Posted on 10/10/2009 9:04:41 PM PDT by neverdem
OKLAHOMA CITY — A new technique that tapped previously inaccessible supplies of natural gas in the United States is spreading to the rest of the world, raising hopes of a huge expansion in global reserves of the cleanest fossil fuel.
Italian and Norwegian oil engineers and geologists have arrived in Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania to learn how to extract gas from layers of a black rock called shale. Companies are leasing huge tracts of land across Europe for exploration. And oil executives are gathering rocks and scrutinizing Asian and North African geological maps in search of other fields.
The global drilling rush is still in its early stages. But energy analysts are already predicting that shale could reduce Europe’s dependence on Russian natural gas. They said they believed that gas reserves in many countries could increase over the next two decades, comparable with the 40 percent increase in the United States in recent years.
“It’s a breakout play that is going to identify gigantic resources around the world,” said Amy Myers Jaffe, an energy expert at Rice University. “That will change the geopolitics of natural gas.”
More extensive use of natural gas could aid in reducing global warming, because gas produces fewer emissions of greenhouse gases than either oil or coal. China and India, which have growing economies that rely heavily on coal for electricity, appear to have large potential for production of shale gas. Larger gas reserves would encourage developing countries to convert more of their transportation fleets to use natural gas rather than gasoline.
Shale is a sedimentary rock rich in organic material that is found in many parts of the world. It was of little use as a source of gas until about a decade ago, when American companies developed new techniques to fracture the rock and...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
This will have to be banned of course.
“Hey .. We have Plenty of GAS we can tap and it’s all coming out of Washington.”
True, but it all stinks.
Now that’s bipartisan of you! What a maverick! Crossing the isle to form consensus! Moderate!
Why should we have it better than some Neanderthal? It’s not like we won or anything!
Yesss!! It is my wish to accomodate prosperity for all, hope for some, change for the many, with the universal peace that only a new understanding, an understanding that for too long, we have at times been too arrogant to see. Because we can no longer accept the status quo even as we face the challenges of the naysayers whom we will be only too happy to put a cap in their asses.
This is a really curious article
1) You are essentially correct...burning natural gas produces water and CO2...both of which are “greenhouse” gasses.
2) Odd that the article refers to the supplies as “Global” Supplies...why not just say that it will increase “Supplies” (without “Global”)
3) This is not a new method
= = =
Assuming that the NYT is a mouthpiece for the Democrat party, I would tend to think that this non-news article is setting up a fall back position for the case that cap-and-tax legislation fails. Obama can still be made the hero by promoting a technology (one that already exists and does nothing for his cause).
LOL
True, It Does Stink ‘but’ I can attest to the fact that it Does Indeed .. burn rather well. 8)
It strikes me as a bogus statement by a technically ignorant reporter.
How bad do you want to know? Should I dredge up my Thermo text (chapter on combustion chemistry) and run some numbers?
Methane CH4. Oil has more carbons for each hydrogen. Both parts give out energy when burnt in oxygen.
Not that it matters though. We want MORE CO2. Archeology shows the plants used to be much more lush in the past. Bigger, more fruitful, because of more CO2.
Globaloney is just a lie to perpetuate the same old leftist biases. Same stuff they were pushing in the 60s/70s.
The ecosphere is already saturated with water. You may have noticed those miles deep thingies called oceans covering 3/4 of the earth’s surface.
It is debatable whether increasing CO2 by 10% or 20% by burning hydrocarbons will make a difference in the earth’s temperature. It is not debatable that adding water vapor will NOT make a difference.
When there is room for more water vapor in the air, liquid water evaporates to provide it.
I live in the Marcellus Shale region in PA.
The drilling is taking place, but the NIMBYs and liberals are trying to find any reason to setuop roadblocks to drilling.
Even the state (Gov Fast Eddie Rendell) proposed higher taxes on the natural gas drilling industry....an industry in its infacy in Pennsylvania. Oh, he also proposed a technology tax on that young industry as well.
Watching all this take place illustrates why states like Pennsylvania have negative industrial growth.
and you can convert your car for about $250 IF the EPA didn’t charge $10,000 foir a permit to do it.
Sorry, no debate-increasing the amount of CO2 by 20 % will have zero impact
CO2 is about 400 parts per million of the atmosphere.
That is less than 1/2 of a unit per 1000
If a yard stick was a chunk of atmosphere, CO2 would take up 1/32 of an inch.
20 % of diddly squat = diddly squat.
Is this in reference to your chili recipe?
No beans in real chili my friend.
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