Ug Rabbit Hole Essay

4. Coal Seam Gas is a naturally occurring gas found in coal seams hundreds of metres below the surface of the Earth. Like conventional gas, CSG is comprised mostly of methane and is a type of petroleum. Coal Seam Gas is extracted via different methods including

One of the parts of Ruddimans three part early anthropogenic hypothesis focusses on the anomalous rise in methane after 5,000 years. By looking at the past three interglaciations methane levels should have fallen from ~700 ppb to a level such as

‘[Watts] revealed a few inconvenient facts. A 1976 study by the Colorado Division of Water found that this area was plagued with gas in the water problems back then. And it was naturally occurring. As the report stated there was “troublesome amounts of methane” in the water decades before fracking began. It seems that in geographical areas gas has always been in the water’ (Watts,

In 1848, James Marshall discovered a single nugget of gold in the American River in California, setting off a massive migration west as hundreds sought to capitalize upon the Gold Rush. Today, a similar situation is playing out. In the late 2000s, new technology enabled workers to extract natural gas from previously inaccessible shale deposits through horizontal hydraulic fracturing. This “shale boom” has had companies racing to capitalize upon the potential of vast natural gas and promises of energy independence and cheap energy. Yet, as the miners during the Gold Rush found upon arriving to California, scientists today are finding that many of the initial claims are not as they seemed. Companies are recklessly continuing, prospecting for natural gas deposits. Hydraulic fracturing is a means of extracting natural gas from deep, previously inaccessible shale deposits. It involves injecting a fracking cocktail mixture of water, sand, and various other chemical fluids into the ground at very high pressures to literally fracture the ground, releasing natural gas that can then be collected. Natural gas is a finite fossil fuel, yet due to the recent fracking boom, many people in the United States have heralded it as the future of America’s energy, the way to energy security.

There is a gold rush going on right now. Man is breaking the earth, looking for natural gas. It’s a mad scene, with hucksters on every side of the issue. There is a lot going on underground and that process is called Fracking. The word alone can stir up controversy. The process of extracting natural gas through hydraulic fracturing or “fracking,” might summon in someone’s imagination an environment and damaged communities. Natural gas hides from sight it is invisible. Perhaps envisioned a prettier picture—one that involves clean-burning fuel, job growth and affordable energy. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) states that fracking “is the process of injecting large

Hydraulic fracturing is a process used in nine out of 10 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. Scientists are worried that the chemicals used in fracturing may pose a threat either underground or when waste fluids are handled and sometimes spilled on the surface. The natural gas industry defends hydraulic fracturing, better known as fracking, as safe and efficient. Thomas J. Pyle, president of the Institute for Energy Research, a pro-industry non-profit organization, claims fracking has been “a widely deployed as safe extraction technique,” dating back to 1949. What he doesn’t say is that until recently energy

Furthermore, Fred Krupp claims that uncontrolled emissions of methane are 84 times more effective than carbon dioxide over a frame of 20 years and that’s why it deserves more national attention. In addition, there are methane leaks that happen all across the oil and gas production sites, and those leakages cause as

Gasland is a documentary film by Josh Fox. It all began when a natural gas company wishing to buy his land for use of drilling approached him on him, in Milanville, Pennsylvania. He was told that his home was sitting on a natural gas field called the Marcellus Shale. The company claimed the Marcellus Shale was “the Saudi Arabia of natural gas” (Gasland). All of that led Josh to want to find out more about what exactly natural gas drilling meant for everyone around the country. This led him to the 2005 Energy Bill, which was pushed through by Dick Cheney, exempted the oil and natural gas industry from the Clean Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Clean Air Act, and many other environmental laws. The information is interesting because Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton, the father of natural gas drilling. All of this information led Josh to the western America to see first hand the affects natural gas drilling that has been active in that area for at least a decade. Natural gas is extracted through a process called hydraulic fracturing, which drills a well and then pumps a mixture of water and fracking fluid. This fracking fluid contains over 595 different chemicals that have been uncovered with no help from the hydraulic fracturing industry. These dangerous chemicals can lead to many health problems experienced by many residents whose house fall around the same area as many fracking sites. One of the people he talked to was Lisa Braken, who grew up in the area of Divide Creek

Coal, oil, and gas were all formed from the remains of decayed and decomposing ancient animals and plants (Science Daily 2014). These fossil fuels we produced far before the dinosaurs ever roamed the earth, during the Carboniferous Period (Chapter 8 2012). This period of time, estimated around 360-286 million-years-ago, is believed to be when the earth was covered mostly in trees, plants, and swamps, and the bodies of water existing at the time were all filled with hundreds-of-millions of small plants called algae.

• Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a greenhouse gas that warms the atmosphere. • Since pre-industrial times, atmospheric CO2 concentrations have increased from about 280 parts per million (ppm) to over 380 ppm. Current concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases are unprecedented in at least the last 650,000 years, based on records from gas bubbles trapped in polar ice. • Independent measurements demonstrate that the increased CO2 in the atmosphere comes

On September 10, 1969, the Atomic Energy Commission detonated a 40-kiloton nuclear bomb to break loose natural gas from the sandstone formations. The detonation took part, here, in Battlement Mesa, only 8,426 below the ground surface. According to scientists, the project was successful to some extent, but did it cause a minor upset in the safety of our community.

As Australia’s energy demands rise along with a rising population it is likely that fossil fuel consumption will also rise despite concerns about climate change. This energy demand as well as government debt has seen the start of hydraulic fracturing in Queensland. The development of coal seam gas is to create thousands of jobs while providing a boost to the state’s economy. Many Australian landowners are allowing the fracking on their properties because they will receive income from the well (De Rijke 2013). The decision of the government to commence fracking has been opposed by the wider public. Local governments are virtually powerless to stop fracking as this power lies with the Australian state and

Much like the glass of a greenhouse, gases in our atmosphere sustain life on Earth by trapping the sun 's heat. The Earth’s atmosphere contains several different gases that act like a blanket, keeping the Earth warm. Water vapour and some trace gases like CO2, CH4 (methane), O3 (ozone), N2O (nitrous oxide), are “IR active”, i.e. they absorb heat energy, and stop the warmth from escaping into space. Without the entrapment of heat, the earth’s mean temperature would be -180 C and life, as we know it today, would not be possible. These gases are present in the atmosphere in tiny quantities compared to the amounts of oxygen and nitrogen. But even a small change in the concentration of these gases may create an effect that could change our

The concept of global warming has become one of the most widely debated and controversial topics of our time. Scientists learned long ago that the earth’s climate has powerfully shaped the history of humanity. However, it is only in the past few decades that research has revealed that humans have a significant influence on the climate as well. A growing body of scientific evidence indicates that since 1950, the world’s climate has been warming, primarily as a result of emissions from the burning of fossil fuels and the destruction of tropical forests. More importantly, an article titled "Global Warming" published in the New York Times shows that methane, a gas that is emitted from landfills, livestock and oil gas facilities,