Heirs to Rockefeller oil fortune divest from fossil fuels over climate change

Heirs to Standard Oil fortune join campaign that will withdraw a total of $50bn from fossil fuels, including from tar sands funds

US will not commit to climate change aid for poor nations

theguardian.com, Suzanne Goldenberg in New York, Monday 22 September 2014

Peter O’Neill, head of the Rockefeller family and great-great-grandson of John D
Rockefeller, along with Neva Rockefeller Goodwin (second from the right_, 
great-granddaughter of John D. Rockefeller, and Stephen B Heintz, president of
the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. Photograph: Brendan McDermid/Reuters

The heirs to the fabled Rockefeller oil fortune withdrew their funds from fossil fuel investments on Monday, lending a symbolic boost to a $50bn divestment campaign ahead of a United Nations summit on climate change.

The former vice-president, Al Gore, will present the divestment commitments to world leaders, making the case that investments in oil and coal have an uncertain future.

With Monday’s announcement, more than 800 global investors – including foundations such as the Rockefeller Brothers, religious groups, healthcare organisations, cities and universities – have pledged to withdraw a total of $50bn from fossil fuel investments over the next five years.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund controls about $860m in assets, said Beth Dorsey, the chief executive of the Wallace Global Fund and the Divest-Invest movement, which has led the divestment campaign. About 7% are invested in fossil fuels.

But the Rockefellers’ decision to cut their ties with oil lends the divestment campaign huge symbolic importance because of their family history. The divestment move also helps bring a campaign launched by scrappy activists on college campuses into the financial mainstream.

But for oil, there may not have been a Rockefeller fortune. John and William Rockefeller were the co-founders of the Standard Oil Company, which at the time operated the world’s biggest refineries, and overtime spawned Exxon, Amoco and Chevron.

Now, after a year of deliberations, the descendants of those original Rockefellers had decided the time had come to move away from oil.

“John D Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil, moved America out of whale oil and into petroleum,” Stephen Heintz, president of the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, said in a statement. “We are quite convinced that if he were alive today, as an astute businessman looking out to the future, he would be moving out of fossil fuels and investing in clean, renewable energy.”

In addition to the Rockefellers, the World Council of Churches, which represents some 590 million people in 150 countries – also pulled its investments from fossil fuels on Monday. The move represented a turning point for a movement which began by demanding that universities purge their financial holdings of ties to the fossil fuel industry.

About 30 cities have also chosen to divest, including Santa Monica and Seattle.

“When you have the Rockefellers and the World Council of Churches and institutions with global reach coming together and divesting, then this movement which began just three short years ago has really reached a significant turning point,” Dorsey said.

In that time, supporters such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu have framed divestment from fossil fuels as a moral imperative – like the anti-apartheid movement of a generation ago.

“Climate change is the human rights challenge of our time. We can no longer continue feeding our addiction to fossil fuels as if there is no tomorrow, for there will be no tomorrow,” Tutu said in a video address.

The Rockefeller Brothers Fund over the years has been a big supporter of environmental causes, including to campaign groups opposed to fracking and the Keystone XL pipeline, which made for an awkward fit at times with its continued investment in oil and gas. The family plans to first divest from tar sands commitments.

A number of universities have also started to cut their ties with fossil fuel – with Stanford University dropping coal holdings from its $18bn endowment.

But divestment remains a hard sell. The University of California system said last week it would continue to hold on to fossil fuels. Harvard University has also resisted pressure from faculty and students to divest – although Yale has said it will look into whether renewable energy offers a better bet in the long run.

“In the last great divestment campaign, Harvard said no before it said yes. I think it’s just a matter of time,” Dorsey said. “Unlike with the anti-apartheid movement, this is not just an ethical issue. There is a powerful financial reason as well.”

