Food Crisis Arises As Drought and Cold Hit Mexico

New York Times  February 1, 2012

MEXICO CITY undefined A drought that government officials call the most severe this nation has faced since the government began keeping records 71 years ago has left 2 million people without access to water and, coupled with a cold snap, has devastated cropland in nearly half the country.

The government in the past week has authorized more than $2.6 billion in aid undefined including potable water, food and temporary jobs undefined for the most affected areas, rural communities in 19 of Mexico's 31 states.

But officials warned that no serious relief was expected for at least another five months, when the rainy season typically begins in earnest.

While the authorities say they expect the situation to worsen, one of the five worst-affected states, Zacatecas, got a reprieve Sunday. Heriberto Felix Guerra, head of the Ministry of Social Development, saw the rain, the first in 17 months, as a guardedly reassuring sign.

Among the more seriously affected communities are tribal areas of the Tarahumara indigenous community in the Sierra Madre, in the north. Known for endurance running and self-reliance, the Tarahumara are among Mexico's poorest citizens. When false reports of a mass suicide brought on by hunger surfaced recently, journalists and aid organizations poured in.

“I think it has really become extreme poverty,” said Isaac Oxenhaut, national aid coordinator for the Mexican Red Cross. He recently visited the Indian communities where, he said, the land was too dry to grow any crops that the Tarahumara usually depend on for their livelihood. “They don't have anywhere to harvest, absolutely anything,” he added.

Seven percent of the country's agricultural land, mostly in the north and center, has suffered total loss, according to Victor Celaya del Toro, director of development studies at the Agriculture Ministry.

The drought, which has been compounded by freezing temperatures, has already pushed up the cost of some produce, including corn and beans. The governor of the Central Bank, Agustin Carstens, speaking last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, cautioned that it might cause inflation to rise this year.

But government officials have said they do not expect the price of exports to be affected.

Some of the most devastated areas are hard to reach, slowing the flow of aid to a trickle. The Red Cross is sending 70-pound sacks of rice, beans and sugar, as well as winter clothing.

“A cargo bus will not fit,” Oxenhaut said. “You have to do it with four-wheel drives or donkeys, or the people who take it on their backs.”

Health experts want more research on Eagle Ford drilling

SA Business Journal by W. Scott Bailey    January 27, 2012
http://www.bizjournals.com/sanantonio/print-edition/2012/01/27/health-experts-want-more-research-on.html

Medical experts from across the U.S. say more research is needed
regarding the potential impact on human health associated with the
natural-gas drilling method known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking -
a technique now in use in the massive Eagle Ford Shale play south of San
Antonio.

Several of those experts have called for a temporary halt to the rapid
expansion of this drilling method, pending more research.
"There is a need for appropriate caution and public-health preventive
measures since an accident ... could have far-reaching consequences,"
says Dr. Claudia Miller, a professor and researcher at the School of
Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San
Antonio, about hydraulic fracturing.

San Antonio leaders believe the Eagle Ford Shale play could have a
significant economic impact on the region because of the number of jobs
it is expected to create and because of the level of investment
anticipated from the companies involved in the drilling activity. But
others warn that those economic gains could come with a steep price.
"The health risks (from fracking) are similar for any operation that
stores petrochemicals, handles toxic waste or is subject to the
possibility of accidents or human error," says Miller, who is
researching the effects of environmentally induced illnesses.

The American Petroleum Institute, which represents more than 400 oil and
natural gas companies, says hydraulic fracturing is a critical process
for accessing domestic natural gas resources.
"Hydraulic fracturing combines a proven technology with an advanced
drilling technique that allows us to access domestic natural gas
resources that were inaccessible just a few years ago," says API Senior
Economist Sara Banaszak. "Developing this domestic natural gas will mean
billions of dollars in government revenue and reductions in greenhouse
gas emissions."

However, Physicians Scientists and Engineers for Healthy Energy (PSE),
along with the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's Health and the
Environment, a pair of Washington, D.C.-based nonprofits, gathered
together public health experts from across the country recently to
address concerns about hydraulic fracking. They want to see a temporary
halt to this drilling process until more research is conducted.
"There is a need for scientific and epidemiologic information on the
health impacts of fracking," says Dr. Adam Law, founding board member of
the PSE. "Frankly, no one should be unleashing even more fracking before
we have the scientific facts."

