Shale Gas & Fracking

This morning on CBC Radio’s “The Current” with Anna Maria Tremonti, one of the segments covers the controversial process of fracking in the search for shale gas. One of several concerns is the huge amount of fresh water that is required for this process to work.

Coincidentally, this same topic was mentioned on the Moldy Chum Blog today. Skip over to Moldy for a moment, if only for the image.

Here is the introduction to the podcast from ‘The Current’:

“There's a substantial amount of natural gas buried under the earth across Canada. But getting at it is tough and there are consequences. We look at the potential and the perils of fracking.

According to Canada's fledgling shale-gas industry, the Country could be sitting on a sprawling, game-changing source of energy ... enough natural gas to transform our energy supply. The trouble is a growing chorus of critics is alarmed at the method needed to get at it. The gas is locked in shale, a fine-grained sedimentary rock that has proven to be exceptionally stingy when it comes to releasing natural gas.

The process used to extract it is called, hydraulic fracturing or "fracking." And watching with dread at the experience in the United States - where shale gas is big business - some in this Country are calling for caution and even moratoriums... warning of serious health and environmental consequences.

Andrew Miall has done a lot of work monitoring the environmental impacts of fossil fuel development. He's a professor of geology at the University of Toronto. Michael Jensen is on the steering committee of Stop Fracking In Nova Scotia. He was in Scottsburn in Northeastern Nova Scotia. And Mike Dawson is the President of the Canadian Society for Unconventional Gas. He has been developing unconventional gas resources for more than 20 years and he was in Calgary.”

Listen to podcast “Shale Gas & Fracking” here

Via: CBC Radio ‘The Current’