SoylentNews is people
SoylentNews
from the bigger-problem-than-cow-farts dept.
Arthur T Knackerbracket has found the following story:
The development of oil and gas has a 150-year history in the US, with wells stretching across the nation from California to Texas to Pennsylvania. We continue to reap the benefits of the infrastructure we built in earlier eras. But the downside to this long history comes in the form of millions of abandoned, poorly documented wells scattered throughout the country.
Recently, a team of researchers examined some of the abandoned wells in Pennsylvania to build a better picture of how this history continues to impact us today. Measurements of methane emissions revealed that abandoned wells may still be a significant source of methane to the atmosphere.
Methane is one of the more common greenhouse gases, and its warming potential is 86 times greater than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period. So limiting methane emission is an important strategy to curb global warming. Unfortunately, little is known about the ways old wells contribute to methane emissions because they are outside of our greenhouse gas emission inventory system.
Despite the long presence of these wells in the US, there isn't much data about what happens to them after they're abandoned. Many attributes can influence leakage, including depth, plugging status, well type (oil or gas), geographic location, and abandonment method.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by khallow on Saturday November 26 2016, @03:42AM
The system has worked in dozens of coal fires across the United States, according to CAFSCO. In 2007, CAFSCO put out its largest coal fire yet, pumping more than 700 million gallons of foam into the Consolidated Buchanan No. 1 coal mine in Claypool Hill, Va. Cummins says Centralia could be put out in about a month, for about $60 million. “I understand the difficulties of the Centralia fire, but I know what this foam is capable of doing and I really believe we can put it out,” he says.
Stracher, for one, thinks CAFSCO can get the Centralia job done. “I’ve seen this foam in action and it’s really unbelievable what it can do,” he says. Rathbun, however, remains wary of the new foam technique because he has not yet seen it in use. Before PDEP would consider approving such a project, “we would need to see more evidence, track records, proof that it works,” he says. “Centralia is a huge project and we don’t have the money to experiment with it.”
Humanity doesn't stand still.
(Score: 2) by art guerrilla on Saturday November 26 2016, @01:14PM
it was discovered today that the foam constituents used to put out coal seam fires is now migrating to the aquifer and causing aliens to burst from the chest of anyone who drinks water from the aquifer...