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: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 26 2016, @05:24AM
I've been to Centralia. I walked beyond the "do not walk past here" signs. Most of the time you don't realize that there's a fire burning. Then your shoes begin to melt.
There's a reason that nobody's put out that sign, that people would rather give up their town and move away than fight the fire. It's just too expensive a proposition.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Saturday November 26 2016, @05:37AM
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday November 26 2016, @08:38AM
From Wikipedia:
"Although there was physical, visible evidence of the fire, residents of Centralia were bitterly divided over the question of whether or not the fire posed a direct threat to the town."
Sound familiar?