One of the wealthiest men in the U.S., Warren Buffett said Monday
that he would double his renewable energy investments. Video
screenshot: Georgetown University/YouTube

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"Recalibration of Free Choice"–  Mar 3, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) - (Subjects: (Old) Souls, Midpoint on 21-12-2012, Shift of Human Consciousness, Black & White vs. Color, 1 - Spirituality (Religions) shifting, Loose a Pope “soon”, 2 - Humans will change react to drama, 3 - Civilizations/Population on Earth,  4 - Alternate energy sources (Geothermal, Tidal (Paddle wheels), Wind), 5 – Financials Institutes/concepts will change (Integrity – Ethical) , 6 - News/Media/TV to change, 7 – Big Pharmaceutical company will collapse “soon”, (Keep people sick), (Integrity – Ethical)  8 – Wars will be over on Earth, Global Unity, … etc.) - (Text version)

“…  4 - Energy (again)

The natural resources of the planet are finite and will not support the continuation of what you've been doing. We've been saying this for a decade. Watch for increased science and increased funding for alternate ways of creating electricity (finally). Watch for the very companies who have the most to lose being the ones who fund it. It is the beginning of a full realization that a change of thinking is at hand. You can take things from Gaia that are energy, instead of physical resources. We speak yet again about geothermal, about tidal, about wind. Again, we plead with you not to over-engineer this. For one of the things that Human Beings do in a technological age is to over-engineer simple things. Look at nuclear - the most over-engineered and expensive steam engine in existence!

Your current ideas of capturing energy from tidal and wave motion don't have to be technical marvels. Think paddle wheel on a pier with waves, which will create energy in both directions [waves coming and going] tied to a generator that can power dozens of neighborhoods, not full cities. Think simple and decentralize the idea of utilities. The same goes for wind and geothermal. Think of utilities for groups of homes in a cluster. You won't have a grid failure if there is no grid. This is the way of the future, and you'll be more inclined to have it sooner than later if you do this, and it won't cost as much.

Water

We've told you that one of the greatest natural resources of the planet, which is going to shift and change and be mysterious to you, is fresh water. It's going to be the next gold, dear ones. So, we have also given you some hints and examples and again we plead: Even before the potentials of running out of it, learn how to desalinate water in real time without heat. It's there, it's doable, and some already have it in the lab. This will create inexpensive fresh water for the planet. 

There is a change of attitude that is starting to occur. Slowly you're starting to see it and the only thing getting in the way of it are those companies with the big money who currently have the old system. That's starting to change as well. For the big money always wants to invest in what it knows is coming next, but it wants to create what is coming next within the framework of what it has "on the shelf." What is on the shelf is oil, coal, dams, and non-renewable resource usage. It hasn't changed much in the last 100 years, has it? Now you will see a change of free choice. You're going to see decisions made in the boardrooms that would have curled the toes of those two generations ago. Now "the worst thing they could do" might become "the best thing they could do." That, dear ones, is a change of free choice concept. When the thinkers of tomorrow see options that were never options before, that is a shift. That was number four. ….”

Civil engineers Haskoning pull out of Israel water treatment project

DutchNews.nl, Friday 06 September 2013

Dutch civil engineering group HaskoningDHV has pulled out of a project to develop a waste water treatment plant in Jerusalem after the foreign ministry said it could conflict with international law.

In a statement the company said 'in the course of the project, and after due consultation with various stakeholders, the company came to understand that future involvement in the project could be in violation of international law.'

The waste water project included the construction of a sewage treatment plant in occupied East Jerusalem.

The government's advice was greeted by anger in Israel, because the treatment plant would benefit Silwan, a large Palestinian neighbourhood in Jerusalem, as well as the Jewish settlement, Dutch media reported.

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Labour MPs will not back shale gas extraction following congress vote

DutchNews.nl, Thursday 02 May 2013 

Hydraulic fracturing project

The 38 Labour MPs will vote against sanctioning drilling for shale gas in the Netherlands, party leader Diederik Samsom said on Wednesday evening at a May Day meeting.

Members will given second chance to change their position if it emerges shale gas can be extracted cleanly and safely, without risk to water supplies, Samsom said.

Labour party members voted against shale gas extraction at their conference in Leeuwarden last weekend. MPs had earlier indicated they will vote in favour.

The PvdA’s coalition partner – the right wing VVD – supports the idea, saying it could be a solution to energy shortages.

Three locations

According to Nos television, a British company has plans to carry out test exploration in three locations in the Netherlands: in the Noordoostpolder, near Boxtel and near Haaren.

The economic affairs ministry is currently carrying out research into the effect of shale gas extraction which will be published in July. Only then will ministers decide what the cabinet should do about the issue.

