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Too late. To get this natural gas would require fracking, and much of the world now believes their environment will be destroyed if they frak. So we end up with

Too late. To get this natural gas would require fracking, and much of the world now believes their environment will be destroyed if they frak. So we end up with developing nations burning dirty coal when switching to nat-gas would be cheaper and 99% cleaner.

ryanmercer 8y ago
>believes their environment will be destroyed if they frak. Because there are valid reasons to believe so based on the way some fracking operations have been run. Contaminated ground water (look at Wyoming) and potentially even seismic related risk (a 5.6M earthquake in Oklahoma may have been directly caused by fracking). Hydraulic fracturing can also result in its own air pollution, noise pollution etc. Sure, it can probably be done safely but a single mistake could have wide-reaching and long-lasting implications. Instead of replacing one bad thing with another risky thing we need to get less spooked by modern nuclear reactors,and renewables, until (if ever) we figure out fusion.
- njarboe 8y ago
  "directly caused by fracking" Those big earthquakes in Oklahoma were caused by waste water injection wells so "indirectly caused by hydrocarbon extraction" (fracking and oil well waste water being injected) would be closer to the truth.
ceejayoz 8y ago
I really doubt developing nations are avoiding using cheap natural gas because of fracking concerns.
WhompingWindows 8y ago
Developing nations, i.e. China and India are the big ones to mention, are using coal not due to their dislike of fracking. India has strong coal mining in its nation, plus they are still electrifying a population nearly the size of the USA, so a little coal pollution is less of a drag on their GDP given the gains they make due to electrification. Not a good plan for health or well-being, but their reasoning for using coal isn't influenced by the anti-fracking concerns of the US left. Then China, once again, mining some of their own coal but also buying it from other regional players like AU, as well as basically pushing harder on hydro, natural gas, solar, wind, and nuclear than any other economy on any of those. Environment will be destroyed much more quickly by the methane emissions and Co2 emissions related to natural gas turbine use relative to the localized damage done to the geology and water supplies of natural gas plants.
- rbanffy 8y ago
  > anti-fracking concerns of the US left Compromising the water supply should not be reduced to a political question. Even the far right drinks contaminated water and dies.

ryanmercer 8y ago

>believes their environment will be destroyed if they frak. Because there are valid reasons to believe so based on the way some fracking operations have been run. Contaminated ground water (look at Wyoming) and potentially even seismic related risk (a 5.6M earthquake in Oklahoma may have been directly caused by fracking). Hydraulic fracturing can also result in its own air pollution, noise pollution etc. Sure, it can probably be done safely but a single mistake could have wide-reaching and long-lasting implications. Instead of replacing one bad thing with another risky thing we need to get less spooked by modern nuclear reactors,and renewables, until (if ever) we figure out fusion.

njarboe 8y ago
"directly caused by fracking" Those big earthquakes in Oklahoma were caused by waste water injection wells so "indirectly caused by hydrocarbon extraction" (fracking and oil well waste water being injected) would be closer to the truth.

ceejayoz 8y ago

I really doubt developing nations are avoiding using cheap natural gas because of fracking concerns.

WhompingWindows 8y ago

Developing nations, i.e. China and India are the big ones to mention, are using coal not due to their dislike of fracking. India has strong coal mining in its nation, plus they are still electrifying a population nearly the size of the USA, so a little coal pollution is less of a drag on their GDP given the gains they make due to electrification. Not a good plan for health or well-being, but their reasoning for using coal isn't influenced by the anti-fracking concerns of the US left. Then China, once again, mining some of their own coal but also buying it from other regional players like AU, as well as basically pushing harder on hydro, natural gas, solar, wind, and nuclear than any other economy on any of those. Environment will be destroyed much more quickly by the methane emissions and Co2 emissions related to natural gas turbine use relative to the localized damage done to the geology and water supplies of natural gas plants.

rbanffy 8y ago
> anti-fracking concerns of the US left Compromising the water supply should not be reduced to a political question. Even the far right drinks contaminated water and dies.