A 2500 Square Mile Methane Plume is Silently Hovering Over the Western US

a reply to: DrJunk

I am of the opinion that you, me, and a very, very large portion of the entire world are so dependent on products from hydrocarbons that to do without them would mean taking on a lifestyle common circa 1885.

Here's the short list:

OLEFINS

Olefins are used in the manufacture of virtually all consumer products made with chemicals or plastics. The most important of these are ethylene and propylene.

OXYGENATES

The main chemicals in this group are alcohols and ethers. An important oxygenate for SABIC is methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), the octane enhancer that replaces lead in fuel. Methanol is the starting point for the formaldehyde resins on which the paint, adhesive and decorative-laminate industries depend, while purified industrial ethanol is a component of many pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, insecticides and organic solutions

Aromatics

Aromatics are a group of hydrocarbons that form the basis of important commodity chemicals used in the production of items such as clothing, paints and packaging. Among SABIC’s aromatics are styrene, benzene, Paraxylene .

source

Your Tylenol extra-strength? Yep, chock full of ethanol.

originally posted by: Spruce
Fracking is terrible for the environment in every way. I can't believe it's legal.

I think with a little degree of investigation, we generally find that laws, at least in the US, are driven so much more by industrial, military, and financial interests than they are by what's "right". Industries that lobby and promote politicians, have representatives in the CFR or Bilderberg, and hire retired military and politicians always end up on top of those who don't and also don't have to pay for their sins like industries and corporations that don't kowtow to politicians.

2500 sq miles (50 miles by 50 miles) is a drop in the bucket. This is only 2% of the entire land mass in New Mexico, and much less if you count the entire southwest states of which the article states. This is centered around LaPlata, NM, or 20 miles north of Farmington, NM. This area is home to coal-bed methane production wells, and the area has been naturally leaking methane since 1880 when it was discovered..
See wrri.nmsu.edu... for interesting details.

Sorry. That was me. I farted. Seriously; though, what are the long term effects of this?

originally posted by: amicktd
I sure am enjoying those gas prices right now though!

[/quote

Yep, me too! Just goes to show you how they could have been lower all along and how we've been screwing us over for years. Time to do away with Big Oil...thieving bastards!

originally posted by: DrJunk

originally posted by: ItCameFromOuterSpace

originally posted by: HUMBLEONE
Fracking is just one more reason why we need to do away with Big Oil and their devastation of the eco-system. Fracking is a hideous evil almost as bad as Dick Cheney.

You have a quick alternative that we can switch to over night and secure all the jobs that regular Joe's currently have?

Electric.

We could do it inside of 8 years and revolutionize the planet.

Bigger electricity needs would further necessitate the need for research and development into lowering the costs associated with electricity generation and storage. Innovation is stifled by holding up the literal dinosaurs of the past as a gold standard for energy production.

Electricity cannot be stored, anyway, use all the methane this planet has to produce electricity, then the CO2 (I presume) can help to boost growth in the worlds forests, wheat areas.

originally posted by: Eunuchorn

originally posted by: Spruce
Fracking is terrible for the environment in every way. I can't believe it's legal.

What world do you live in?

This one, and 100 years ago roughly, the banking and corporate interests that wanted to put a meter on everything took us down the wrong path. For that same 100 years that we've been forced to pay for fossil fuels, and the world has been trashed, black operations has been enjoying zero point energy. Not mysterious violation of the laws of energy "creation", more the HZ technology related to their scalar wave, and the release of energy, implosion of molecules. And some quantum mechanics relating to resonance and those things that resonate at similar frequency, because they can travel vast distances in no time based on resonance or oneness. They've discovered alot of quantum mechanic quirks along the way too that explains how cosmic travelers get around the speed of light.

This planet!

originally posted by: Unity_99

originally posted by: Eunuchorn

originally posted by: Spruce
Fracking is terrible for the environment in every way. I can't believe it's legal.

What world do you live in?

This one, and 100 years ago roughly, the banking and corporate interests that wanted to put a meter on everything took us down the wrong path. For that same 100 years that we've been forced to pay for fossil fuels, and the world has been trashed, black operations has been enjoying zero point energy. Not mysterious violation of the laws of energy "creation", more the HZ technology related to their scalar wave, and the release of energy, implosion of molecules. And some quantum mechanics relating to resonance and those things that resonate at similar frequency, because they can travel vast distances in no time based on resonance or oneness. They've discovered alot of quantum mechanic quirks along the way too that explains how cosmic travelers get around the speed of light.

This planet!

I've always had the feeling that this tech is out there somewhere. I just hope that I get to see it in my lifetime.

originally posted by: chuckk
2500 sq miles (50 miles by 50 miles) is a drop in the bucket. This is only 2% of the entire land mass in New Mexico, and much less if you count the entire southwest states of which the article states. This is centered around LaPlata, NM, or 20 miles north of Farmington, NM. This area is home to coal-bed methane production wells, and the area has been naturally leaking methane since 1880 when it was discovered..
See wrri.nmsu.edu... for interesting details.

If you look at the news sources coming out with this, they provide a US map with a color code to show concentrations of methane in the lower levels of the atmosphere. This one area you say is a drop in the bucket is actually the thickest concentration of methane in the United States, but you can see there are levels of the gas throughout the country with the darker blue being the lightest, northern California and northern Wisconsin. They are concerned with this area because it is so thick, but concentrations are spread out all across the country.

originally posted by: MysterX
a reply to: Rezlooper

Do you think there may be ramifications more immediate than climate change?

Could it explode..or cause O2 displacement / suffocation for example, or is this purely a climate change, long term problem?

