Stepping on the Gas: US Tips Global Power Scales with Fracking

[sysop]

The United States is sitting on massive natural gas and oil reserves that have the potential to shift the geopolitical balance in its favor. Worries are increasing in Russia and the Arab states of waning influence and falling market prices.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-880546.html

[moerschen]

"Washington's discretionary power in foreign and security policy will increase substantially as a result of the country's new energy riches"
A very true statement, but is our power in Foreign and Security policy, as important as our lives? Fracking has been, and will continue to be, an extreme danger to our water supply. If the chemicals used in fracking get into our underground water supply, then the rate of deaths will rise significantly in our population. Water around the World is being rapidly consumed by big businesses, and a forecasted rise of World Population to 8 billion by 2020 warns of danger, and more and more water is being poluted everyday. That causes me to wonder if we should not increase our Power in Foreign and Security policy by searching for more water supplies instead of Natural Gas and Oil. We can find other, more safe, clean, sources for energy, but what can we find for safe water? I can't help but wonder, if this Fracking craze is not started by Big Banks and Big Business for profit, regardless of the effect on the health of the World. Since money has outpaced concerns over health in the past years, this is something that I feel must be approached cautiously, and with far more study. This article sort of urges us all to hurry and start fracking immediately, but I can only disagree with that concept.

[carterwood]

I've spent a lot of time in Williston, and the idea that moose hunting is one of the few entertainments is preposterous. It's just not true. For one thing, it's hard to get a license.

Maybe deer hunting...

Anyway, when a reporter gets a basic, introductory fact wrong, it makes me suspect the whole story.

[jjbrownauthor]

Not full throttle ahead with fracking in the US, as more and more scientific and medical evidence of serious harm to people, animals, and environment and economics come to the surface. In NY the fracking debate is at a fever pitch, and fracking is currently banned not only in NY state but by many towns and cities here. The economic benefits of fracking may have been grossly overstated, the risks deeply under- represented. As a geneticist, I and many colleages in the US are learning of risks of radiation contamination, carcinogenic toxic spills, methane and arsenic poisoning of drinking water. As more facts come to light in the US, europe can learn from our unfortunate mistakes early in fracking development.

[erikSF99]

Originally Posted by sysop

The United States is sitting on massive natural gas and oil reserves that have the potential to shift the geopolitical balance in its favor. Worries are increasing in Russia and the Arab states of waning influence and falling market prices.

http://www.spiegel.de/international/...-a-880546.html

Did the U.S. State Dept write this for you?

You've gone completely over to garbage propaganda.

Fracking has already been proven as a complete fraud. Simply: Each individual 'well' has very little oil and gas and is over 50% depleted within a year. Soon it will take more energy to get a barrel out than the barrel contains. End of story. End of drilling.

Not to mention the destruction of the environment.

North Dakota is being ruined socially.

[powermeerkat]

If anybody shoulf wory about shrinking water supplies it's not US, but major Middle-East oil producers downstream from Turkey.

P.S. How come not a single tree-hugger mentions NUCLEAR energy, with heavily polluted China and India massively investing in as we speak? [Not that U.S. doesn't, belatedly]

[gasblogger]

Europe will frack. It is foolish to buy coal from Russia, when you can get your own. Germans, you are paying three times as much for energy as Americans.

Natural gas is the future of energy. It is replacing dirty old coal plants, and dangerous expensive nuclear plants. It will fuel cars, trucks, vans, buses, locomotives, aircraft, ships, tractors, engines of all kinds. It costs far less. It will help keep us out of more useless wars, where we shed our blood and money. It is used to make many products. It lowers CO2 emissions, and pollution. Over 4,500 select natural gas story links on my free blog. An annotated and illustrated bibliography of live links, updated daily. The worldwide picture of natural gas. Read in 67 nations. ronwagnersrants . blogspot . com

[mps58]

If it is true that Germany has substantial natural gas resources that may be opened up with fracking technology, then Germany must go ahead and tap these resources in the interest of the future of our Nation. The technology has been demonstrated to be environmentally safe. Germans might want to look at Norway in order to understand what a positive effect the exploitation of natural resources can have for their stretched social security system.

[aktony]

See FrackNation documentary dispelling, lies, false information and misinformation about hydraulic fracturing. OPEC and Russians support anti-gas, "environmental" movement fomenting fear and hysteria. Matt Damon's "Promised Land" financed by Dubai Corporation, 70 percent owned by United Arab Emirates.

Check your facts and forego delibarately promoted fear and hysteria. Cheap, abundant energy is necessary for population growth, environmental protection, food production, education, etc.

[meerwind7]

The gas is destined to be burnt and exhaust fumes would be sent to the air, leading to global warming. Gas is a direct competitor of environmenatlly-friendly power producting from wind and solar.
And, to my knowledge, no one has ever tested how to turn off a fracked gas reservoir once the remaining gas is not wanted any more. It could just find unwanted ways to the surface.
"Germany's energy and climate policy would in fact be a reason to use the new gas reserves. Flexible gas power plants would be the best approach to offsetting unpredictable fluctuations in wind and solar electricity, thereby maintaining a reliable power supply."
That may be true in an indermediate situation where renewables provide 50-70% of power, but in the longer run, gas could be perceived as Nr. 1 polluter as regards climate change /drought increase
"Besides, burning natural gas generates up to 60 percent less climate-damaging CO2 than burning coal." ... well, yes, but coal shall be phased out anyway.