One of the chief concerns some have raised about hydraulic fracturing is
the potential contamination of drinking water, as well as the vast
amount of water needed for the drilling process.

Robert Jackson, a professor of biology at Duke University, has
co-authored a white paper titled: Research and Policy Recommendations
for Hydraulic Fracturing and Shale Gas Extraction.
The authors note that, "During the first month of drilling and
production alone, a single well can produce a million or more gallons of
waste water that can contain pollutants in concentrations far exceeding
those considered safe for drinking water and for release into the
environment."

Jackson, who is familiar with Texas and the Eagle Ford Shale, having
spent some time in the Lone Star State, says authors of the paper have
not taken a position on whether there should be a halt on hydraulic
fracturing. But he does say more research is "absolutely" necessary.
Miller asks, "Can we put the genie back in the bottle if contamination
of a well, community water supply or aquifer occurs?"
New rule

Javier Oyakawa, a University of Texas at San Antonio economist who is
tracking the Eagle Ford Shale play, suggests that it could generate some
10,000 jobs in the area by 2020.
Local officials are well aware that there is an opportunity for a
significant economic impact from that fracking activity.
But the companies involved in the play also stand to gain. And Dr.
Jerome Paulson, director of the Mid-Atlantic Center for Children's
Health and the Environment, says those companies should help fund an
independent foundation that would support additional research on the
potential impact of fracking on human health.

"There are a lot of questions related to the human health and ecological
impacts of this process of unconventional gas extraction that need to be
answered," he says.
Officials with the Texas Railroad Commission, which issues drilling
permits, say the state has taken some proactive measures, implementing
the Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Disclosure Rule.

"With the passage of this mandatory Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid
Disclosure Rule, Texans can be assured they will know more about what is
going into the ground for fracturing than what goes into a can of soda,"
says Texas Railroad Commission Chairman Elizabeth Ames Jones.

"The additives in use in fracture drilling are largely known," Miller
contends. "How dangerous they are depends on their concentration,
proximity of persons or animals to exposure, and whether these chemicals
are properly managed in use and at disposal. From a medical research
perspective, the key is to identify illnesses that conceivably could be
connected to drilling activity."
 

BexarMet turned over to SAWS

By Colin McDonald  SA Express News Jan 28, 2012

Ernesto Zatarain of Sign Spot removes lettering from the former BexarMet Water District headquarters' front doors as San Antonio Water Systems (SAWS) legally gained control of the property on Saturday, Jan. 28. 2012. Last November voters opted for the dissolution of the controversial water district. Former general manager of BexarMet Tom Gallier signed legal documents and handed keys over to SAWS officials to mark the transfer of BexarMet operations to SAWS.Photo: Kin Man Hui, San Antonio Express-News

Read more: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/environment/article/BexarMet-turned-over-to-SAWS-2783546.php#ixzz1l63zDXkR

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CPS can check energy leaks

CPS Energy is counting on people like Barbara Wright, who has a finely honed distaste for wasting money, in its ongoing efforts to save energy.

By Tracy Idell Hamilton SA Express News Jan 24, 2012

Robert Martinez, Manager for Casa Verde Weatherization, holds a thermal imager camera which shows the heat from the hand print of Kirk Nuckols, Field Representative for CPS, after he removed his hand from the wall. Casa Verde SA marks it's 3000th home to receive weatherization through the program partnered between CPS Energy and the City of San Antonio. The home of Elisa M. Teveni, 83, was the 3000th to receive the benefits of the program. The infrared mark on the wall shows where the device is pointed.

S.A. company could help keep lights on

While state energy regulators wrestle with the question of whether Texas has enough reserve power to avoid blackouts next summer, the company that CPS Energy chose to help the utility reduce its energy load at peak times reported some progress.

By Tracy Idell Hamilton SA Express News Jan 24, 2012

Consert, which has moved its headquarters to San Antonio, makes energy-saving software that is used in conjunction with “smart meters” like this one.Photo: John VanBeekum, AP / The Miami Herald

Read more:http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/energy/article/S-A-company-could-help-keep-lights-on-2613409.php#ixzz1l616mkw8

We have some wonderful sources of information in our region from a number of first class web sites.  We will be featuring many of those over the coming weeks.  The first is SARA’s quarterly newsletter, River Reach.  The Winter 2010 offering was particularly compelling.  