Shale gas is ordinary natural gas that has been trapped in dense shale beds. It is extracted using a controversial process known as fracking, which involves drilling a hole deep into the shale and pumping in water mixed with sand and chemicals.

A number of local councils, water boards and even brewing groups like Heineken have come out against the production of shale gas because of the risk of pollution.

Earlier stories

• Ruling parties support shale gas extraction, if done cleanly
• Shale gas production marginal, says minister as opposition mounts
• Opponents are winning the shale gas war

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Opponents are winning the Dutch shale gas war

Report: Radioactive fracking waste being dumped into waterways that feed drinking water supplies

'Groundwater used faster than it can replenish'

Deutsche Welle, 14 Aug 2012

A new study has revealed that almost a quarter of the world's population lives in places where groundwater is being used up far too quickly. DW spoke to Dr. Marc Bierkens, a professor of hydrology at Utrecht University.

DW: Professor Bierkins, could you tell us what groundwater is and why we should be concerned about it.

Marc Bierkens: Groundwater is the water that is stored in the pores and fissures of the geological formations below the ground. If you dig a hole in the western part of the Netherlands, within one meter you will find that the hole will fill with water - that's groundwater.

Has it recently arrived or is it water that has been there for a long time?

That differs, depending on where you are. If you are tapping shallow groundwater in my country, the Netherlands, it might be a few months to a few years old. But if you go to the Sahara, they have actually found water there that has been dated up to a million years old. So, it is quite variable, but on average it's a little older than the water you find in the rivers. It's preferred for drinking water because it's usually much safer and much cleaner than surface water, and less bound to be polluted.

Irrigating crops with groundwater has improved production on Indian farms,
but the region's water tables are declining

Why is it cleaner than the other water available?

A lot of that water has travelled through the soil… there is air, sand grains and fissures. The water slowly percolates through that, sort like a sponge. And it is being filtered before it reaches the actual groundwater body.

Looking at your findings, can you tell us what you've discovered?

We looked at groundwater-carrying layers all over the world, these are called aquifers. For each aquifer, we checked how much rainwater percolates down to the groundwater per year. We also worked out how much water was extracted from the ground. If there is more water extracted than replaced, you are depleting those resources. It's like taking more money out of your bank account than you earn. 

Groundwater is being tapped in
areas with low rainfall

Your study shows that some regions are headed for real trouble if action isn't taken right away. Can you give me an example of a place where the problem is particularly bad?

The area that really stands out is north-western India and north-eastern Pakistan. Other areas are north-eastern China, the central United States, the central valley of California, places in Mexico and Saudi Arabia and Iran. Those are the hotspots of the world.

Can you tell us more about the situation in India?

In India, the western part is quite dry during the growing season. Now I have to explain, this area is tropical. There used to be just one growing season there in the past, only during the rainy season. But they figured out how to irrigate there so they are taking water from surface water, but also from groundwater and use it to irrigate crops.

Farmers in the US are redirecting surface water into the aquifers to prevent
catastrophic shortages

This means they can have two, sometimes three harvests per year. They can do that by continually irrigating those crops - including during dry periods. So you see an extension of irrigated areas and that's all driven by population growth.

Population numbers have soared in those areas. There's not enough surface water - not enough water in rivers and lakes - to supply them. So they have been taking it out of the groundwater. With this, they slowly entered a situation of overuse. There are areas there where the groundwater tables are dropping more than a meter a year.

Looking at the situation here in Europe, what were your findings in this part of the world?

Here the situation is quite different. If you talk about Germany and the Netherlands, this is an area where, on average, there is much more precipitation than evaporation. So, we have high rates of groundwater recharge. On average, we have sufficient groundwater to feed our needs. We also don't need to irrigate our crops so much because we have enough rainfall.

But there are other parts of Europe, not as severe as India, but look at south-eastern Spain, where there is not much rainfall. It's quite dry. They have been using groundwater as well, to irrigate crops. That has also led to groundwater depletion. Other areas include the lower parts of the Danube, Romania and Bulgaria. There you have irrigated crops that use groundwater. And, at least in the summer, much more groundwater is pumped up there than recharges during that period. So, there you also have some problems with groundwater depletion.

New legislation in Spain protects the groundwater from exploitation

What about places where they were using their groundwater in ways that were not sustainable, but are now meeting demand without overusing available resources?

