OT Fracking

[harryagain]

Came across this:-

Interesting

[bert]

In message , harryagain writes

I wonder if these people opposed to on shore fracking under their property decline the use of salt on their roads in the winter?

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

I suggest you watch 'Gasland'.

[The Natural Philosopher]

In these matters I prefer documentaries to fiction.

[bert]

WTF is Gasland?

[Chris Hogg]

and scroll down to Reception and then to Negative. Apparently the claims that people's water supplies were contaminated with methane were at best a gross exaggeration and in some places had been occurring for many years before fracking came along, and at worst just plain lies. Where methane was a genuine problem, it was due to poor well construction and re-lining the gas well solved it.

You might also like to consider how many people in the UK get their water from their own wells, and how many get it from piped supplies provided by the water industry, which would be supplied to strict standards regardless of the source. I imagine the percentage of those with their own wells would be quite small.

You might also like to watch Truthland, the gas industry's response to Gasland. Probably just as biased, but in the opposite direction. At least it provides a counterweight view.

The real truth, as always, is hard to come by.

[bert]

+1 I'm all in favour of it.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

Did you even bother? The lit up kitchen water taps were cool as f*ck.

[Chris Hogg]

From the Wiki link I put up:

" In a scene from the film, Weld County landowner Mike Markham is shown with the film's director Josh Fox igniting gas from a well water faucet in his home with a cigarette lighter, which the film attributes to natural gas exploration in the area. In 2008, The Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) investigated a complaint made by Markham alleging that nearby natural gas operations impacted his domestic water well. A Colorado Oil and Gas Information System (COGIS) report stated that Markham?s water "appears to be biogenic in origin."

The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission uses the origin of the methane, either biogenic or thermogenic, to determine whether or not the groundwater contamination can be attributed to natural gas drilling. According to the agency, natural gas drilling does not lead to the presence of biogenic methane. The 2008 COGIS report concluded that "there [were] no indications of oil and gas related impacts to [Markham's] water well." Markham?s water well was drilled through four different coal beds containing biogenic methane gas."

In other words the gas from his tap was a result of his water borehole being drilled through four coal seams, which were the source of the gas.

Lies, damn lies, and anti-fracking propaganda!

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

So, you're saying it's all shit?

[Chris Hogg]

Not all. There does seem to be a some justification for complaint in one or two circumstances, which were remedied, but say about 90% shit.