WINTER 2010

The Future of Energy in the Americas

The Energy Forum and PFC Energy hosted a conference on the growing prominence of North American energy resources and the associated policy challenges at the Baker Institute at Rice University on Jan 19, 2012:

 The Future of Energy in the Americas: CEO Armchair Session with the Honorable Edward P. Djerejian James T. Hackett, Chairman and CEO, Anadarko; The Honorable Philip R. Sharp, President, Resources for the Future; Scott S. Nyquist, Director, Global Energy Practice, McKinsey & Company

I highly recommend this video  (contributed by Lynnae Willete)

KLRN – PBS Eagle Ford:  Opportunity and Challenge in South Texas

KEDT- PBS  Corpus Christi   Thur Feb. 2 at 8pm and Sunday Feb. 5 at 9pm

KLRU- PBS Austin   Sunday, January 29th at 1:00 pm

To view on internet: http://video.klrn.org/video/2186443362

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 "UT: Fostering Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Energy," 

Thursday, Feb. 2nd & 3rd, 2012:

• Etter-Harbin Alumni Center   2110 San Jacinto Boulevard

 A student-led event bringing together leading University researchers and professors, industry leaders, policymakers, entrepreneurs and students to explore today’s most pressing energy challenges.

The UT Energy Forum will take place on Thursday, February 2nd and Friday February 3rd, 2012 in Austin, Texas. The first day will feature a keynote from a top-level UT Energy leader, an interdisciplinary panel discussion that will tackle some of the Energy industries most pressing issues, and a networking event. On Friday, attendees will hear two keynote speakers and panel discussions on a variety of energy topics, ranging from oil exploration, renewable energy and innovative research that will change the outlook for our global energy portfolio/energy landscape. In parallel, leading research and innovations at the University of Texas at Austin will be showcased in exhibition format and compressed time-frame TED-style talks.

Join us for insightful interdisciplinary panel discussions led by students, researchers, professors and industry leaders at the 2012 UT Energy Forum!

http://www.utenergyforum.com/about

San Antonio tapped as the best performing city in the nation

http://video.foxbusiness.com/v/1395365927001/best-performing-us-city-of-2011/

Texas SBIR/STTR Summit & Conference, January 19 in Austin

Make plans to participate in the Texas SBIR/STTR Summit & Conference, January 19 at the sophisticated AT&T Center in Austin, Texas.  The Summit is the “capstone” in pursuing a winning SBIR/STTR proposal, with direct interaction with program managers from the biggest SBIR/STTR granting agencies.   Hear direct from the agencies about their pressing technical needs.  Promote your firm’s technologies and capabilities.  Meet federal prime contractors, investors, university representatives and other resources to assist you in a winning SBIR/STTR proposal!

The event will teach attendees how to access SIT/STTR monies from national experts who have helped companies obtain more than $130 million in SBIR/STTR grants at the largest conference of this kind in Texas.

TO REGISTER:

http://txfic.org/events/overview-and-registration

Early Bird Registration Available Through Jan 17: $149 !  $195 thereafter.

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Smart Grid Consumer Symposium Jan 23 SA Convention Center $175

Details and Registration at       http://smartgridcc.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/SGCC-Consumer-Symposium-2012-Highlights.pdf

40 Under 40 Rising Stars 2012 SA Business Journal Awards Luncheon

Congratulations to all 40 award winners and we would like to focus on three who have worked closely with the SA Clean Tech Forum and  Mission Verde Alliance.

•      Chris Winland – Director San Antonio Operations, Good Company Associates  

•  Tremendous value in establishing Mission Verde Alliance and helping to plan the recent SA Clean Tech Eagle Ford Forum

Stephanie Bocanegra Suarez – Former Chief of Staff, SAWS

Edward Benavides – Chief of Staff, City of San Antonio 

Board Director of the newly established Mission Verde Alliance

The awards event will honor the 2011 40 under Forty Rising Stars. These business executives have focused at an early age on what it takes to succeed. Nominations were taken and winners were selected and will be profiled in a special publication published in the December 23rd issue. We search for business people who are making a difference - in their professions and in the business community at large. We hope you will join us in honoring the 2011 winners at the Omni Hotel located at 9821Colonnade Boulevard on Thursday, January 26th.

