Fixing Climate

"Fixing Climate: What Past Climate Changes Reveal About the Current Threat—and How to Counter It" by Wallace S. Broecker and Robert Kunzig--Wallace Broecker has spent more than 50 years studying the climate of the past 200,000 years and was one of the first to warn decades ago about the potential for human-induced global warming.

At Columbia University, Broecker has published over 400 papers and has won numerous prizes including the National Medal of Science.

Over the years, Broecker has developed ways to calculate the rate of gas exchange between the atmosphere and the ocean and has devised the Broecker's Conveyor Belt, a global ocean circulation process that affects climate around the globe.

Broecker and science writer Robert Kunzig explain the history and science of climate change, plus describe an innovative means of technology for lessening the carbon dioxide in our atmosphere in an attempt to mitigate global warming.

Shale fracking fouls ground water

And they said it can't happen.

EPA in 1987 found fracking fouled well water in W.Va

A 1987 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finding, which the agency has ignored for years, concluded that hydraulic fracturing of a deep natural gas well in Jackson County, W.Va., contaminated groundwater and private wells.

Although the gas drilling industry has repeatedly claimed that such "fracking" operations in Pennsylvania's Marcellus Shale natural gas fields pose no threat to rural underground aquifers, groundwater and drinking water wells, EPA investigators concluded a gas well drilled and fracked by the Kaiser Gas Co. in 1982 did contaminate groundwater.

Read more: http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11215/1164864-100.stm#ixzz1TzNU0FES

Fracking chemical disclosure

Texas made law a bill that requires gas drilling companies to make public the chemicals they use on every hydraulic fracturing job. See 'Fracking' Disclosure to Rise.

Earlier this year, some of the big gas producers said they would begin voluntarily publicizing these chemicals at FracFocus.org.

Spring water contaminated by fracking

Spring water contaminated by leaks from Marcellus Shale drilling operations has ruined the drinking water by a hunting club in Clearfield County. See Hunting club contends with spring water contaminations from gas drilling.

Another gas well blowout in Pennsylvania

Fracking fluid spills out of busted well head in Bradford County, contaminating surrounding farm land and a nearby stream that flows into the Susquehanna River. Residents are asked to evacuate. DEP is on site looking for environmental impacts. This incident shows how dangerous gas well drilling is and the likelihood of contamination by the drilling fluids. Millions of gallons of water laced with toxic chemicals and hydraulic fluids are used in these operations, injected into wells under high pressure. Well casings are made of cement. Fracking ponds are lined with plastic. Any cracks, tears, or quality problems and this is what can happen.

See http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11111/1140850-503-2.stm

Marcellus shale gas not so clean

And now this: A Cornell University study has concluded that methane produced from shale gas may contribute as much or even more to global greenhouse warming than coal. Shale gas is lost to the atmosphere by venting from backflow water released from wells and pressure valves, along with leaks that can occur in the various equipment used to produce, process and ship the gas, as well as in gas pipelines used to ship it to market.

See http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11103/1138900-84.stm.

Water treatment plants can't handle drilling waste water

Several water treatment plants in Western Pennsylvania have stopped taking drilling waste water from natural gas hydraulic fracturing. Treatment plants are not equipped to deal with this new kind of contaminated water. In Oklahoma and other states, fracking waste is barred from being processed at treatment plants and is instead injected into deep wells. That option may not exist for PA due to geology, but other alternatives must be explored. It's a good reason to slow down this "gold rush." See http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11103/1138930-455.stm

PA Governor refuses gas drilling severance tax

Pennsylvania is the only state with significant gas drilling that has no severance tax. Several polls show now that 2/3 of state voters support a severance tax. Governor Corbett's energy executive says that Corbett does not govern based on polls. Then on what basis does he govern? If not by what the people want, or what other states have shown can be done with effective drilling taxes, or what the studies have shown that the gas industry would still prosper, or what the gas industry itself has said which is that it's open to a severance tax, then what? Governor Corbett, what??

See the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette story:

Tax on gas drillers boils in Harrisburg

Ballooning bromide concentrations

Ballooning bromide concentrations in rivers where Marcellus Shale wastewater discharges are on the rise, is another big worry to our public water suppliers. Elevated bromide levels create treatment problems which can result in the contamination of our drinking water with organic chemicals that cause cancer and birth defects. And what does the drilling industry say? Oh, it can't be the drilling wastewater--it must be the runoff from the road salt used! Meanwhile, the bromide levels spiked in the summer months when road salt isn't used, plus road salt has much more chloride and little bromide and the chloride level in the river water has not risen. Why does this industry deny their impact?

See: Bromide: A Concern in Drilling Wastewater (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article).

