Concern around coal seam gas (CSG) is moving beyond the well-documented fears over impact on groundwater, land use and disposing of excess salt and into a phase which is potentially even more worrying.
The very idea that CSG is a cleaner energy option than oil or coal is being called into question. It seems the promise of CSG going some way towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions is based upon speculation and subjective calculations.
Recent articles published by experts at America’s Cornell University and the US National Centre or Atmospheric Research suggest CSG and shale gas might have no positive impact on greenhouse emissions whatsoever. The impact could even be negative. Just imagine.
The truth be told, CSG is an unknown quantity in more ways than one. And what is known isn’t pretty.
In Australia, there’s been much to and fro with new reports commissioned by both industry and environmental lobby groups. Subsequent debate has centred around the idea that the reports’ findings weren’t being shared in full, and that some experts had claimed that (if best practice wasn’t achieved) CSG could prove to be significantly dirtier than the latest more efficient coal-fired power stations.
Andrew Horvath
The Big Picture
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