Please RSVP by January 20th.

For more info, contact Dariela Trevino at 210-477-0855 or saevents@bizjournals.com

When:

Thursday, January 26, 2012, 11:30am-1:30pm

Where:

Omni Hotel 
9821 Colonnade Boulevard

San Antonio, TX 78230

Cost:

Starting at $65

The KLRN broadcast of our  Dec 6 Eagle Ford Forum was excellent.  You can view it on the KLRN web site at:   http://video.klrn.org/video/2186443362

Other TIME articles:

Solar- Powered Airplane Takes Flight

http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2002552,00.html

GE Bets Big on Solar

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2079474,00.html

Top 20 Green Tech Ideas

http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2030137,00.html

The Truth about Solar Power

http://www.time.com/time/video/player/0,32068,33575328001_1916895,00.html

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Red State, Green City: How Austin Has Become America's Clean-Tech Hub

By Byran Walsh   Jan 16, 2012   Time Magazine

 The solar panels sparkle on the rooftop of HelioVolt's 12,000 sq m manufacturing facility. Inside, an elaborate line of printing machines, lasers, chemical baths and ovens undefined with help from the occasional white-coated human being undefined transforms a sheet of glass less than a centimeter thick into a solar module in just over two and a half hours. The sheets are a far cry from the thick, polysilicon-based photovoltaic panels that still dominate the solar market. HelioVolt manufactures thin-film solar panels, so called because the modules are made by depositing an ultra-thin undefined a few micrometers at most undefined layer of the photovoltaic chemicals copper, indium, gallium and selenide directly onto a glass backing.

Compared with conventional modules, the engineering and manufacturing processes are more complex, and thin-film panels are less efficient at converting sunlight to electricity. But their lower cost has many in the solar world undefined like HelioVolt CEO Jim Flanary undefined convinced that thin-film panels are the way to go as the industry matures. "If you can do this really cheaply and really quickly, you've got a winner," says Flanary as he leads a walkthrough of HelioVolt's pilot plant. "We want to scale up as soon as we can."

It's not just the how of HelioVolt that makes it unusual in the solar space; it's also the where. The company isn't based in southern San Francisco or Boulder, Colo., or the Boston area undefined the bright green regions that tend to lead the national conversation on clean tech. HelioVolt calls the Texas state capital of Austin home. B.J. Stanbery, the solar veteran who founded HelioVolt in 2001, is a native Texan who got his bachelor's degree at the University of Texas just down the road from the company's factory, but he kept his business in Austin for more practical reasons. "The manufacturing skills that workers have here are directly transferable to a thin-film solar company like us," he says. "And the business culture is attractive here because people are used to taking risks in the energy space."

Of course, when people think about the energy space in Texas undefined home to wildcatters and J.R. Ewing of television's Dallas fame undefined they probably picture oil rigs and natural gas wells. The current governor of Texas, after all, is the far-right-leaning Rick Perry, who made it known early in his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination that he was a climate-change skeptic. "I do believe that the issue of global warming has been politicized," Perry told voters in New Hampshire in August. "I think there are a substantial number of scientists who have manipulated data so that they will have dollars rolling into their projects."

But as politically conservative as Texas tends to be, it's kept an open mind on renewable energy, which is one reason more wind power has been installed in the state than anywhere else. And within Texas, Austin has always been an outlier: a fairly liberal college town that has managed to marry high tech with hipster culture. Now that's paying off in the renewable-energy sector, as Austin contends with Silicon Valley as a top clean-tech hub. The city is home to dozens of green start-ups like HelioVolt, many funded by homegrown venture capitalists. Some 15,000 Austin residents are employed in the broader green economy, and the municipal utility, Austin Energy, has pledged to get 35% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020. Over the past eight years, the number of clean-tech jobs has grown more than twice as fast in the Austin metro area as it has in San Francisco. With its background in information technology, Austin is set to take the lead in one of the most exciting areas in clean tech: the marriage of new energy technology with the Internet. "Austin is already a high-tech city," says Jose Beceiro, the director of clean energy at the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce. "Now it's becoming a clean-tech city."

