Some critics of gas production at least create the mistaken impression that there is no difference in the environmental impacts of gas, coal, and oil. Indeed, ignoring the different environmental impacts of the three fuels or even claiming falsely that gas is dirtier than coal is at the foundation of the effort to ban shale gas production.
Yet, in the real world, though gas is not pristine or perfectly clean, gas has much less impact than either oil or coal on water, air, or climate. Another stark reminder of this point comes courtesy of the still unfinished clean up of a 1.1 million spill of oil into the Kalamazoo river that happened in 2010. The spill led to massive damage to a stretch of the river and a difficult, expensive clean up operation that to date has required the removal of 200,000 cubic yards of soil. www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/10/03/enbridge-pipeline-spill-michigan_n_1936619.html?utm_hp_ref=green.
Gas displacing oil lowers impacts and risks to the environment and especially to water. Moreover, more gas and less oil is a recipe that is essential to our economic and national security.
and risks to the environment could be further reduced if the gas companies had to admit negligence or errors..correct their mistakes and not be allowed to drill or frack until they do so....Venting flaring are a serious part of the pollution.
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