizer, pesticide residues, excessive drawdown of aquifers, and much else). (Personal note...I grew up on a farm and have great respect for farmers, but facts are facts).
You got that right. It’s not about the environment; it’s about commie control and oppression of our country.
I’m not disagreeing. Corporate farming has caused problems. I just mentioned to proceed cautiously. This government (or lack of) has caused headaches all around, by being too quick to go for some stuff without doing the homework. For instance, a rush to build wind turbines everywhere to “solve” the energy “crisis”. Or sticking billions of tax dollars into solar panels and electric cars. We have oil and coal that can be extracted using existing tried and true methods, but we’re blocked from extracting it by stupid politics. Let’s get the government and environmentalists to back off and extract what is available but blocked. Then our economy can recover.
“It can be recycled....Orange County reclaims water from sewage....
I doubt Water used in Fracking is loaded with germs....”
Positively water in the oilfield in Huntington Beach has been recycled for over 40 years.
It is a fact.
Environmentalism was always a concern only the rich could afford. Who else can afford not to care about the cost of gasoline for their vehicles or electric for their home, or what it costs for heat in the winter.
And to top it off they are hypocrites with the biggest carbon footprints because they can afford the huge homes and jet travel etc.
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