Keeping It Weird
For Austin, high tech had to come before clean tech. The city has long been a science-and-technology hub, thanks to the presence of the sprawling main campus of the University of Texas, with a student body of 50,000. In the mid-1980s one of those students was Michael Dell, who founded his eponymous computer company in a University of Texas dorm room before moving Dell to a sprawling campus north of Austin. Around the same time, the federal government and U.S. semi-conductor manufacturers launched a research consortium undefined based in Austin undefined called Sematech, pooling public and private investment to compete with Japan, which was threatening to dominate the semiconductor industry.

Read more: http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,2103780,00.html#ixzz1jHlN2rab

2. Long-range water planning vital for power

3. Drought from the Power Perspective

• •1.    San Antonio takes key solar step; will Austin follow suit?

By Laylan Copelin AMERICAN-STATESMAN Jan 11, 2012

(Contributed by Frank Burney)

San Antonio took a giant step Wednesday toward its goal of creating jobs and using more solar power as it aims to become a hub for the solar industry.

CPS Energy, the municipally owned utility, selected OCI Solar Power, a subsidiary of a South Korean company, from a list of 19 bidders to bring at least 800 jobs, with an annual payroll of $40 million and 400 megawatts of solar power undefined enough to power about 80,000 homes.

It is an approach that could reignite a Central Texas debate over whether Austin Energy should try a similar approach and leverage its purchasing power into attracting more jobs from the renewable energy industry.

As part of the deal, CPS Energy is expected to purchase solar power from OCI for 25 years.

Another Seoul-based firm, Nexolon Co., is the anchor manufacturer in OCI's consortium. OCI Solar has promised to locate its worldwide headquarters in San Antonio, and Nexolon will relocate its North American headquarters to the Alamo City, according to CPS officials.

It is expected to take at least three months to negotiate the final contract, but San Antonio officials are already celebrating.

In a conference call Wednesday, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro said many questioned whether the city could leverage the buying power of one of the nation's largest public utilities into jobs.

"San Antonio has reached the sweet spot at the intersection of job creation and environmental stewardship," Castro said.

In Austin, officials have taken a different approach, saying they prefer to use rebates, conservation grants, green building programs and promotion of solar panels on buildings as a way to create a self-sustaining market, as opposed to being tied to one company or group of companies.

But as Austin Energy is set to begin public hearings tonight on its proposed rate increase, solar advocate Tom "Smitty" Smith said solar energy proponents will urge the Austin City Council to copy the San Antonio model.

"The race is on" to become a manufacturing hub, Smith said. "They are going to beat us, unless Austin takes action quickly."

San Antonio stunned the solar industry when last year it increased its request for solar power from 50 megawatts to 400 megawatts, which would put the Alamo City in the top tier of solar users around the globe. Castro said Wednesday that the 400 megawatts would complete the utility's goal of getting 20 percent of its power from renewable energy by 2020.

Utility officials declined to say what price they would be paying for solar power.

As outlined by OCI Solar Power, the solar project would be operational in phases over the next five years. There would be multiple manufacturing facilities in San Antonio, producing various components for solar panels, and several solar panel installations, according to the news release.

During the conference call, officials said half of 400 megawatts could be solar farms far away from San Antonio and Bexar County.

OCI Solar Power has the advantage of the deep pockets of its parent company, OCI Co. Ltd., but it is powering up only its first solar farm next week in New Jersey. Company officials said they have 40 projects in development in the U.S. and Canada.

Many of the details of the deal remained vague Wednesday because contract negotiations are just beginning, but an Austin-based energy expert, Robert King, said the announcement of 800 jobs is significant.

"I know Austin is going to have pangs of jealousy for a while," he said.

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Long-range water planning vital for power

American Statesmen Editorial Board   Jan 11, 2012

 (Contributed by Frank Burney)

Texas business and political leaders brag with some justification about the state's economic success.

Though the state did not escape the economic turbulence of 2008 unscathed, Texas is doing comparatively well.

