There is a big new report on shale gas from the No
Hot Air website. It is far too expensive for me, but here is a
summary of what it supposedly concludes:
The key issue going forward for natural gas
is not managing supply, but creating demand.
The US success in shale gas technology can be
replicated in multiple locations world-wide.
Environmental issues surrounding water use,
hydro-fracturing, well spacing and disruption to communities are
more often the product of fear and myth, not present and future
reality.
Natural gas can provide currently viable,
scalable, affordable and significant but partial decarbonization of
the electric generation sector.
We must be realistic: Other technologies aim
for a full decarbonization at some point several decades
away. Is it wise to bet on technology today for 2050?
The greater environmental risks are likely to
be those associated with not developing shale resources.
Similarly, the greater economic risks of
shale increasingly appear those associated with NOT developing
shale resources.
Shale gas has the potential to reduce energy
costs during a time when global stimulus is again becoming
necessary.
Lower energy costs reach consumers and
industry far quicker than tax or regulatory changes can.
Europe in general and the UK in particular
risk being marginalized as China and India embrace shale gas
potential as other nations deny it.
Green issues are more likely to be raised in
Europe not by environmentalists, but by those funded by the
nuclear, Coal Carbon Capture and Storage, gas storage and large
scale pipeline project industries.