{~_~} Раиса
2014-05-01 21:49:38 UTC
I would like you dummies - those included in BC, as well as Alberta - to
note that your past denials that fracking was not used for extraction of
oil, but only for gas, are destroyed by this article. And your water,
as well as water that flows from any waterways or ground waters near
fracking areas, is affecting other provinces.
______________________________________________________
April 30, 2014 - Globe and Mail
Go slow on fracking, scientists warn
As use of technique rises in Western Canada, sweeping new study to be
released today outlines a number of potential risks and gaps in
monitoring and oversight
Canadians face a Pandora's box of potential environmental and health
risks as the oil industry charges forward with hydraulic fracturing
techniques that are needed to unlock vast natural gas and oil deposits
across the country, says a new report1 for the federal government.
In a 260-page study to be released Thursday, the expert panel concluded
that there simply isn't enough known about the impacts of hydraulic
fracturing – or fracking – to declare it safe, and that key elements of
the provinces' regulatory systems "are not based on strong science and
remain untested" while there is virtually no federal regulation.
The report was prepared by the Council of Canadian Academies, an
independent organization that pulls together scientists and other
experts to provide independent policy-related assessments, but stops
short of explicit advice.
In September of 2011, former environment minister Peter Kent asked the
council to review the impacts of shale gas development in Canada. But
the same drilling techniques used to extract natural gas from shale rock
are now being employed to produce crude oil in Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba, and its findings relate to the broader issue of the safety of
modern drilling techniques.
"I think the conclusion is that the development needs to go slow enough
so that the science can happen," said John Cherry, associate director of
Guelph University's G360 Centre for Applied Groundwater Research and
chair of the expert panel that produced the report.
In the United States, the shale gas and tight oil boom has transformed
the American economy and its sense of energy security, and many in
Canada are eager to replicate that success.
The industry is already deploying fracking methods to drill for oil and
gas in Western Canada. Most of the 11,150 wells forecast to be drilled
this year in Western Canada will employ hydraulic fracturing, in which
companies use chemically laced water to blast open non-porous rock to
extract gas and oil.
The controversial technology is key to British Columbia's ambitions to
become a major exporter of liquefied natural gas to Asia, shipping gas
from the rich Montney and Horn River fields in northeastern B.C. Premier
Christy Clark is a enthusiastic booster of the LNG strategy, and is
gearing her province up for an anticipated economic boom.
In such provinces as Quebec and New Brunswick, the industry is eager to
determine whether gas deposits can be profitably developed, but there is
staunch opposition among local residents. Quebec has had a moratorium
while it studies the issue, while New Brunswick has faced angry and
sometimes violent demonstrations as opponents try to stop the fledgling
industry there from drilling.
A spokesman for federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the
assessment identifies areas of research that need to be pursued and that
effort is under way.
"We believe that shale gas deposits can be developed safely,
responsibly, and in compliance with the strict environmental policies
and regulations in place," Ted Laking, Ms. Aglukkaq's director of
communications, said in an e-mail.
New Brunswick Energy Minister Craig Leonard said he's "very comfortable"
that the province can manage the risks associated with shale gas
development, saying it has adopted the best regulatory practices from
other North American jurisdictions.
In B.C., Saskatchewan and Alberta, where most drilling activity occurs,
provincial regulators have imposed rules on well construction, water use
and treatment of waste water, which must be re-injected under ground. As
well, industry associations have adopted their own standards for safe
practices and require companies to reveal what chemicals they use in
fracking.
"I think there is a high degree of confidence on industry's part that we
have the technology and we have the regulatory regime – particularly in
the mature jurisdictions – to manage for this," said David Pryce,
vice-president at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. He
added that regulations can be improved in some areas and Alberta is now
assessing how to manage the cumulative impacts of intensive drilling,
rather than simply looking on a well-by-well basis.
Environmentalists have little confidence in the provincial regulators.
In B.C., the environmental group, EcoJustice, is awaiting a decision on
a lawsuit it launched against the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission, claiming
the regulator had allowed the industry to evade water-use rules.
"The entire regulatory regime in B.C. has been crafted to facilitate gas
development," EcoJustice lawyer Karen Campbell said in an interview.
