By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
One of my pet complaints is finally being addressed, at least partly. Living here in the Barnett Shale region of Texas, where drilling for natural gas is making Swiss cheese of the ground beneath, say, my house, I’ve been sensitive to these reports coming out that link fracturing chemicals to groundwater contamination.
To be fair, natural gas advocates point out that the crevices they’re tapping are typically not at the same level as groundwater. Still, that means they’re either drilling through potential groundwater territory, or above it (think: gravity).
[Read more →]
Natural gas, it’s green, but in what sense?
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Pity the American public trying to figure out where to stand on natural gas. There’s a cacophony of appeals to our patriotism, pocketbooks and desire to be eco-correct.
The latest twist comes from politicians in Congress, accompanied by oilman and clean energy trumpeter T. Boone Pickens, who are promoting big tax [...]
[Read more →]
Tags: · BarbaraKesslerBlog, carbon pollution, compressed natural gas, domestic fuel, Fossil Fuels, gas drilling, groundwater, Harry Reid, methane gas, natural gas, Orrin Hatch, pollution, Robert Menendez, Southern Methodist University, T.Boone Pickens, US gas
Wind power grew 29 percent in 2008; U.S. leads in wind capacity
By Barbara Kessler
Green Right Now
Global wind power installations grew by 29 percent in 2008, exceeding past performance and bringing the world’s commercial wind power capacity to 120,798 megawatts
Wind now produces 1.5 percent of the world’s electricity with 80 countries using commercial wi
nd power, according to an analysis by the Worldwatch Institute released this week.
[Read more →]
Tags: · China, clean energy, Germany, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, India, natural gas, Spain, U.S., Wind energy, Wind Power, World Watch Institute