In North Dakota, Flames of Wasted Natural Gas Light the Prairie (175 milion cu ft/day)

[wtmusic]

"They are not wildfires caused by lightning strikes or other acts of nature, but the deliberate burning of natural gas by oil companies rushing to extract oil from the Bakken shale field and take advantage of the high price of crude. The gas bubbles up alongside the far more valuable oil, and with less economic incentive to capture it, the drillers treat the gas as waste and simply burn it.

Every day, more than 100 million cubic feet of natural gas is flared this way — enough energy to heat half a million homes for a day.

The flared gas also spews at least two million tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year, as much as 384,000 cars or a medium-size coal-fired power plant would emit, alarming some environmentalists. "

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/27/business/energy-environment/in-north-dakota-wasted-natural-gas-flickers-against-the-sky.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

(Article from Sept 2011)

[Buzz Clik]

1. We get a new thread on this every day. Not inappropriate, I suppose.

Would we support the efforts in North Dakota if they captured and sold the natural gas?

[wtmusic]

2. Personally, I would support shutting the whole $&?#% thing down.

This is criminal, not only as waste but the atmospheric CO2 contribution when we can least afford it.

Contaminated groundwater, contaminated air. Shale gas, which Obama proudly proclaims America's energy savior, is a nightmare.

[Buzz Clik]

3. We need energy. I doubt your computer is running on solar power.

Somebody needs to put those feet in North Dakota into the fire of the flares they are burning and force them to be more efficient.

[wtmusic]

4. We need dirty energy like a hole in the head.

Not to mention - this energy goes on the international market and makes nary a dent in our supply.

It's just something else to sell.

Onedit: fortunately my computer doesn't run on gasoline.

[Buzz Clik]

5. More likely your comp runs on coal. Maybe nuke with a slight chance of natural gas.

Agreed, we don't need dirty energy. So, we fund other means to try to make a dent. It's a long battle.

[wtmusic]

7. Mostly on coal, a third on natural gas.

Before 2012 about 20% on nuclear, then they shut San Onofre down.

In the absence of any other brilliant ideas, nuclear is the way to go.

[Champion Jack]

6. +1000

[limpyhobbler]

8. disgustingly irresponsible in several different ways