California Gas Industry

The state adopted a new regulation on the quality of fuel, thus raising prices of production of the good. Among other things a great amount of additional environmental guidelines have all contributed to sky-high prices. As a result in 2006 gas was 23 cents higher in the state of California than the national average. Other control within the government has contributed to the shut down of many small refineries in the state only 14 refineries remain. Since there are so few refineries in the state, an issue at one refinery will significantly affect the gas

W hy does everyone care so much about natural gas? Why is it such an essential part of modern culture? Sure, it's an exciting and up and coming technology, which is fuel for the technological generation that we've grown up in, but we need to take a closer look to see the methods and impacts that could affect generations after us.

In the article “Fracking pollutes the Air with Hazardous Chemicals, authors Jim Polson and Jim Efstathiou provide some insight and staggering evidence of the danger of chemical pollutants due to such drilling. “Researchers, have found potentially toxic chemicals – including cancer-causing benzene- in air near fracking sites.” The authors go on to assert that researchers, “estimate a higher risk of health problems for individuals who live near those wells” (Polson). What Polson and Efsathiou are reporting further supports the need for stricter regulations that limit how close the sites can be to the public as well raising additional concerns about the types of chemicals are being used in this process, and how dangerous they can be for the public. This, of course, has to be very disconcerting information for many, how such a process can yield such dangerous chemicals. Though it isn’t as astonishing to people that have been exposed to it. Many of which have compiled their painfully personal stories and struggles in the book “Shalefield Stories.” Stories like that of Judy Armstrong Stiles who lost her husband Carl to suicide which Judy attributes to the effects of intestinal cancer. Carl developed the cancer while living in a home surrounded by fracking sites. The various independent reports the family ordered to test their environment reflect the family’s suspicions, including various alarming levels of lead, methane and arsenic (Shalefield Stories: Personal Collected Testimonies).The tragic story of the Armstrong family only provides a personal look into the dangerous of fracking, for even, after all, the incriminating evidence the natural gas companies were not held to any fault. According to current regulations, these companies are not required to disclose the chemical they use in their work (Neuhauser). This whole issue gives the cause infinite more reason to protect real lives. What this

These methane emissions are at least 30% more than and perhaps more than twice as great as those from conventional gas. The higher emissions from shale gas occur at the time wells are hydraulically fractured—as methane escapes from flow-back return fluids—and during drill out following the fracturing. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, with a global warming potential that is far greater than that of carbon dioxide” (Wilber 261). Fracking not only represents a risk for environment but is also an impediment for a greener world, although natural gas is a much better fossil fuel, and oil is not as bad as coal, these fuels are still a non-renewable source of which we will run out of someday, and as a country there is this mentality of waiting for the next generations to pay for the mistakes or the lack of action of the current

Hydrauling Fracturing is a process used in nine out of ten natural gas wells in the United States, where millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped underground to break apart the rock and release the gas. Hydrauling Fracturing damages the land, contaminates drinking water, pollutes the air, cause illness in surrounding communities and has aslo known to cause earthquakes (Goldman, Jennifer). It has major threats towards our climate. Methane gas the main competed of natural gas is less common but more potent to greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide 85 to 105 time more powerful than carbon dioxide at disrupting the climate over 20 years (Goldman, Jennifer ).Water and Pollution are also infected by this. In Texas and Colorado more than 3.6 million gallons of water are used very time a well is fracked. Fracking fluids and waste have made their way to our drinking water and aquifers (Hoffman, Joe ). The counter argument to this problems is fossil complains claiming that these fracking fluids are harmless because they’re roughly 2% chemicals and 98% other.

Although oil companies uphold the idea that fracking is a cheaper and efficient, fracking damages the local water, air and soil in the surrounding cities. According to the Science of Total Environment, scientists speculate that wells require up to 5 million gallons of fluid per extraction event, which would require tons of chemicals including benzene, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides to unconventionally bring out the shale gas (Werner et al. 2014). The lengthy list of air pollutants, most of which are combustible, suggests that both human health and the environment are at risk and the surrounding water aquifers located near the horizontal wells could also be damaged. The amount of water needed for extraction also demonstrates the strain the process of fracking has on the environment and local water supply. Similarly, the potency of methane is 20 times worse than carbon dioxide as a greenhouse gas, which is further aggravated by the process of flaring (Weinhold 2012). Thus, flaring and fracking serves not only as a nuisance to the community through the health hazards and water pollution, but can worsen the status of global climate

Shale gas largely consists of methane – a gas which is 25 times as potent at carbon dioxide in terms of heat capturing capacity. Also, at least 3% of this gas gets released to the atmosphere even in the most efficient processes. While this fact poses a number of challenges to other businesses, including; supply chain disruptions, damage to infrastructure, increasing insurance premiums and rising transportation and health care costs; to your business, it means increased legal exposure on account of recently accepted UNFCCC.