Lessons from Texas

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Christine Ruggiero remembers the day vividly -- Sept. 16, 2009. She'd left the house at 7:30 a.m. to take her daughter to school. Two hours later, she got a phone call at work from her neighbor.

"They're out there," the neighbor said, looking out the window. "They've knocked down your fence. And they're bulldozing your pasture. And your horses are not put up."

Mrs. Ruggiero jumped in her car and raced home ...

Continue reading this revealing story:
The Marcellus Boom: Lessons From Texas
(from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)

Marcellus gas drilling produces radioactive waste water

After a gas well is drilled, millions of gallons of water, sand and chemical additives are pumped underground under high pressure to crack the shale formation and release the gas. The fracking fluid waste that returns to the surface with the gas contains a variety of radioactive minerals from the shale.

The New York Times reported that hydraulic fracturing wastewater at 116 of 179 deep gas wells in Pennsylvania contained high levels of radiation. Its effect on public drinking water supplies is unknown because water suppliers are required to conduct tests of radiation only sporadically.

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:
Radiation-fracking link sparks swift reactions

Radioactive contamination in PA gas wells

Data collected from natural gas wells in Pennsylvania is showing radioactive contamination that is hundreds of times or thousands of times over legal limits. This is no joke. PA has to wake up fast. See this interactive graph.

Repeal of ban on gas drilling in PA parks

So our new Republican governor repeals the ban. And PA still has no severance tax on gas drilling. Oil and gas companies are seeking permits in state parks. Don't be surprised if you see gas drill dereks popping up around Ohiopyle. See "Corbett repeals policy on gas drilling in parks" at http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11055/1127614-503.stm#ixzz1FBZZI8k6

Fracking chemicals used during oil drilling

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection soon plans to post on their website the compounds used in hydraulic fracturing fluids. Water and various chemicals including toxins and heavy metals are pumped under high pressure into Marcellus Shale gas wells to fracture the rock and release methane gas. Some of the water returns to the surface. Much of it stays underground. No scientific studies have been done to understand what happens to that water left deep below the surface. We're talking about millions of gallons of water for one well. Some evidence suggests that it could migrate through the fractured rock to pollute drinking water supplies. The return water is also a hazard and must be disposed of safely. Currently, gas drilling companies are exempt from the Clean Water Act. This is another disaster waiting to happen.

For a list of some of the chemicals used, see this pdf.

Marcellus shale well gas drilling threatens our waters

The drilling process results in loads of highly contaminated water. Where and how is it being disposed? How come resource extraction can't be done more safely?

Monongahela called one of most endangered rivers in U.S.
I grew up near this river in Green County, PA. We used to swim and boat in it. Our drinking water comes from it. I've seen the thick, dark pools of contaminated water that come up from the Marcellus shale gas wells and the tank trucks that carry this contaminant away. Where are the trucks going?

Could we be the Saudi Arabia of Wind?

According to the famous oil tycoon, T. Boone Pickens:

The world produces about 85 million barrels of oil a day, but global demand now tops 86 million barrels a day. And despite three years of record price increases, world oil production has declined every year since 2005. Meanwhile, the demand for oil will only increase as growing economies in countries like India and China gear up for enhanced oil consumption...

Wind is 100% domestic, it is 100% renewable and it is 100% clean. Did you know that the midsection of this country, that stretch of land that starts in West Texas and reaches all the way up to the border with Canada, is called the "Saudi Arabia of the Wind"? It gets that name because we have the greatest wind reserves in the world. In 2008, the Department of Energy issued a study that stated that the U.S. has the capacity to generate 20% of its electricity supply from wind by 2030...

See the full piece and T. Boone Pickens' plan of action:
My Plan to Escape the Grip of Foreign Oil.

Wind energy in China

With China’s push for renewable technologies, energy experts say don't be surprised if China achieves 100 gigawatts by 2020 (up from 6 gigawatts today). See Experts Say China’s Wind Energy Could Grow 1667% by 2020.

Top producers & consumers of oil

This interactive chart shows at a glance why the U.S. is dependent on oil from the Middle East: The World Oil Economy

As for oil prices, just how much of the recent price escalation is due to Fed policy versus world demand? Why the Oil Price Is High. Or how much of it is due to trader speculation? How Speculators Are Causing the Cost of Living to Skyrocket

Gas prices too high? Slow down and quit complaining.

Drive the speed limit on any highway, and most other cars zoom by passing on the left or right. Drive moderately from stop light to stop light, and most other cars race past only to hit their brakes to stop and wait at the next light. Do you mind paying higher gas prices? Every 10 miles per hour you drive over 60 is like the price of gasoline going up 54 cents a gallon. And that's not all. See Slow Down a Little, Save a Lot of Gas.

Doing something about global warming

A picture's worth a thousand words.