But as Texas senators learned this week, it is difficult to do business in the dark. The stubborn drought that has gripped the state for over a year now menaces its capacity to generate electricity. That means that the effects of drought reach far beyond the state's farms and ranches. Members of the Senate Business and Commerce Committee, including Sen. Kirk Watson, D-Austin, urged long- and short-term action to maintain the state's economic health. It's going to take a combination of energy conservation and development of alternate energy sources to keep the state's lights on, as the American-Statesman's Laylan Copelin reported in Wednesday's editions.

There was not much good news in the briefing the senators got from a variety of experts, regulators and administrators. Water development is essential to cool coal-fired and nuclear power plants.

Solar and wind power generation plants don't use water, but the power they generate is more expensive.

Trip Doggett, the chief executive of the Electric Reliability Council of Texas, which operates the state's electric grid, told the committee he expects severe consequences if the drought lasts into 2013.

George Bomar, a meteorologist with the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, testified recent rains have helped to ease the drought's impact, but not broken it. The forecaster also predicted that it is "very likely we're not going to see the spring rains we need to break the drought. We have little reason to expect major relief from drought until we are deep into 2012."

Take those two together and the state will be cutting it close undefined if nature cooperates.

Wednesday, we discussed the state water plan that includes proposals for the construction of new reservoirs and desalinization plants to supplement conservation efforts.

Though those proposals should be taken seriously and explored thoroughly, no one should be deluded into thinking dam construction is either easy or cheap. Building dams involves processes that take years.

Moreover, building dams means building the consensus that they are needed and won't unfairly impede property rights or harm the environment. All that is much easier said than done.

Donna Nelson, who leads the Public Utility Commission, told the committee that the agency is working on promoting energy conservation, including the use of incentives to cut peak-time power demand and she noted the state has plenty of wind power.

Two committee members urged their colleagues and other state officials to take a much longer view.

"It's not just about next year. It's not just about 2013. The decisions we have to make now are about 2025, and we're not making them," declared Sen. Leticia Van de Putte, D-San Antonio.

"I don't think there's been a greater dereliction of duty" than failing to fund Texas water needs, said Sen. John Carona, R-Dallas, the committee chairman.

Drought from the Power Perspective

By AMY HARDBERGER | Published: OCTOBER 13, 2011  ENVIRONMENTAL DEFENSE FUND - TEXAS WATER SOLUTIONS         (CONTRIBUTED BY LES SHEPHARD)

We have said itbefore and we will say it again undefined NO ONE is immune from drought and the latest group feeling the pinch is the power producer. This should be no surprise as we havewritten extensively on the energy water relationship. Drought not only limits the water available for our water needs, it may also limit our power.

Texas' record breaking drought reduces the amount of available waterpower plants require for cooling.  If that water is not available, the plant must stop running.  Despite this critical co-dependency, power and water are still planned separately.  In times of limited water supply, this can cause big problems.  So what is the solution?  Well in the short term, the options are somewhat limited.

Maximizing conservation and efficiency by all users will help protect water for power use.  Private landowners are also seeingan opportunity.  One landowner wants to sell almost 400 million gallons of water per year to the newly permitted White Stallion plant.  White Stallion has encounteredchallenges in obtaining water rights because of public opposition and limited water availability.  While potentially serving a short-term goal, approval of the sale of groundwater for these purposes will cause significant problems for nearby land owners sharing in this resource, particularly in times of drought.   Simply selling water and re-purposing it will not work for the long term.

For the future, we must think beyond the short term because one thing is certain, after this drought there will be another one. We need to learn from this one and put policies in place to be ready for the next.  The power and the water sectors need to come together in their planning.  New power plants, particularly those being built in drier areas,need to use

When we discuss energy security, water must be a integral part of that conversation so we don't end up sitting in the dark craving a glass of water.

 

Dr. Stephen Holditch, Head of Texas A&M’s Petroleum Engineering Department is considered one of the most knowledgeable experts on shale fracking in the world. He has built his school into what many consider to be the finest Petroleum Engineering school in the world.

 

I am pleased to see that in his article below "Drillers must employ best practices to keep 'fracking' boom alive" he is advocating sustainable, responsible drilling and production of the Eagle Ford shale play just we called for in our Dec 6, 2011 Forum.