The council concludes that public trust can only be achieved when
additional, independent research provides answers to nagging questions –
before intensive drilling occurs.
note that your past denials that fracking was not used for extraction of
oil, but only for gas, are destroyed by this article. And your water,
as well as water that flows from any waterways or ground waters near
fracking areas, is affecting other provinces.
______________________________________________________
April 30, 2014 - Globe and Mail
Go slow on fracking, scientists warn
As use of technique rises in Western Canada, sweeping new study to be
released today outlines a number of potential risks and gaps in
monitoring and oversight
Canadians face a Pandora's box of potential environmental and health
risks as the oil industry charges forward with hydraulic fracturing
techniques that are needed to unlock vast natural gas and oil deposits
across the country, says a new report1 for the federal government.
In a 260-page study to be released Thursday, the expert panel concluded
that there simply isn't enough known about the impacts of hydraulic
fracturing – or fracking – to declare it safe, and that key elements of
the provinces' regulatory systems "are not based on strong science and
remain untested" while there is virtually no federal regulation.
The report was prepared by the Council of Canadian Academies, an
independent organization that pulls together scientists and other
experts to provide independent policy-related assessments, but stops
short of explicit advice.
In September of 2011, former environment minister Peter Kent asked the
council to review the impacts of shale gas development in Canada. But
the same drilling techniques used to extract natural gas from shale rock
are now being employed to produce crude oil in Alberta, Saskatchewan and
Manitoba, and its findings relate to the broader issue of the safety of
modern drilling techniques.
"I think the conclusion is that the development needs to go slow enough
so that the science can happen," said John Cherry, associate director of
Guelph University's G360 Centre for Applied Groundwater Research and
chair of the expert panel that produced the report.
In the United States, the shale gas and tight oil boom has transformed
the American economy and its sense of energy security, and many in
Canada are eager to replicate that success.
The industry is already deploying fracking methods to drill for oil and
gas in Western Canada. Most of the 11,150 wells forecast to be drilled
this year in Western Canada will employ hydraulic fracturing, in which
companies use chemically laced water to blast open non-porous rock to
extract gas and oil.
The controversial technology is key to British Columbia's ambitions to
become a major exporter of liquefied natural gas to Asia, shipping gas
from the rich Montney and Horn River fields in northeastern B.C. Premier
Christy Clark is a enthusiastic booster of the LNG strategy, and is
gearing her province up for an anticipated economic boom.
In such provinces as Quebec and New Brunswick, the industry is eager to
determine whether gas deposits can be profitably developed, but there is
staunch opposition among local residents. Quebec has had a moratorium
while it studies the issue, while New Brunswick has faced angry and
sometimes violent demonstrations as opponents try to stop the fledgling
industry there from drilling.
A spokesman for federal Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq said the
assessment identifies areas of research that need to be pursued and that
effort is under way.
"We believe that shale gas deposits can be developed safely,
responsibly, and in compliance with the strict environmental policies
and regulations in place," Ted Laking, Ms. Aglukkaq's director of
communications, said in an e-mail.
New Brunswick Energy Minister Craig Leonard said he's "very comfortable"
that the province can manage the risks associated with shale gas
development, saying it has adopted the best regulatory practices from
other North American jurisdictions.
In B.C., Saskatchewan and Alberta, where most drilling activity occurs,
provincial regulators have imposed rules on well construction, water use
and treatment of waste water, which must be re-injected under ground. As
well, industry associations have adopted their own standards for safe
practices and require companies to reveal what chemicals they use in
fracking.
"I think there is a high degree of confidence on industry's part that we
have the technology and we have the regulatory regime – particularly in
the mature jurisdictions – to manage for this," said David Pryce,
vice-president at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. He
added that regulations can be improved in some areas and Alberta is now
assessing how to manage the cumulative impacts of intensive drilling,
rather than simply looking on a well-by-well basis.
Environmentalists have little confidence in the provincial regulators.
In B.C., the environmental group, EcoJustice, is awaiting a decision on
a lawsuit it launched against the B.C. Oil and Gas Commission, claiming
the regulator had allowed the industry to evade water-use rules.
"The entire regulatory regime in B.C. has been crafted to facilitate gas
development," EcoJustice lawyer Karen Campbell said in an interview.
The council concludes that public trust can only be achieved when
additional, independent research provides answers to nagging questions –
before intensive drilling occurs.