Where gas and oil companies stand
Currently as we stand today, gas and oil companies, through their emissions, comprise anywhere from a third, to a half of the carbon emissions, and other global warming contributor in the United States alone. The result of this, is mass illness that is both, directly related to those who live within a close proximity of a pipeline or production facility, as well as the overall effects on the nation as a whole. Bob Weinhold discusses just how bad the pollution situation amongst oil and gas companies has gotten, in his environmental and academic journal titled; The Future of Fracking. "A number of primary and secondary pollutants are linked with this web of facilities. One of them, methane, is over 20 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide (CO2) when emitted directly to the atmosphere." (Weinhold, Bob, The future of fracking) This revelation should disturb a lot, in fact, it should disturb most people to read that fact. The author also goes on to mention how no other company, can come even close to the amount of emissions that are being produced by gas and big oil. "Oil and natural gas production is the United States’ largest industrial source of VOCs, although a smaller source than the nation’s leading overall contributor, gasoline-powered vehicles" (Weinhold, Bob, The future of Fracking)
In an NPR interview, and podcast, Ashley Ahearn, interviewed Dr. Robert P Jackson, to discuss, just what exactly the pollution issues related to fracking are.
"AHEARN: Methane makes up more than 90% of the shale gas. What do we know about
methane’s impacts on human health?
JACKSON: Well, methane isn’t regulated in our drinking water. The primary concerns
for methane historically have been in cases where it can build up in the air—mines, for
example. So where you have high concentrations of methane you can have an explosion,
and the other risk would be for concentrations of methane to build up in the air to levels
that are so high that people can asphyxiate, or suffocate." (Ahearn, Ashley. "Managing Wastewater From Fracking, With Robert B. Jackson." Environmental Health Perspectives 120.2 (2012)
The above quote is the perfect example of how my research throughout this project, has shown that, fracking pollution is a very serious, and unregulated problem that needs to be addressed.
In an NPR interview, and podcast, Ashley Ahearn, interviewed Dr. Robert P Jackson, to discuss, just what exactly the pollution issues related to fracking are.
"AHEARN: Methane makes up more than 90% of the shale gas. What do we know about
methane’s impacts on human health?
JACKSON: Well, methane isn’t regulated in our drinking water. The primary concerns
for methane historically have been in cases where it can build up in the air—mines, for
example. So where you have high concentrations of methane you can have an explosion,
and the other risk would be for concentrations of methane to build up in the air to levels
that are so high that people can asphyxiate, or suffocate." (Ahearn, Ashley. "Managing Wastewater From Fracking, With Robert B. Jackson." Environmental Health Perspectives 120.2 (2012)
The above quote is the perfect example of how my research throughout this project, has shown that, fracking pollution is a very serious, and unregulated problem that needs to be addressed.
Whats being done
There is no doubt, that when reading Bob Weinholds; The Future of Fracking or the Pittsburgh Gazette newspaper article, that pollution, and not following government standards, are rampant throughout the industry. However their are several benefits to natural gas, and fracking which will be gone into later on in this page. However, the main point that cannot be overlooked is what natural gas can do to drastically reduce global warming. In a research study called; Assessing the greenhouse impact of natural gas, by L.M. Cathles, they discuss the fact that natural gas, either used as a substitute, or an outright replacement for oil which some car manufacturers are already doing, can reduce our global warming and pollution output by forty percent over the next fifty to one hundred years. "But even if the leakage was so high that the substitution was not of immediate benefit, the 40%-of-zero-carbon benefit would be realized shortly after methane emissions ceased because methane is removed quickly from the atmosphere whereas CO2 is not."(Cathles, L.M., Assessing the Greenhouse impact of Natural Gas) I think is why, despite pollution issues, natural gas, if they can find a way to reduce the methane leakage, should in fact be pursued as primary energy alternative and not just a substitute for oil.
My Word Count: 487
Source Word Count : 100
Source Word Count : 100
Image Source: http://www.agu.org/journals/gc/gc1206/2012GC004032/2012gc004032-op01-tn-350x.jpg
Disclaimer: parts of this website are fictional and were made for a class project. Please email my instructor with questions. scheney[at]collin[dot]edu.]