Tag Archives: gas

Fracking regulations go political

Posted on July 29, 2014 by Paul

  If they weren’t already, fracking and fracking regulations are becoming more and more political.  Colorado is at the forefront of this debate due to the proximity of extraction operations and affluent communities such as Boulder, CO.  Several of these communities … Continue reading →

Posted in energy, policy | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Natural gas shutting down coal plants (with energy price comparison calculator!)

Posted on November 27, 2012 by Paul

Great article on how the natural gas revolution is influencing electric power in the US, and how coal plants are threatened more by gas than by the EPA.. http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/the-demise-of-coal-fired-power-plants/2012/11/21/e7ca1e6e-fdda-11e1-b153-218509a954e1_story.html Some people quoted in this article say that if gas hits $3 – … Continue reading →

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US to become top producer of oil & gas and self-sufficient in energy

Posted on November 12, 2012 by Paul

Says a new report from the IEA.. What does this mean for alternative and renewable energy and climate change? Renewables become the world’s second-largest source of power generation by 2015 and close in on coal as the primary source by 2035. … Continue reading →

Posted in biofuels, climate change, energy, policy | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

coal gas and geoengineering for hurricanes?

Posted on August 30, 2012 by Paul

Interesting.. I hadn’t heard of this before: http://washpost.bloomberg.com/story?docId=1376-M9GMPW1A74E901-67PF7KNHRNR0BQCUGIL0LU84T7 The technology works like this: beds, or seams, of underground coal are ignited, and the resulting combustible gas is piped out for use in electricity generation or as a raw material in … Continue reading →

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bioenergy companies flip strategies to lure investors

Posted on August 6, 2012 by Paul

In what seems to be the beginning of a trend, some early stage bioenergy companies are shifting their focus and their feedstocks away from biomass and towards really really cheap natural gas (thanks to fracking). The first example was Sundrop … Continue reading →

Posted in biofuels | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

gas industry and climate change activists make good bedfellows?

Posted on May 31, 2012 by Paul

I’m back from a busy past couple months and have a couple things I wanted to post. First up is a post from the Breakthrough Journal – a group that I regularly read for their fascinating and often controversial commentary … Continue reading →

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natural gas leading to reduction in US emissions – a case for technology investment instead of policy?

Posted on February 28, 2012 by Paul

Interesting observations over at yale360 on falling US emissions: http://e360.yale.edu/feature/nordhaus_shellenberger_beyond_cap_and_trade_a_new_path_to_clean_energy/2499/ It seems to be a unique situation that we are observing here..and I’m not sure technology investment without policy is a good model to follow.. I wonder how much of … Continue reading →

Posted in climate change, energy, policy | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Real field measurements of methane emissions from fracking operations published

Posted on February 8, 2012 by Paul

I’ve been following this increasing interest in estimating methane emissions from natural gas extraction for some time now.  I’ve posted about it a couple times: here, here and here.  Lots of people are interested because fracking for natural gas may … Continue reading →

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scientists battle it out over whether fracking is contaminating groundwater

Posted on September 14, 2011 by Paul

EDIT: For an excellent primer on shale gas, fracking and both pros & cons, check this out: http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v477/n7364/full/477271a.html I wanted to point this out not only because the subject matter is appropriate for this blog, but an example of how … Continue reading →

Posted in energy | Tagged , , | 3 Comments