Shale gas: The public is not reassured | Politics | Radio-Canada.ca
At an information meeting held Saturday, with citizens in Mont-Saint-Hilaire, a group of experts has called for a moratorium on shale gas.
According to them, the economic benefits of this industry would be negligible for Quebec.
"My view is that we have the worst business model in North America. That is to say that Quebec that there will be less money going back into the pockets of the real owners of resources that are Quebecers, "argued Normand Mousseau, a professor in the Department of Physics of the University of Montreal.
In addition, scientific information is insufficient to assess environmental risks.
The PQ member of Borduas, who attended the event, believes that the government could have done things differently.
What we can say is it's not too late, and then one of the clearest applications from all citizens, is "thus imposing a moratorium."
- Pierre Curzi
The Parti Quebecois leader, for his part criticized the handling of the case by the Minister of Natural Resources, who has admitted Friday it had made mistakes .
In Sherbrooke, where she gave the kickoff of a regional tour, Pauline Marois argued that concrete action from the Minister Natalie Normandeau would further mitigate people's fears.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
CBC News - Technology & Science - Sask. farmers worried about CO2 leaks
CBC News - Technology & Science - Sask. farmers worried about CO2 leaks
A Saskatchewan farm couple say greenhouse gases that were supposed to be stored permanently underground are leaking out, killing animals and sending groundwater foaming to the surface like shaken-up soda pop.
Cameron and Jane Kerr, who own land above the Weyburn oilfield in eastern Saskatchewan, have released a consultant's report that claims to link high concentrations of carbon dioxide in their soil to gas injected underground every day.
Energy giant Cenovus injects 8,000 tonnes of the gas every day in an attempt to enhance oil recovery and fight climate change.
Cameron Kerr says ponds on his land have developed algae blooms, clots of foam and scum, while small animals have been found dead a few metres away.
A consultant found high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the soil that matches the carbon dioxide Cenovus has been injecting, he says.
The Saskatchewan NDP government had agreed to conduct a year-long study to find out what was going on, but that hasn't happened since the government changed in 2007.
The suggestion that the Weyburn capture-and-storage project might be leaking could have implications for similar projects that try to store carbon underground, a technique being studied around the world with billions of dollars of public financing.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/11/sk-carbon-complaint-1101.html#ixzz1AlTqbelB
A Saskatchewan farm couple say greenhouse gases that were supposed to be stored permanently underground are leaking out, killing animals and sending groundwater foaming to the surface like shaken-up soda pop.
Cameron and Jane Kerr, who own land above the Weyburn oilfield in eastern Saskatchewan, have released a consultant's report that claims to link high concentrations of carbon dioxide in their soil to gas injected underground every day.
Energy giant Cenovus injects 8,000 tonnes of the gas every day in an attempt to enhance oil recovery and fight climate change.
Cameron Kerr says ponds on his land have developed algae blooms, clots of foam and scum, while small animals have been found dead a few metres away.
A consultant found high concentrations of carbon dioxide in the soil that matches the carbon dioxide Cenovus has been injecting, he says.
The Saskatchewan NDP government had agreed to conduct a year-long study to find out what was going on, but that hasn't happened since the government changed in 2007.
The suggestion that the Weyburn capture-and-storage project might be leaking could have implications for similar projects that try to store carbon underground, a technique being studied around the world with billions of dollars of public financing.
Read more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/01/11/sk-carbon-complaint-1101.html#ixzz1AlTqbelB
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Fracking the life out of Arkansas and beyond | Food Freedom
Fracking the life out of Arkansas and beyond | Food Freedom
7 UPDATE: Missing from this report is the information that the US military apparently drilled 500 deep wells in Central Arkansas to dispose of phosgene, a highly toxic gas that causes the respiratory system to explode. (As reported below, deep well drilling causes earthquakes.) According to the EU Times, Russia’s spy agency, GRU, reported that the US relocated 63,000 metric tons of phosgene from Iraq to the Arkansas’ Pine Bluff Arsenal, the nation’s premier chemical and bio weapons lab. Some or most of this material was and continues to be relocated to Afghanistan.
The GRU report claims that while transporting the gas via a US Air Force KC-767 tanker aircraft, a “malfunction” occurred in the aerial spraying system on December 30, killing 100,000 fish along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near Roseville. The next day, on another KC-767, again the aerial spraying system “malfunctioned” killing 5,000 blackbirds near Beebe.
7 UPDATE: Missing from this report is the information that the US military apparently drilled 500 deep wells in Central Arkansas to dispose of phosgene, a highly toxic gas that causes the respiratory system to explode. (As reported below, deep well drilling causes earthquakes.) According to the EU Times, Russia’s spy agency, GRU, reported that the US relocated 63,000 metric tons of phosgene from Iraq to the Arkansas’ Pine Bluff Arsenal, the nation’s premier chemical and bio weapons lab. Some or most of this material was and continues to be relocated to Afghanistan.
