In our verve to tap more fossil fuel in the form of natural gas we are acting like irresponsible fools. For some reason we think natural gas is OK for use, that somehow it can’t really be included with coal because it burns clean. It’s just doesn’t seem that dirty. And natural gas is in greater supply than oil. There will be no oil spills.
Boy are we stupid, at least those of us that don’t live near any natural gas drilling/fields. For the people that do, it’s a nightmare. Newspapers have reported about natural gas in drinking water from Pennsylvania to Colorado like The Post Gazette, The Denver Post , and The Times Union. The devastation left behind from drilling/blasting for natural gas leaves the landscape looking like a photo of Mars. But even more sacrilegious is the amount of water used. Millions of gallons are needed for each natural gas site and there are thousands of sites around the country. We might think these fields are far removed, but think again. Natural gas drilling affects the health and well-being of Americans, and is devastating to our land, water, and wildlife. And exposing ourselves to more natural gas explosions is outright risky.
Watch the following you tube videos for a sample of what is happening across the country due to the natural gas industry:
Pennsylvania
Arkansas
New Jersey
It’s been years now since I first read an article about poking holes in the earth for natural gas. I remember reading about the waste when a natural water spring would get hit. The water would gush out to the ground and never get tapped. The people searching for natural gas weren’t in charge of water of any kind. So they just let it go.
Then I wrote a blog one year ago to the month about Colorado’s natural gas drilling problem http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/2008/05/natural-gas-exploration-trashing-rocky-mountains-polluting-colorado-river/. And now we’re slowly, too slowly, seeing more and more stories about the problems created by natural gas exploration.
After watching the Arkansas video, imagine the destruction that would be caused by the proposed natural gas pipeline from Alaska through Canada. And some of the video of the flame from the gas wells makes me wonder about safety in areas that are suffering drought conditions. There is a greener alternative to all fossil fuel, and we need to start moving in that direction.
[...] At the same time congress is conducting hearings on the pros and cons of fracturing for natural gas. Fracturing is a quick method of forcing water, sand, and other liquids (chemicals) into the ground under high pressure. Not a good practice at all. We really need to get moving on alternative sources for our energy needs because we’re really lousing up the earth with the way we do things. I’ve read about streams poisoned from the benzene leaking out of the ground with the fracturing process, and the humungous waste of water especially when hitting underground springs. I recently wrote about natural gas drilling again.http://www.blogsmonroe.com/world/2009/05/natural-gasmethane-found-in-more-and-more-drinking-water-ac…. [...]