Stop the “Fracking” for Shale Gas Algeria not for sale

Stop the “Fracking” for Shale Gas Algeria not for sale

“There is nothing clean or green about shale gas as an energy source.”

Fracking uses horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing with high pressure water and chemicals to fracture gas-bearing shale rock.

Holes are drilled vertically as little as 100 metres and as much as 3,000 metres into the shale, and then horizontally 1,000 metres along the shale formation. Chemicals and large amounts of water are pumped underground at high enough pressure to fracture the shale, releasing the gas into the pipeline.

The “dash for gas” as the industry pundits like to say is being driven by potential exports to world and the mistaken belief that natural gas is the “transition fuel” from coal to a low-carbon economy.

It is true that natural gas is “cleaner” in that it releases about 40 to 45 percent less carbon dioxide than coal does to produce the same amount of energy.

However, gas from fracking has a higher carbon footprint because more energy is needed to get the gas and because methane leaks out. Methane has 25 times the warming impact of carbon dioxide.

Switching from coal to gas as an energy source could result in increased global warming, not less, according to the study “Coal to Gas: The Influence of Methane Leakage”, released in September by the U.S. National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR).

This is mainly due to the methane leakage problem, which is common but unregulated.

Natural gas is mainly methane, so even if leaks are limited to one to two percent, it would only be slightly better than continuing to burn coal.

“Relying more on natural gas would reduce emissions of carbon dioxide, but it would do little to help solve the climate problem,” said study author Tom Wigley, a researcher at NCAR, in a press release.

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“Fracking has never been regulated. There is no real oversight of what they are doing,” said Lachelt, who is from the central U.S. state of Colorado, one of the fracking hotspots.

People living near wells have long complained about contamination of their drinking water with chemicals and shown pictures of flames coming from their taps. But contamination is hard to prove because the fracking companies are not required to disclose the contents of the “fracking fluids” they use to keep the gas flowing, said Lachelt.

Fracking fluids are a mix of water, sand and a wide range of chemicals, some toxic like diesel fuel, she said.

With the public outcry growing, the oil and gas industry continues to claim fracking has never contaminated an underground aquifer. However, the industry has settled a number of claims with landowners over the years, but all of these have been sealed from the public and government officials.

Surprisingly, after more than 20 years of fracking, the EPA is conducting its first in-depth study of the risks to drinking water.

The results won’t be known until the end of next year. However, preliminary results have shown that drinking water in some communities is contaminated by benzene, a known carcinogen, and that fracking was responsible, said Lachelt.

“Fracking is using huge amounts of fresh water in a region that suffers water shortages,” Donaldson told Tierramérica. Millions of liters of water are needed for each well and the industry has obtained rights to take 275 million liters from local rivers, lakes and streams every day.

Sixteen companies were fined in October for failing to account for how much water they were taking. According to media reports the fines were less than 1,000 dollars.

Now is time for the unit and rally at 13:00 - 17:00 24/02/2015

6 Hyde parc Gate, London SW7 5EW

(Hight Street Kensington Station)

Mohamed Chablaoui

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