The Energy Crisis Stinks; an Innovative Solution
Timothy Birdnow
It's coming! A new energy source, one that likely has vast supplies, and lies in a largely unusable part of the world. And in the process we can get rid of some of that pesky carbon dioxide that has the Greens in such a tizzy. What is this wonder fuel? Methane.
You heard that right; swamp gas (a fundamental component of flatulence) lies frozen underground in the Arctic and can be extracted by pumping carbon dioxide into the permafrost, forcing the methane out. (Methane hydrate, or methane frozen in a matrix of ice.) Methane can be used in a fashion similar to natural gas.
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/05/19/pilot-technology-sequesters-co2-as-it-extracts-natural-gas/
While such research may not pass the smell test, it certainly offers us new prospects for the 21st century; there may be more methane hydrate frozen in the permafrost than all of the other fossil fuels combined in the Earth. A methane economy could turn Alaska, Russia, Greenland, Canada into the new (albeit stinky) Saudi Arabias, with extractions being more "green" than other forms of drilling.
Now, bear in mind, burning methane produces carbon dioxide and water, so we end up with a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere - except that the bi-product can be pumped back into the permafrost, giving us a relatively stable fuel. Granted catastrophic global warming is a fiction, but we ARE changing the atmosphere and perhaps it would be better to avoid that then to trust to luck, and this method would get us out of that particular trap. Also, the models predicting catastrophic global warming all depend on this same methane; the melting of the Arctic permafrost is predicted to release this methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas - more powerful than CO2. Why not put that methane to work?
Well, the exchange of gases could be harmful to some microorganisms, and we don't know what that could mean in the long run. But it seems likely to be minimal, and we simply cannot afford to worry about minor ecological changes in light of a burgeoning population and a need to increase the standard of living for the poor worldwide. Without energy growth there is no future, folks. We MUST increase our energy output - and that necessitates tapping new sources. If that means using a catheder on Mother Earth to draw off some Gaian farts, so be it!
Until someone invents cheap fusion we are stuck with fossil fuels; we will never produce enough with fission reactors or solar panels. This looks to be a pretty good source of fuel; let's get on with it.
Just be thankful they'll be drawing this stuff in the Tundra - Pew!
It's coming! A new energy source, one that likely has vast supplies, and lies in a largely unusable part of the world. And in the process we can get rid of some of that pesky carbon dioxide that has the Greens in such a tizzy. What is this wonder fuel? Methane.
You heard that right; swamp gas (a fundamental component of flatulence) lies frozen underground in the Arctic and can be extracted by pumping carbon dioxide into the permafrost, forcing the methane out. (Methane hydrate, or methane frozen in a matrix of ice.) Methane can be used in a fashion similar to natural gas.
http://blogs.forbes.com/jeffmcmahon/2011/05/19/pilot-technology-sequesters-co2-as-it-extracts-natural-gas/
While such research may not pass the smell test, it certainly offers us new prospects for the 21st century; there may be more methane hydrate frozen in the permafrost than all of the other fossil fuels combined in the Earth. A methane economy could turn Alaska, Russia, Greenland, Canada into the new (albeit stinky) Saudi Arabias, with extractions being more "green" than other forms of drilling.
Now, bear in mind, burning methane produces carbon dioxide and water, so we end up with a greenhouse gas in the atmosphere - except that the bi-product can be pumped back into the permafrost, giving us a relatively stable fuel. Granted catastrophic global warming is a fiction, but we ARE changing the atmosphere and perhaps it would be better to avoid that then to trust to luck, and this method would get us out of that particular trap. Also, the models predicting catastrophic global warming all depend on this same methane; the melting of the Arctic permafrost is predicted to release this methane into the atmosphere. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas - more powerful than CO2. Why not put that methane to work?
Well, the exchange of gases could be harmful to some microorganisms, and we don't know what that could mean in the long run. But it seems likely to be minimal, and we simply cannot afford to worry about minor ecological changes in light of a burgeoning population and a need to increase the standard of living for the poor worldwide. Without energy growth there is no future, folks. We MUST increase our energy output - and that necessitates tapping new sources. If that means using a catheder on Mother Earth to draw off some Gaian farts, so be it!
Until someone invents cheap fusion we are stuck with fossil fuels; we will never produce enough with fission reactors or solar panels. This looks to be a pretty good source of fuel; let's get on with it.
Just be thankful they'll be drawing this stuff in the Tundra - Pew!
posted by Timothy Birdnow | 6:31 AM
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