In the southeast of Spain, legislation has come into place to limit the extraction rights of farmers, which means they have to start growing crops that are much less dependent on water. In the central United States, in the high plains or the Ogallala aquifer, they've been working on recharge projects. They have been redirecting surface water into those aquifers, thereby increasing groundwater recharge. That has reversed the decline of water tables, at least in the northern part of that aquifer.

Dr. Marc Bierkens is a professor of hydrology at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. He is a co-author on the report 'Water balance of global aquifers revealed by groundwater footprint' along with with Tom Gleeson of McGill University in Montreal.

Interview: Saroja Coelho

Editor: Mark Hallam

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Dutch firms want Iraq water projects

RNW, 17 September 2011, by Gerhard Verduijn    

  

 (Photo: NCH)

Doing business in Iraq? The time seems ripe now that normality is returning to more and more places there. A Dutch trade mission left on Saturday to promote one of Holland’s best-known export products: water management.

“Iraq may not be the first country an entrepreneur would think of doing business with,” says Dutch Finance Minister Maxime Verhagen. “The country does, however, have the potential to become a big economic player in the Middle East. And for Dutch companies there are opportunities in many fields and areas. Water is just one of them.”

Test case

The Dutch trade mission will no doubt serve as a test case for Mr Verhagen’s statement. More importantly, it will be able to gauge Iraq’s current investment climate. Experts think Iraq offers many opportunities in the field of water management. There is a big demand for the construction of new dams and dykes, the construction and maintenance of irrigation channels, water purification and other forms of water management.

The mission is being led by the new Dutch ambassador to Iraq, Jeroen Roodenburg, and includes representatives of seven Dutch companies that specialise in water management.

Exploring the market

After landing in Baghdad, the delegation will spend three days in Basra, in the south of the country. Some delegates will stay on to explore the market on their own and establish contacts with the central government regarding future projects.

Sander Pielkenrood, the head of family firm that specialises in water treatment, says the trade mission comes at a good time.

“Due to the international crisis the markets in Western Europe and the United States are under a lot of pressure. So it is a good idea to explore the possibilities in new, emerging markets such as Iraq. In addition, competition in Iraqi market is fairly limited still, which makes it easier to secure contracts.”

Investment climate

Another company that is part of the mission is Libitco, which makes water treatment plants and synthetic pipes for oil, gas and water transportation. The head of the company, Guus van Bilsen, sees plenty of opportunities for Dutch companies in Iraq, which he says is keen to take steps to take charge of its own development.

“Iraq is a country with an enormous investment climate, both in the oil and gas industry as in everything related to drinking water and water purification. Plus there are lots of opportunities in farming. Currently the country has to import a great deal of food, especially from Turkey and Syria, and now Iraq is eager to produce its own food.”

Not a school trip

The situation in Iraq may be more stable but the mission is not a school trip either. There is still a lot of violence, and though it’s not aimed at foreigners, the Dutch government discourages all non-essential travel to Iraq. The mission’s delegates are all travelling at their own peril without any special security measures.

“We are not being escorted by cars with men carrying heavy machine guns. It’s a low-profile mission. We are not driving through the town with flashing lights. We’ll be picked up at the airport and spend the rest of the day visiting several official bodies.”

Networking

There are no expectations among the mission of actually signing any contracts. Sander Pielkenrood says the mission will have succeeded if it allows him just to chart the Iraqi market. The mission’s main aim is to gather information and make contacts.

He more than anyone knows how long it takes before a contract is signed because his company is already involved in a project in Iraq. “In our line of work between the offer and the actual contract often a year goes by, and sometimes it takes two years or even longer. They are all unique projects, tailored to the client’s needs. So striking a deal overnight—no that’s very likely.”

Harvesting Libya's hidden water with Holland's help

RNW, 1 September 2011, by Jannie Schipper   

(Photo: Galenfrysinger.com)

It is both scarce and precious and the whole world wants it. Libya has large supplies of it underground. But it's not what you're thinking… we are talking about water! The Netherlands shouldn't just look to the oil industry for entrepreneurial opportunities in Libya.

World leaders are in Paris today to discuss the future of Libya. Delegates will not just talk about security and freedom for Libyans, they will also be looking at the economic opportunities for their own countries in a 'new Libya'.

