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Natural Gas Health and Environmental Hazards
Natural gas is a fossil fuel that is often promoted as "cleaner" than coal, but which has its own serious environmental hazards. Natural gas extraction threatens ecosystems from northern Alaska and Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Drilling even occurs on farms and public lands, in forests, parks, the Rocky Mountains, and other coal-field communities, off of U.S. coastal waters, and possibly under the Great Lakes. Pipelines and compressor stations add to the harms, crossing all ecosystems types. Even water bodies like Lake Erie and the Long Island Sound have faced proposals to bury pipelines underwater in trenches that involve stirring up toxic sentiment accumulated on lake/sound floors. Natural gas power plants are significant air pollution sources, releasing hazardous air pollutants, global warming pollution, and fine particulate matter.
Since around 1997, there have been somewhere on the order of 1,000 proposals for new natural gas power plants in the U.S. Approximately 90% of power plant proposals in the late 1990s were for natural gas. Only about 400 of these were built and some aren't even operating, because of high gas prices. Many were defeated by local opposition or withdrawn for economic reasons, since the industry went overboard.
97% of natural gas consumed in the U.S. is from the U.S. and Canada. However, natural gas production has peaked in North America --- more wells are drilled but less gas is being found. Between 1999 and 2004, natural gas prices have tripled as imports from Canada slowed and domestic production failed to keep up with demand. To feed the increasing demand, liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals are being proposed. These terminals would enable more natural gas imports from Canada and the Middle East. Natural gas is expected to peak globally around 2020, leading to serious global conflicts as China and other large and growing economies continue down the path of increased dependence on fossil fuels. The U.S. has 5 existing LNG terminals, approximately 60 additional terminals have been proposed, though the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has estimated that only 10 are needed (6 in the U.S.) to meet short-term demand in North America. More than this number have already been approved.
Most recently, interest in the Marcellus Shale Formation in Pennsylvannia, New York, and Ohio has intesified. To learn more about this Formation and potential drilling in this region, check out the Marcellus Shale Formation Report compiled by Earthworks.
Natural Gas Contaminants and Health Hazards
Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG)
Terrorism/Accident Risk
Opposition to LNG:
PCBs in Natural Gas
Understanding Title V of the Clean Air Act
Pipeline Safety
Local Community Groups That Fought Natural Gas Power Plants
Natural Gas Corporations
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http://www.energyjustice.net/naturalgas/
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