The gas is acting like a blanket over the planet, so it's mostly climate change aka global warming. The sun's heat comes to the surface as long-wave infrared, and normally it safely bounces back out to space via short-wave infrared. The problem is, with a blanket of methane it is trapping that heat, or preventing the short-wave infrared from escaping. It will continue to get worse as long as we sit back and do nothing about it...till it reaches the tipping point (if it hasn't already) and then we're all pretty much f'd.

Scientists are being overly optimistic when they say this is a long term problem, or that we'll be in trouble sometime later this century. I think the problem is already here with the current rate of methane release increasing and at most, we may have a couple of decades. And the only reason I say that long is because we are getting some help from the huge increase in volcanoes over the past couple of years. The ash clouds are helping to deflect sunlight and will slow down the overall global temperature average (much colder to the north, but still warming near the equators), but eventually, the ash clouds will dissipate and we'll be left with a much thicker blanket of methane around the planet because all those volcanic eruptions are spewing tons of the stuff. The average year see's about 50 to 60 volcanoes, but the last two years saw volcanic eruptions exceed 80 per year. That's a pretty significant increase and it all has to do with climate change.

Tax credits and all that BS, or who or what is to blame, isn't going to help us at this point. We don't have 40 or 50 years to deal with this problem. Much more drastic measures will have to be taken, IMO, of course.

originally posted by: ItCameFromOuterSpace

originally posted by: HUMBLEONE
Fracking is just one more reason why we need to do away with Big Oil and their devastation of the eco-system. Fracking is a hideous evil almost as bad as Dick Cheney.

You have a quick alternative that we can switch to over night and secure all the jobs that regular Joe's currently have?

OIC, it's a necessary evil.

I wonder if those houses the workers paid cash for are developing the same earthquake cracks my place has. They're hardly home anyway. We'd have to ask their girlfriends on food stamps if their palaces are crumbling.

BTW, some of those boys load up on candy, soda, and cupcakes with those food cards. One told me that it's because he hates the government.

We can fix this real quick...

Anyone got a match?

a reply to: quercusrex

We could reopen deep sea drilling, that would reduce the need for fracking... but the bottom line is we need oil.

We can also supply 33% of US energy needs with geothermal which is a known, proven, and clean technology which the US has massive reserves of. Geothermal does little for Europe, Africa, and most of Asia though so it's not a solution to the global problem... just to our problem.

a reply to: lostbook

I have a degree in Petroleum Engineering that I received shortly before fracking became as commonplace as it is now, and even then I realized the environmental dangers inherent in crumbling the substructure of our lands. It should just be common damn sense to understand that if you are causing deep geological impact such as what fracking does to formations, that the likelihood of having severe effect on surface structures is plainly there. The increase and swarming of earthquakes in areas historically pretty geologically stable is just the first indication of the damage we have caused. Above and beyond that is the fact that methane molecules are of such a small size that leaking relatively large amounts from all methane wells is unavoidable. Valves, hoses, pumping equipment, pipes, and even the well liners are not capable of preventing leaks. There are always microscopic openings that allow such a small molecule to escape.

Fracking is simply a dangerous bad idea and inherently harmful to the environment.

Big Oil can say all they want about how safe it is, but just try to convince the people whose deep well water is now flammable.

a reply to: quercusrex

Yes, all electric. If we would take the funds (laughably small that they may be) we use for highway maintenance into replacing and repairing crumbling highways into replacing them with solar roadways, we could easily make that change without the requirement of building new power plants.

originally posted by: gamesmaster63
a reply to: lostbook

I have a degree in Petroleum Engineering that I received shortly before fracking became as commonplace as it is now, and even then I realized the environmental dangers inherent in crumbling the substructure of our lands. It should just be common damn sense to understand that if you are causing deep geological impact such as what fracking does to formations, that the likelihood of having severe effect on surface structures is plainly there. The increase and swarming of earthquakes in areas historically pretty geologically stable is just the first indication of the damage we have caused. Above and beyond that is the fact that methane molecules are of such a small size that leaking relatively large amounts from all methane wells is unavoidable. Valves, hoses, pumping equipment, pipes, and even the well liners are not capable of preventing leaks. There are always microscopic openings that allow such a small molecule to escape.

Fracking is simply a dangerous bad idea and inherently harmful to the environment.

Big Oil can say all they want about how safe it is, but just try to convince the people whose deep well water is now flammable.

Great post! You're right, it should be so obvious. It's amazing what money can buy...ignorance!

a reply to: lostbook

A 2500 Square Mile Methane Plume is Silently Hovering Over the Western US

Well, of course it is silently hovering. Ever seen a Methane Plume Loudly Hovering?

Seriously though: this is bad news. Sometimes we should just leave nature alone. Not everything needs to be exploited.

a reply to: gamesmaster63

I love the solar roadway idea. I just don't believe they have the durability to make them economically efficient.

a reply to: quercusrex

From the research I have done on the available technology already, the durability of the hexagonal pieces is actually far greater than the concrete or asphalt commonly used now. Not only that, but the hexes are self-heating, thus preventing snow and ice buildup during cold weather. The present design provides greater traction between tires and the driving surface also which means that drivers would routinely have better control of their vehicles. Plus, if there is an accident that damages the hexes, they automatically go offline so they don't affect the rest of the current pathways from the surrounding hexes. Not only this, but it is far easier to simply replace the damaged hexes than it is to dig up and repair traditional road surfaces. One more thing, we could all go to electric vehicles since they could be recharged through induction as you drive over the roadways surface.

Simply put, with solar roadways not only do they provide a better, safer driving surface, they also provide sufficient available electricity to power homes, businesses and transportation with a significantly lower environmental impact, with present battery storage and static inverters we wouldn't even have to modify the electrical systems in buildings to use them almost immediately.