When speaking with some top investors, they all said that natural gas is the commodity to buy. Their job is to predict the future, and they are all banking on natural gas. This made me inquire, why natural gas? How is natural gas going to become profitable in the future? What is the change?
Since Bloomberg.com is a great place to get the lastest information of future trends I looked there to get more information on natural gas. I already know that Shell is on board with natural gas, as are investors, but what does natural gas mean for the environment? According to a bloomberg.com article titled, “SUNY Closes Industry-Backed Fracking Institute”, natural gas may not be so great for the enviroment. To retrieve natural gas miners are currently using a technique called fracking.
Fracking is when, “millions of gallons of chemically treated water and sand are forced underground to break shale rock and free trapped gas.” This technology has made retrieving natural gas easy, efficient and cheaper. According to Obama’s Energy Security task force This technology has lowered the price of natural gas, employed many and enhanced national security.
Although Obama’s Energy Security task force says fracking is great there is opposition. Many are saying that fracking is linked to groundwater contamination, high ozone levels, headaches, sore throat and difficulty breathing. The contaminated waste water when buried has been said to cause earthquakes in the United States.
Many recognize that there are environmental problems, but according to Shale Resources and Society Institute these problems can be avoided. Pennsylvania had reduced the amount of incidents by half since 2008. THerefore Shale believes that if companies follow the proper precautions these damages to peoples health and the environment can be avoided. Another move to avoid environmental hazard come from shell who has financed a vessel that liquefied natural gas over a the ocean in a remote location off of Australia.
The NaturalGas.org website has a ton of information and charts to explain what happens when natural gas is burned. This chart gives a great comparison between natural gas, oil and coal.
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Fossil Fuel Emission Levels - Pounds per Billion Btu of Energy Input |
|||
|
Pollutant |
Natural Gas |
Oil |
Coal |
|
Carbon Dioxide |
117,000 |
164,000 |
208,000 |
|
Carbon Monoxide |
40 |
33 |
208 |
|
Nitrogen Oxides |
92 |
448 |
457 |
|
Sulfur Dioxide |
1 |
1,122 |
2,591 |
|
Particulates |
7 |
84 |
2,744 |
|
Mercury |
0.000 |
0.007 |
0.016 |
|
Source: EIA - Natural Gas Issues and Trends 1998 |
I gather from this that natural gas is still a fossil fuel, and burning it still does release toxins. These toxins are far less hazardous than the oil we currently use, but still are not considered good for the environment. Natural gas is simply better for the environment than gas.
Natural gas is currently being drilled and used in the United States despite its possible dangers. Activist are urging people to protect themselves and use modern technology to detect a natural gas leak. So what is the best way to detect a gas leak? SeekingAlpha.com reports of the newest advancments in detection. The article titled, “PG&E's Use Of Picarro Technology Enhances Natural Gas System Safety Throughout PG&E Service Area” talks about Pacific Gas and Electric Company being the first utility to use the newest detection technology. The Picarro Surveyor technology is a vehicle mounted, super-sensitive gas leak detection system. Recently PG&E used the Picarro Surveyor to find two undetectable gas leaks in Northern California.
According to the director of gas maintenance and construction for PG&E, "Picarro Surveyor allows us to not only locate hard-to-find leaks with greater accuracy that we didn't have before, but it also has the ability to distinguish between natural gas in PG&E's system and naturally occurring methane." This new technology has proven to make natural gas safer by providing early detection of gas leaks that may previously had been impossible to find.
The article describes all of the benefits of this new software. The "Picarro Surveyor measures and maps methane plumes in the air as the vehicle drives through neighborhoods." This is major improvement from the previously used technology that was hand held and much lesss sensative. The new technology replaced instruments that needed to be walked around an area by introducing a technology that is mounted on a car. The Picarro Surveyor is easy to use, has a
high-precision gas analyzer and an online component. The online part of the Surveyor provides real-time data and alerts for repair teams on any web-enabled device. The online component can be accessed from an iPad, smartphone, laptop or home computer. This is a patented gas analysis technology and is the most effecient and accurate leak detection equipment. The online alerts allow repair teams to be notified emediatly, locate and repair the leak effeciently and prevent harm to those in the area of the leak.
Knowing that there are advance technologies to detect gas leaks and laws to keep gas drilling safe, I believe it is a great technological advancement for the United States. Despite some hazards that come with dealing with any fossil fuel, I feel the benefits of natural gas with the help of modern technology outweigh any negative affects. I see natural gas as a way for the United States not only to become self sufficient and no longer depend on foreign fossil fuels, but also as exporter of the soon to be valuable commodity. I see that it is a better alternative for the environment then the current fuels we are burning. With the rising costs of gasoline, natural gas will make transportation affordable again, and therefore have a huge affect on America’s economy. The digital revolution has allowed for technological advancements that have made natural gas a real possibility in the near future. There are already city buses running on natural gas, and there is only growth in where natural gas can take us. The only thing holding the United States back is politics.