The documentary Gasland by Josh Fox shows the effects and secrets of the natural gas industry in the US that the federal government has failed to tell it's citizens. It truly is unsettling to see what is going on directly in people's front yards and they are being blatantly lied to by the gas companies. Here are just a few questions that I am pondering after watching this horrific, eye-opening film.
--> I realize that every controversial topic can be presented in a biased manner, but how can this be proposed in an unbiased manner? How can these acts be justified?
--> If the government is allowing this widespread of an issue to occur without repercussions to the drilling companies, how can we (the citizens) trust that anything else that the government tells us?
--> If the proper measures were taken to make fracking safe, would it still be considered a cheap and viable option?
This is a really interesting question, because hydraulic fracturing companies are not willing to admit that their process is unsafe. For this reason, they probably won't invest any time or money into fixing the environmental contamination issues. However, if the eco-friendly process happens to be CHEAPER than the current process, it will be a more attractive option for the natural gas companies.
ReplyDeleteI found an article explaining that fracking companies may start using Carbon Dioxide rather than fracking fluid. CO2 in the ground may be an environmental issue. But at least this way the CO2 will not contribute to greenhouse gases. More importantly, it will eliminate the need for fracking fluid.
The most thought provoking thing about the article is that they are using CO2 because it is cheaper to transport than water. Thus, economic solutions are helping to fix environmental issues. It goes to show nothing gets done until its profitable.
http://www.fastcoexist.com/1681897/using-co2-for-fracking-means-no-dirty-water-and-less-climate-change
reply for question 3) it'd be more expensive for sure, though its price would be probably pegged to that of other big natty gas countries. So "safe" fracking wouldn't be the end of natural gas production, only the end of big oil investors' bi-annual "conferences" in Cape Town. What safe fracking miiight promote is more sustainable energy, since, say, energy for heating, wouldn't be so damn cheap.
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