Fracking-NIMBY

You know all that controversy about fracking to retrieve oil and natural gas from shale deposits?   It's a process where drillers pump chemicals, water, and sand into underground deposits to break up the rock and force gas to the surface to be collected.

Fracking has come to suburbia.   This 12/27/11 Marketplace story explains that because many States have no laws either authorizing municipalities to regulate drilling within their boundaries or banning such regulation, companies are now installing drilling rigs in residential neighborhoods.  Suburban sub-divisions!

According to the story, "companies only need to maintain a set-back of 150 feet when putting up rigs near homes. It's the minimum clearance needed to avoid damage -- in case the rig tips over."   

I suspect that the rig tipping over is the least concern of most homeowners, considering the largely unknown side-effects of the chemicals used and the impact on the environment (e.g., underground water supplies).   How would you like a derrick 150 feet from your house?  That would probably be a great, big, NIMBY.

Gasoline Coupon

As the average price of gasoline in the US edges over $4/gallon, Americans are beginning cast about for ways to deal with it.  One of those ways, is engaging in what some might call "gallows humor."   The following was sent to me by a friend as an email.  I don't know if the email will translate well to a blog post, but I found it to be pretty darn funny and wanted to share it.  The biggest alteration is that in the email, you had to scroll down quite a bit to see the coupon...

Gasoline Coupon

I didn't realize it, but these coupons are good for one gallon of gas at most retailers.  I have seen them around, but until recently never took advantage of them, I never realized their actual worth.

You probably have one or two just lying around somewhere; now is the time to use them before they lose their value, and it's too late!!


SEE COUPON BELOW...

Why Don't We Really Hold Anyone Accountable For Errors?

As the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico continues, with thousands of barrels of oil spewing largely unchecked into the ocean, I wonder why we never seem to hold anyone accountable for such disasters.   Almost two years after the economic meltdown, we've only recently even begun to investigate a single company (Goldman-Sacks) for criminal or civil misconduct leading to the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression.  

Since the US Supreme Court recently ruled that corporations are entitled to First Amendment free speech rights, just like individual citizens, shouldn't those same corporations be fully liable for disasters like the oil platform collapse in the Gulf , just like an individual who destroys your car?  

Under current law, oil companies have a (relatively low) limit on liability for off-shore drilling mishaps.  Efforts in Congress to raise the limit in light of the immense cost related to the current British Petroleum problem seem to be gaining no political traction.  I doubt very much that the limits will be raised, and therefore the US taxpayer, who also pays through the nose for gasoline and oil to run cars and heat homes, will be on the hook for the clean-up costs. 

I wouldn't be surprised if the efforts to expand off-shore oil drilling continue unabated by corporate interests in Congress.    I don't know what could more clearly show how unsafe, unpredictable, and environmentally unfriendly such off-shore drilling is.   

Ultimately, we seem unable to really hold anyone accountable for anything really serious.   This Brewster Rockit comic demonstrates the concept:  (I don't know how long these comic links work)

   So much for accountability, now or in the future.

Climate Change Links

I have run into an annoying number of people lately who still don't "believe" that global warming is happening, or that humans are largely responsible for it. I doubt that there's any way to convince them to read the research, since they've apparently already passed up that opportunity numerous times. The information is out there; for some reason, some people would rather dismiss it as some sort of "liberal conspiracy" or a disguised attack on "our liberties."

Regardless of whether you accept that the human dependency on fossil fuels since the dawn of the Industrial Revolution is the culprit, it seems to me that denying that there is a problem is just plain nonsense. Whatever is causing the temperature increase, it's effecting us and our world, and in some very scary ways. Doing nothing would not seem to be an option. Science tells us that there have been at least 5 major extinctions in the past. The difference now is that humans are aware (allegedly) of their surroundings, their impact on the environment, and have some ability to change how they interact with the environment. The dinosaurs weren't and didn't.

I've decided to start collecting links to various online resources that cover the subject of global warming, climate change, or whatever other label may apply. I'm putting the links in a section at the bottom of the blog titled "Links About Climate Change - Especially For Those Who Don't "Believe" In Global Warming." Hopefully, it may be useful to those who are interested enough to read up on the topic. I don't plan to include any technical articles, because they tend to be pretty obtuse and hard to follow. I'd welcome comments as well as other links you may come across.

The first few links are from some Marketplace.org radio broadcasts and Discover Magazine. They present specific examples of how fossil fuels have raised temperatures with unexpected results and how CO2 (from fossil fuels) may be damaging our oceans more than anyone foresaw.