The GRU report claims that while transporting the gas via a US Air Force KC-767 tanker aircraft, a “malfunction” occurred in the aerial spraying system on December 30, killing 100,000 fish along a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River near Roseville. The next day, on another KC-767, again the aerial spraying system “malfunctioned” killing 5,000 blackbirds near Beebe.
Thomas Jefferson & Food
If people let the government decide what foods they eat and what medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny.”
~Thomas Jefferson, 1781
~Thomas Jefferson, 1781
Oil and Gas Collection: Hydraulic Fracturing, Toxic Chemicals and the Surge of Earthquake Activity in Arkansas
Oil and Gas Collection: Hydraulic Fracturing, Toxic Chemicals and the Surge of Earthquake Activity in Arkansas
The last four months of 2010, nearly 500 earthquakes rattled Guy, Arkansas. [1] The entire state experienced 38 quakes in 2009. [2] The spike in quake frequency precedes and coincides with the 100,000 dead fish on a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River that included Roseville Township on December 30. The next night, 5,000 red-winged blackbirds and starlings dropped dead out of the sky in Beebe. [3] Hydraulic fracturing is the most likely culprit for all three events, as it causes earthquakes with a resultant release of toxins into the environment. [4]
A close look at Arkansas’ history of earthquakes and drilling reveals a shocking surge in quake frequency following advanced drilling. The number of quakes in 2010 nearly equals all of Arkansas’ quakes for the entire 20th century. The oil and gas industry denies any correlation, but the advent of hydrofracking followed by earthquakes is a story repeated across the nation. It isn’t going to stop any time soon, either. Fracking has gone global.
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) pumps water and chemicals into the ground at a pressurized rate exceeding what the bedrock can withstand, resulting in a microquake that produces rock fractures. Though initiated in 1947, technological advances now allow horizontal fracturing, vastly increasing oil and gas collection. [5] In 1996, shale-gas production in the U.S. accounted for 2 percent of all domestic natural gas production, reports Christopher Bateman in Vanity Fair. “Some industry analysts predict shale gas will represent a full half of total domestic gas production within 10 years.” [6] In 2000, U.S. gas reserve estimates stood at 177 trillion cubic feet, but ramped up to 245 tcf in 2008. These new technologies prompt experts to increase global gas reserve estimates ninefold. [7]
The grid below shows a section of the Arkansas River, with Roseville Township at bottom, where the first reports of the fish kill originated. The green lines surrounding and crossing the river indicate gas pipes, ranging from 8-20” in diameter. Any number of leaks in the pipes can explain the fish kill. Gas wells are shown by yellow ‘suns’ (see red arrows) and range from 1,500 to 6,500 feet deep. (Disposal wells, where drilling waste products are injected at high pressures, go as deep as 12,000 feet.) The red numbers next to the ‘suns’ give the number of gas wells in that spot, numbering close to 50 in this small area. [8]
The last four months of 2010, nearly 500 earthquakes rattled Guy, Arkansas. [1] The entire state experienced 38 quakes in 2009. [2] The spike in quake frequency precedes and coincides with the 100,000 dead fish on a 20-mile stretch of the Arkansas River that included Roseville Township on December 30. The next night, 5,000 red-winged blackbirds and starlings dropped dead out of the sky in Beebe. [3] Hydraulic fracturing is the most likely culprit for all three events, as it causes earthquakes with a resultant release of toxins into the environment. [4]
A close look at Arkansas’ history of earthquakes and drilling reveals a shocking surge in quake frequency following advanced drilling. The number of quakes in 2010 nearly equals all of Arkansas’ quakes for the entire 20th century. The oil and gas industry denies any correlation, but the advent of hydrofracking followed by earthquakes is a story repeated across the nation. It isn’t going to stop any time soon, either. Fracking has gone global.
Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) pumps water and chemicals into the ground at a pressurized rate exceeding what the bedrock can withstand, resulting in a microquake that produces rock fractures. Though initiated in 1947, technological advances now allow horizontal fracturing, vastly increasing oil and gas collection. [5] In 1996, shale-gas production in the U.S. accounted for 2 percent of all domestic natural gas production, reports Christopher Bateman in Vanity Fair. “Some industry analysts predict shale gas will represent a full half of total domestic gas production within 10 years.” [6] In 2000, U.S. gas reserve estimates stood at 177 trillion cubic feet, but ramped up to 245 tcf in 2008. These new technologies prompt experts to increase global gas reserve estimates ninefold. [7]
The grid below shows a section of the Arkansas River, with Roseville Township at bottom, where the first reports of the fish kill originated. The green lines surrounding and crossing the river indicate gas pipes, ranging from 8-20” in diameter. Any number of leaks in the pipes can explain the fish kill. Gas wells are shown by yellow ‘suns’ (see red arrows) and range from 1,500 to 6,500 feet deep. (Disposal wells, where drilling waste products are injected at high pressures, go as deep as 12,000 feet.) The red numbers next to the ‘suns’ give the number of gas wells in that spot, numbering close to 50 in this small area. [8]
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