Gasland?

Anyone watching Gasland the documentary on HBO? Check out their Facebook page.

[gldstwmn]

Have it on the DVR, haven't watched it yet.

[nailatixela]

I haven't watched it. I don't know if they are doing some screwed up stuff to get nat gas now - but natural gas is the cleanest fuel we have that we can use right now, today. Much easier to implement then solar, wind, etc. There will be a time for those but natural gas is ready to power America right now. Get us off our oil addiciton.

[HejiraNYC]

Originally Posted by nailatixela

I haven't watched it. I don't know if they are doing some screwed up stuff to get nat gas now - but natural gas is the cleanest fuel we have that we can use right now, today. Much easier to implement then solar, wind, etc. There will be a time for those but natural gas is ready to power America right now. Get us off our oil addiciton.

Um... how do you define "cleanest?" Last time I checked, natural gas was still carbon-based and emits CO2 when it is consumed. And the extraction method, i.e., "fracking," is some pretty seriously toxic business which mixes carcinogenic compounds with large quantities of underground water that often times ends up in the homes of people with wells sharing the same aquifer. There is nothing "clean" about this.

Solar and wind are infinitely more viable and sustainable. Yes, the technologies are currently very expensive, but as with any other technology, economies of scale will eventually kick in, efficiency will go up and costs will be driven down. It is not going to replace coal, nuclear and natural gas electrical generating facilities tomorrow, but it is enabling many, many people to live completely off the grid or feed clean energy into the grid. Battery technology is improving by leaps and bounds, and plug-in electric cars, e.g., Chevy Volt, are soon to be a reality. The future is electric and the sooner we wean ourselves off of any carbon-based energy source, the better.

[nailatixela]

I'm no expert. But there are very, very few cases of actual fracking. Natural gas has the potentional to create thousands and thousands of jobs. It's cleaner than oil, and it's cleaner then coal, and I wish Obama would mention natural gas more often so we'd be closer to stepping away from oil, and we'd have a lower unemployment rate, too. There are currently natural gas powered trucks and buses, and actual natural gas fueling stations...but we need more.

I believe there are two or three different ways to extract natural gas, but the fracking method is toxic and deadly. The natural gas we have been using for decades in our homes originated from another, older method, but I think someone with more knowledge could better explain it. NY is making the decision on the moratorium on fracking asap, if not this week, so that there can be a delay for additional debate. It's pretty serious.