Feeds:
Posts
Comments

Archive for the ‘natural gas’ Category

GasLand: A Must Watch Documentary

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, natural gas, Renewables, solar, tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , on June 23, 2010 |

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BtpSgqUZ3oA]

A few days ago, Larry King interviewed T. Boone Pickens and if you were watching it, you heard him condemn the spill and the US dependence on oil then he raved about natural gas and how safe it is to drill for it.

Pickens is not the first. Many have claimed that natural gas is better, safer, and cheaper. Simply, that is not the case. I have written about a couple of natural gas blow outs and pipe fractures in Texas this month alone but this documentary examines several other elements of natural gas impact than just rigs blowing up.

Yesterday, HBO aired a documentary that is both eye-opening and disturbing. It is called GasLand, in which Josh Fox, the director travels across the United States to explore the damage and contamination that has resulted from drilling for natural gas. In the documentary, Fox points out the different impacts of natural gas; on our drinking water, the air we breathe, and the nature that surrounds us. If the pictures of evaporating water mixed gas into the air to get rid of the waste (process done by gas-drilling facilities) won’t tell how bad natural gas is, then I am pretty sure watching people lighting their contaminated faucet water on fire will.

Fox collects water samples from homes with contaminated water and sends them to a lab for examination. I will leave it to you to watch his outrageous findings in the documentary.

In case you missed it, Josh Fox’s GasLand will be airing on HBO at the following (central) times:

Thursday, June 24: 12:00PM

Thursday, June 24: 11:30PM

Saturday, June 26: 11:00AM

Wednesday, June 30: 08:45AM

For more information, visit the HBO schedule page or the webpage for GasLand.

Read Full Post »

Texas: Natural Gas Blast in Johnson County, EPA Approves Potential BP Spill Solution

Posted in Energy, Global Warming, natural gas, tagged , , , , , on June 8, 2010 |

Johnson County Gas Pipeline Explosion

While the BP rig is still gushing oil out into the ocean, several events (positive and negative ones) have taken place in Texas without receiving the coverage they deserve. I wanted to shed some light on those events.

One bright point to start your day is a Texas Tech researcher who has received EPA approval for his fibertect product that can potentially be a “slick solution for the biggest environmental disaster in the US history.”  Essentially, it’s the Shamwow for oil spills. We don’t often say this in Austin, but go Texas Tech!

Some (especially those in the natural gas industry) say that instead of depending on Middle East oil, the US should invest in natural gas, a resource that is being advertised to the public as environment-friendly and associated with less risk. Yesterday’s news stories that came from Johnson County suggest otherwise. One of the operators in Johnson County’s Pecan Plantation died as a result of a pipeline explosion while several others were dangerously burned and taken to nearby hospitals. The pipeline exploded after it was ruptured by the crew that was working on it.

The pipe, owned by Enterprise Products Partners, shot up more than 600 feet skyward for about two hours. The blast shook the windows of homes in Hood County where more than 5,000 people reside only three miles from the plantation.

Texas is familiar with the risk associated with natural gas. According to Star-telegram, more than 20 blowouts have taken place only at Barnett Shale wells, along with, well, all the other pollution they’ve been spewing (and TCEQ has been covering up).  In addition (more…)

Read Full Post »

« Newer Posts