When a natural gas deposit is fracked, some of the gases escape and some are made trying to get to it. Methane that is released during fracking is a highly potent greenhouse gas that can speed up global warming. Methane is a heat trapping gas and is about 30 times worse than Carbon Dioxide. The removal of trees to clear out a fracking site can also harm the atmosphere because plants absorb most of the harmful gases and give back oxygen. In the town of Dish, TX there are numerous fracking sites and the community has claimed they smell gas. The company that was fracking conducted their own test and had said there were no gas leaks detectable by human nose. The town of Dish preformed their own tests and had found a toxic mix of air pollution which

In 1994, the state produced more than 458 million tons of CO2 equivalents.” (Wilkinson and Rounds, 1998, 35) Emissions are expected to increase in California, as well as other states. By 2010, it was predicted by the California Energy Commission to increase 15 percent. According to the document about 85 percent would be from fossil fuels. In 2012 according to California’s Environmental protection agency air resources board “Total California greenhouse gas emissions were 459 million metric tons (or tonnes) of carbon dioxide equivalent (MMTCO2e). This represents a 1.7 percent increase in total GHG emissions from 2011 and the first emissions increase since 2007.” (California Air Resources Board, 2014, i) The percentage of greenhouse emissions has increased tremendously since

The new technological advancement which is also known as “Fracking” process has tremendously increased the supply of natural gas in America. And on the other hand, as natural gas does not emit the greenhouse gases like that of coal fuel energy, the consumer preference of coal based products switched to natural gas. As supply and demand of natural gas kept increasing, fracking process has also increased in larger extent in different regions of the country. As a result, negative impacts are also generated like water contamination, air pollution, health problems, natural resources impact and broader economic impacts (Environment America

In Texas, high levels of benzene have been measured in the air near wells in the Barnett Shale gas fields. Unhealthy air adversely affects us all. It causes numerous health problems that require medical treatment, hospitalization, short term and long tern medical problems etc. The issues of severe air contamination are a reason enough to limit natural gas production everywhere unless proven otherwise. Methane is the main component of natural gas and is twenty-five times more potent in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide. According to Joe Hoffman, “A recent study by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) monitoring gas wells in Weld County, Colorado, estimated that 4 percent of the methane produced by these wells is escaping into the atmosphere.” We understand that is only four percent of methane, which is released into the air. However, methane is very potent and can cause severe air pollution. Sand is also a main component used in the fracking process. Crystalline silica is the form of sand, which can cause silicosis an incurable but preventable lung disease when inhaled by workers. Not only does hydraulic fracturing cause air pollution for the people who live around these drilling cites but also to the workers who work during the process of

The Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) will be a negative impact in the Rio Grande Valley due to the hazardous risks it carries. This project that will be held in the valley can cause vapor clouds, pool fires, and climate changes. Besides these risks, it will also destroy the beautifulness there is to see at South Padre Island and tourists will lose their interest in coming. In previous events similar to this the project, it has caused billions of dollars being lost. The LNG plant will cause chaos with a long period of repairing those damages.

The Southern California natural gas leak was the biggest of its kind in U.S. history. This natural gas leak was pumping out enough methane to fill a balloon the size of the Rose Bowl every day until utility workers discovered it and charily patched it up with cement. According to the first study of the accident published in the journal Science, more than 100,000 tons of methane which is a powerful greenhouse gas that has 25 times the warming energy of carbon dioxide had been releasing itself into the world from a natural gas well in Aliso Canyon for 112 days without anyone even knowing. This gas leak accident was unnoticed for so long that its effects on Earth were and will continue to be detrimental as methane then turns into carbon dioxide

In Bhopal, India there was incident where a plant located nearby had a terrible gas leak. The pesticide plant, Union Carbide India Limited had some type of malfunction causing a methyl isocyanate gas leak and poisoned the people of Bhopal. “Half a million people were exposed to the gas and 25,000 have died to date as a result of their exposure” (Union Carbide Disaster). The cause of this disaster is known, however who is to blame for it still remains under debate. The Indian government claim that it was poor management and budget cuts that caused the plant to not abide by safety protocols. Had these budget cuts not been made then the routine pipe maintenance would not have caused a backflow of water into the tank, which is what triggered the

One horrific environmental disaster was caused by the oil company Texaco (now known as Chevron). The disaster was dubbed “Rainforest Chernobyl” because of the length of the problem, which lasted from 1964-1992. Management purposefully cut costs wherever they could and left 600 unlined oil pits in the rainforest and 18 billion gallons of their own pollutants which they continuously pumped into the local water source (Global Exchange 2005). This was not just an impact made to the environment but to the people of the land also. The people who have dealt with miscarriages, birth defects, and over 1,401 cancer deaths is staggering due to the lack of ethical, moral, and compassionate behavior. This lack of compassion was shown by the company when it reportedly cleaned up only one percent of the mess, then proceeding to convince local officials to release them from obligation to finish the effort (Chevron Toxico