[Closed] and the good news is Shale Gas.........

Why are earthquakes in Blackpool a bad thing?

Can I be the first to say "frack off" 😆

Shale gas is hugely polluting due to the high methane release during the lifetime of a well. Puts it on par with coal! I wouldn't worry about water contamination or earthquakes. It won't happen in this country (to any large degree) because we are far more sensible than the Americans and we actually enforce policies.

The important bit for the UK is that it gives us more energy security. Energy security is the main game globally now. Americas gas boom has made them more sensible (for now) and stopping any new conflicts arising. Same applies for the UK. If we can be energy secure with our own resources then we can stop backing other countries and conflicts to gain more energy. It's all politics!

I'm just writing my MSc dissertation on the subject. Really interesting topics. 14,000 words to go.

I'm just writing my MSc dissertation on the subject. Really interesting topics. 14,000 words to go.

Interested in you dissertation. Need a proof reader?

Horizon did a good documentary on the boom in shale gas in the states the other week. Made for very interesting viewing.

The gas in water is accepted as a result of poor well construction, not of fracking per se. Also, the earthquakes associated with the procedure pale into insignificance compared to the seismic activity associated with coal mining in this country. The industry over here will be far more heavily regulated than in the states also.

Agree about the energy security.

Good news for the economy as rather than importing Russian / Norwegian gas we'll be investing in UK jobs and infrastructure. Also, given Osbourne is determined to send us back to the 30s in Living Standards, anything which reduces fuel costs for the UK will be welcomed.

I agree with Mike. Anything that can be used to 'accidentally' raze Blackpool to the ground is fine by me. It's an awful place. Totally run down, very, very tatty and organised crime (in particular insurance fraud) is absolutely rife.

high methane release during the lifetime of a well.

Surely you're meant to catch most of the methane.

It would be good to have improved energy security - the north sea is starting to look really quite tired in terms of gas production.

However the best thing to do when you have an energy boom is to plan for the next slump and use some of that energy to build more renewable resources..

However the best thing to do when you have an energy boom is to plan for the next slump and use some of that energy to build more renewable resources..

Nonsense, burn it all as quickly as possible, with low taxation, and use the extra tax revenue to pretend the country is booming and buy the next election.

Nonsense, burn it all as quickly as possible, with low taxation, and use the extra tax revenue to pretend the country is booming and buy the next election.

I think it'll take more than a so-called "energy boom" to convince anyone that we're out of this financial mess..

Sounds like it may result in an energy boom, but not the kind the government will like 🙂

Nonsense, burn it all as quickly as possible, with low taxation, and use the extra tax revenue to pretend the country is booming and buy the next election

Surely nobody would be unprincipled enough to mortgage the country's future for ideological purposes ?

Here is a blog post about the Horizon programme that includes a lot of information tha you may find useful:
[url= http://www.frackland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/horizon-fracking-new-energy-rush-by.html ]http://www.frackland.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/horizon-fracking-new-energy-rush-by.html[/url]

the north sea is starting to look really quite tired in terms of gas production.

[url= http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/be4f240a-a2bf-11e2-bd45-00144feabdc0.html#axzz2XKvYntPP ]You sure ?[/url]

Hurrah! Earthquakes and contaminated drinking water for everyone. Increased profits for the shareholders.

Drill baby, drill.

In defence of the town where I was born it does have some of the finest wooden roller coasters in the world and we kill for all that sand down in Brighton. Stanley Park is also a wonderful place.

Increased profits for the shareholders.

Gotta be a good thing. At least there's a bit more fuel to rape from the planet before everyone wakes up and realises that eventually the only options will be to restrict fossil fuel for manufacturing furnaces, and windmills+nukes for power.

eventually the only options will be to [s]restrict fossil fuel for manufacturing furnaces, and windmills+nukes for power[/s] eat each other.

Been done before (in the future)

Recap: Doctor Who S31 E08 "The Hungry Earth"

It's 2020, near a small Welsh hamlet. The most ambitious drilling project in history has reached deeper beneath the Earth's crust than man has ever gone before, but now the ground itself is fighting back.

[url= http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/DoctorWhoS31E08TheHungryEarth ]Unleash the lizard people from the centre of the Earth![/url]

I miss TJ. He'd be seething by now 🙂

At the end of the day it's just another way to prolong carbon dependance... As time goes on we're going to keep turning to more and more marginal/dubious/ethically grim options, unless we start addressing the real problem (fossil fuel dependance) rather than the side issue (running out of fossil fuels)

So I say down with this sort of thing.

Horizon program was very good ...

Earth quakes ... coal industry produces loads and no one cares

Contaminated water ... if you have a direct water supply to your property... how many of us have a well ??

