Considering all of the horrors of the gulf oil spill, I don’t think that there is an American left that doesn’t wish for a better alternative than oil. Then again, with some of the responses floating around lately, maybe I am wrong. Natural gas, which many tout as a greener alternative than oil, has become more popular and accounts for 17% of Us electricity and over 50% of heating. It is true, that natural gas releases less carbon dioxide and other pollutants per unit of energy released, but the consequences shown in this video from the new documentary Gasland blew me out of the water.
YES, if you were wondering, that is the tap water catching fire! And by the way, this is not because of some horrible spill, but just a normal (and expected) consequence of extracting natural gas from the ground. As explained in the video, this is caused when natural gas companies use a process called fracking (hydraulic fracturing) that releases the gas buried deep in the earth so it can be extracted. The side effect of this this process is that natural gas leaks into the water supply, leading to contamination and eventually tap water that catches fire. Here is a great article from the makers of the movie Gasland that explain fracking and natural gas production in more detail.
More Information about Natural Gas Production
-Wikipedia: Hydraulic Fracturing
