A Free-Market Energy Blog

UT Study on Frac Water Contamination: "No Evidence" (Anti-drilling false alarm cut down to size)

By Steve Everley -- February 27, 2012

A recent study from the University of Texas at Austin’s Energy Institute found “no evidence” of groundwater contamination resulting from hydraulic fracturing. Concluded lead author Charles Groat: “We found no direct evidence that hydraulic fracturing itself – the practice of fracturing the rocks – had contaminated shallow groundwater.”

Here is the list of the UT Energy Institute’s overview of findings:

  • Researchers found no evidence of aquifer contamination from hydraulic fracturing chemicals in the subsurface by fracturing operations, and observed no leakage from hydraulic fracturing at depth.
  • Many reports of groundwater contamination occur in conventional oil and gas operations (e.g., failure of well-bore casing and cementing) and are not unique to hydraulic fracturing.
  • Methane found in water wells within some shale gas areas (e.g., Marcellus) can most likely be traced to natural sources, and likely was present before the onset of shale gas operations.
Continue Reading

Wind Spin: Misdirection and Fluff by a Taxpayer-enabled Industry

By -- February 24, 2012

[Note this post is the most popular article ever published on Master Resource. It has been now been significantly updated. Go here to see the current version.]

Trying to pin down the arguments of wind promoters is a bit like trying to grab a greased balloon. Just when you think you’ve got a handle on it, it morphs into a different shape and escapes your grasp. Let’s take a quick highlight review of how things have evolved with wind merchandising.

1 – Wind energy was abandoned well over a hundred years ago, as even in the late 1800s it was totally inconsistent with our burgeoning, more modern needs for power. When we throw the switch, we expect that the lights will go on – 100% of the time. It’s not possible for wind energy, by itself, to EVER do this, which is one of the main reasons it was relegated to the dust bin of antiquated technologies (along with such other inadequate energy sources as horse and oxen power).…

Continue Reading

Overcoming the Climate: The Case of Malaria

By Chip Knappenberger -- February 23, 2012

“Malaria already kills a million people a year and now, researchers fear, climate change could make the problem even worse.” –ABC News, April 1, 2011

“Based on the new numbers, malaria deaths have fallen by 32 percent since 2004, dropping from 1.8 million deaths worldwide to 1.2 million in 2010.” –ABC News, February 3, 2012

Malaria has been long postulated to benefit from rising global temperatures and is included near the top of most alarming lists of the bad things that will happen if greenhouse gas emissions limitations are not immediately put into place. And while this seems good in theory, real world data show little, if any, connection between climate change and malaria outbreaks. In fact, while the climate has been warming, malaria has been in decline—being beaten back by direct measures aimed at reducing the spread of the disease.…

Continue Reading

The Collapsing Case for 'Green' Energy (Berkeley's Borenstein on an intellectual wrong turn )

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 22, 2012
Continue Reading

More Bad Neo-Malthusian Behavior (Pacific Institute's Peter Gleick joins the Climategate Gang, Paul Ehrlich, John Holdren, etc.)

By Robert Bradley Jr. -- February 21, 2012
Continue Reading

Sen. Alexander: Statement on Production Tax Credit ($27 billion over 10 years is enough!)

By Thomas Marks -- February 20, 2012
Continue Reading

Petroleum Development in the Ecuadorian Amazon: Setting the Record Straight (Part III: Did International Oil Firms Despoil Eastern Ecuador's Environment?)

By Douglas Southgate -- February 17, 2012
Continue Reading

Petroleum Development in the Ecuadorian Amazon: Setting the Record Straight (Part II: Oil wealth & socioeconomic progress in Ecuador)

By Douglas Southgate -- February 16, 2012
Continue Reading

Petroleum Development in the Ecuadorian Amazon: Setting the Record Straight (Part I: Was Ecuador ever subservient to foreign oil firms?)

By Douglas Southgate -- February 15, 2012
Continue Reading

Regulatory Fatigue: A Small Business Perspective (Industrial heating industry needs affordable energy)

By Reed Miller -- February 14, 2012
Continue Reading