Shale Gas - aquifer contamination a consequence?

[overtone]

I should be interested to see peer reviewed research that quantifies and demonstrates the damage to aquifers by shale gas development.

Since the overseeing folks are just now - announced this summer, as a new thing - gathering baseline data on the aquifers involved, we'll be waiting a long time for anything but anecdotal evidence and argument from basic principles.

 

Since we are talking about risk, not accomplished damage, the matter of "demonstration" is not simple.

 

 

But since we have obvious issues and inadequate data, it makes little sense to take such chances - whatever the probabilities turn out to be, they are probabilities of large scale, serious, and essentially permanent harm.

[iDevonian]

Ok, one last question then.

 

Given that you say...

 

 

and...

 

 

 

how do you feel comfortable making the following statement?

 

 

 

As far as I can tell, you are saying that we don't know when alternatives can take over, we don't know when fossil fuels will run out, but everything is going to work out fine.

 

My take on things is that not knowing when alternatives can take over, and not knowing when fossil fuels will run out, can only justify the statement that we don't know enough to make the claim that everything is going to work out fine.

 

We know things will work out fine because they already are working fine as we speak. We know that we have the resources necessary and plenty of time to make the gradual change. My statement was fairly broad too. I wasnt pinpointing a date within any 5 year period.

Edited November 20, 2012 by iDevonian