 

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Separating facts from fiction in fracking

 

Houston Chronicle Editorial  January 10, 2012 (Contibuted by Skip Mills)

 

Threats by Iran to blockade the Straits of Hormuz and the political gridlock over the Keystone XL Pipeline construction project have put energy where it rightly belongs: front and center.

 

 

It's about time.  Nearly 40 years after the Arab oil embargo, this nation has no workable energy policy; we choose instead to lurch from crisis to crisis with ad hoc solutions.

 

 

Our country needs a better approach, and exactly what that is should be a major topic of sensible, not superheated, discussion in the coming campaign for the White House.  The usual partisan talking past each other by presidential candidates insults voters.  It's time for sensible, fact-based decisions about how we move forward on energy policy.  We have choices to make and some major opportunities in prospect.

 

 

Chronicle Outlook readers received a timely primer on a critical energy topic in Sunday's newspaper: hydraulic fracturing.  It came courtesy of an acknowledged expert, Stephen Holditch, head of the Department of Petroleum Engineering at Texas A&M ("'Fracking' has created a bonanza, but drillers must employ best practices to keep it alive," (See article below).

 

 

No single subject may loom larger in deciding the course of the U.S.  energy future than the process known by the now-familiar shorthand of fracking.  It is the key to opening up enormous natural gas and oil reserves locked in shale formations that stretch, literally, from South Texas across Louisiana and Arkansas and Tennessee all the way up into Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York state.

 

 

Holditch's article performs several services in educating nonexperts about fracking, but perhaps none more useful than demystifying the actual components that make possible the fracking process, which frees oil and gas from tight shale rock formations such as the Eagle Ford in South Texas.

 

 

 

It turns out not to be a witches' brew after all, according to this former president of the Academy of Medicine, Engineering & Science of Texas.  About 99.5 percent is water and quartz sand, while the other ingredients typically used are guar gum (which is also used to thicken food products), detergents (like the ones used to wash dishes) and bactericides such as chlorine, the stuff often used to help purify local water supplies.

 

 

That comes as a relief.  What doesn't, though, is the occasional carelessness in the construction of well casings that results in leaks into the surrounding environment.

 

 

What is of more consequence, says Holditch, is fracking's impact on air quality.  If not carefully monitored, it can result in emissions of ozone precursors such as nitrogen oxides, particulates from diesel exhaust and gases such as carbon dioxide and methane.

 

 

That is a witches' brew.  Holditch sensibly recommends creation of a shale gas industry organization to create a strong group of best practices.  Given the rapid growth of domestic shale gas production, such a move seems warranted.  It should be coupled with strong oversight and outside regulation by independent government agencies.

 

 

The Texas A&M scholar makes another sensible point that may help defuse some of the inevitable frictions between fracking supporters and opponents with concerns about its potential impact on the environment.

 

 

We have more than enough shale rock to allow the country the luxury of putting environmentally sensitive areas off limits, and the TAMU professor recommends we consider doing so.

 

 

The professor's clear and sensible analysis of fracking should be required reading for voters and presidential candidates alike.

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Drillers must employ best practices to keep 'fracking' boom alive

By Stephen Holditch  Houston Chronicle  January 7, 2012

 

 

Four grades of crushed rare conglomerate silica sand are processed and used in fracturing wells. Photo: PAUL TOPLE / © 2011 Akron Beacon Journal

As recently as 2001, the production of gas naturally occurring deep inside shale rock provided less than 2 percent of total U.S. natural gas production. Today, it is approaching 30 percent. As late as 2007, it was commonly assumed that the United States would be importing large amounts of liquefied natural gas from the Middle East and other areas.

 

 

Today, almost overnight in natural-resource years, we are not only self-sufficient in natural gas, we have enough natural gas for the rest of this century on the basis of current demand. This same horizontal drilling and hydraulic fracturing technology is now being used in liquids-rich shales to increase oil production. These resource plays are in their infancy and can clearly improve the energy security of the United States.

 

 

Nonetheless, the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, of shale rock to release gas trapped deep beneath the Earth's surface has inspired public fear-mongering, mostly around presumed threats to air quality and water quality. Most of that fear is unfounded.

 

 

Complete article at: http://www.chron.com/default/article/Drillers-must-employ-best-practices-to-keep-2446773.php

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