Nat Gas is so cheap in the US that in some locations, where they are actually drill for shale oil, they burn the "waste product" gas off ... beacause it's not economical to transport it for sale.

The resultant price drop in Nat Gas has reduced the price of coal, it's main competitor fuel for power generation.

Cheap power in the US is leading to manu and jobs returning from developing countries, where labour may be cheap but power isn't.

And back to shale oil ... the US could well become be the world's largest oil producing country.

Now, remind me why/what did we fight the Iraq wars for again ??

Horizon did a good documentary on the boom in shale gas in the states the other week

but hey I'm a worry wart

"I miss TJ. He'd be seething by now"

Yes and Google would be in meltdown as he searched for information to support his fixed view.

Where are they going to find all that water?
Hosepipe ban for the past few years.

So glad it is not allowed in France.

Yes and Google would be in meltdown as he searched for information to support his fixed view.

Where are they going to find all that water?

So glad it is not allowed in France.

last time I looked at a map, UK was pretty much surrounded by quite a big mote.

Ah. A little bit more than a drop, then...

I didn't think they could use salt water for the extraction?

They are thinking of drilling some test holes in my parents village in Somerset. There is of course lots concern and many people don't want it but it is not even at a stage yet where they have announced a location. Just seems like not in my back yard.

I really don't understand the concern above and beyond the idea that we shouldn't be investing in a new fossil fuel. Who cares if there are minor earthquakes, they are not a level that causes any damage. Secondly the idea of pollution into the water is the local water companies problem as they are all private companies. It's there job to provide me with clean drinking water and I don't have to worry where that comes from. I would imagine that the water companies would have a very strong voice at opposing any sites that might cause an issue, as for them it is a massive commercial risk to their business.

It will be interesting to see how much opposition in communities disappears now the government has announced that a community will get £100K just for drilling a test site and 1% of revenues from each well going forward. That should pay for the upkeep of the village hall and church.

Heres a thought, why not use some of the profits from this potentially massive shale gas boom to pay for the building of renewable energy projects like the Severn barrage or fitting every house with solar panels. Then in years to come when the gas starts to run out we are ready and waiting with paid for renewable energy sources.

cchris2lou - Member

Where are they going to find all that water?

Independant Scotland will be able to sell our water surplus to the Former UK 😉 Not to mention our electricity surplus, our oil, our gas, and our renewables expertise 🙂 AND you can all run your cars on our surplus chip fat.

Heres a thought, why not use some of the profits from this potentially massive shale gas boom to pay for the building of renewable energy projects like the Severn barrage or fitting every house with solar panels. Then in years to come when the gas starts to run out we are ready and waiting with paid for renewable energy sources.

+1

That is far, far to sensible a plan for the shortsighted idiots (of any stripe) who run the country 🙁

The transformation over here in the US is amazing. If they could convert their cars to run on gas they would be importing no oil. It's already having an effect on the economy. Jobs are coming back and house prices are up 20% in many cities from last year. Also the majority of normal Americans don't want to be the hated worlds policeman anymore.

Heres a thought, why not use some of the profits from this potentially massive shale gas boom to pay for the building of renewable energy projects like the Severn barrage or fitting every house with solar panels. Then in years to come when the gas starts to run out we are ready and waiting with paid for renewable energy sources.

I would have thought that nuclear (thorium?) would be a better option for replacing fossil fuels stations unless you are also building some pumped hydro to provide energy when there's not much output from the solar. Probably a moot point anyway, since whichever government gets in will likely just piss the money up the wall.

[i] Also the majority of normal Americans don't want to be the hated worlds policeman anymore. [/i]

I suspect that's not going to go away. America's foreign policy probably has more to do with investment programs than securing overseas energy. Right now, certainly.

Anyway, all this shale gas stuff is smoke screening until fusion gets nailed, then we'll all be running our cars on potato peelings and then no-one will care about Blackpool (again)

[i]I didn't think they could use salt water for the extraction? [/i]

I think the water is heavy so it's really, really salty. I think they take seawater and salt it up a bit.

It's hard to replace gas for

domestic fuel
On demand electricity generation

A Severn barrage would produce incredible input to the grid, completely reliably. Pity about the wildlife

Haven't the Americans had to massively downscale the amount of gas that they predicted they would get from these wells . I read that some had been cut by as much as 80% from what was predicted and the process of extracting what gas was effectively making the drilling companies no money whatsoever .

If scotland can make a bid for independence based on exploiting the revenues from natural resources off their coast, surely it time for
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President Binners!

President Binners!

Bunga Bunga parties, but with pie and peas...