Risky business

Dutch companies like Shell, Damen Shipyards, construction company BAM (Tebodin), engineering company Arcadis and pipe supplier Libitco have already indicated that it is too early to think about returning to Libya. UN sanctions are still in place and there’s no stable government. For the time being, business in the north African country will remain classified as 'highest risk' as in a recent report by analyst Dun & Bradstreet.

Dutch companies from various sectors operated on a modest scale in 'old Libya'. But long term prospects are good for the Dutch, says export authority Bart Jan Koopman:

“If the country becomes more stable and installs a government quickly, it’s potentially an extremely rich country. This is mainly due to the oil and gas industry of course. That is potentially so big, that if this wealth is used for the reconstruction of the country, there are plenty of opportunities for Dutch companies.”

Great Man Made River

Mr Koopman thinks there are other areas in which Dutch entrepreneurs can play a role besides in the oil and gas industry. Take agrifood and infrastructure for instance. 

Grand Omar Mukhtar reservoir, Libya
Photo: Galenfrysinger.com

And there is water, of course. Right now, Unicef and the World Food Programme are supplying the stricken population with water, but there is a huge reservoir under the surface of Libya’s desert. The 40,000-year-old Nubian Sandstone Reservoir contains an estimated 150,000 square kilometres of water. The basin lies under Libya, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia.

Gaddafi started a huge project back in the 1980s to access this fossil water: the Great Man-Made River. He called in experts from abroad to help. Many of the Libyans who have worked on the project were trained at Delft’s Technical University and at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education - which was partly set up by the Netherlands. Although the Great Man-Made River project has not been completed, it has supplied coastal cities in recent years.

Uprising

Libya is a pioneer when it comes to international cooperation in water, says Neno Kukurich, director general of the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC), an institute in Delft which maps underground water reservoirs.

“Libya has played a key role in regional cooperation in the water sector. It began with a workshop in Tripoli followed by a conference in 2008. Just before the uprising began, the Libyan ministry for water set up a regional centre for shared ground water. So Libya was working well with other countries.”

The Gaddafi regime was making plans for a waste water system and new harbours. “As groundwater would have run out at some point, an alternative had to be found as a long term solution, such as desalination or reuse of waste water,” says Professor András Szöllösi-Nagy of UNESCO’s water institute.

As a result of the war, in which a factory producing huge pipelines for the Great Man-Made River project was blown up in a NATO bombardment, supplying water has been difficult. There are opportunities for Dutch companies to restart the project. And there are other opportunities elsewhere in the country, says Professor Szöllösi-Nagy:

“The knowledge the Dutch have in the area of water technology is unique in the world. I’m sure Dutch companies will be involved at various stages. But it is up to the international community, in particular the UN, to decide what needs to be done when the fighting is over.”

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"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.) - New !

Dutchman in Kenya: drilling against drought

RNW, 6 August 2011, by Rob van Dijk

 (Foto: Robin Hutton)

             

To combat Kenya’s drought and famine, a Dutch resident wants to drill new wells, down to 100 metres, four to ten times deeper than most existing ones. “Most shallow wells have dried up. We could start drilling in two or three months.”

Wim van den Burg lives in southeast Kenya, close to the Somali border. In October and November, the “little rainy season”, there was no rain at all, the Dutchman recounts. “If we didn’t get any rain in the ‘big rainy season’ in November, I realised, we’d be in big trouble. And we are.”

No drinking water

There were a few showers in July. By then most of the corn had been scorched. A few stalks yielded shrivelled oars, far too little to feed all the hungry mouths. Worse still, many wells dried up, leaving people with nothing to drink.

Things are bound to get worse, Van den Burg fears, not just in Kenya, but across East Africa. “The next rainy season, the little one, doesn’t begin until October. Even if we get rain then, people won’t be able to harvest their crops until two or three months later.”

Deep down

Van den Burg has been working in Kenya since 1989. “We’ve dug 50 or 60 wells, each 10 to 25 metres deep. Most of them are still working. But in the remote areas the wells are dry.”

To find water, you need to drill further down, he explains. But to get to some 100 metres down you need a special drill, which costs around 60,000 euros. “Such drills also allow you to test the quality of the water, so you know if it’s worth building a well.”

Last weekend he began a drive to raise the money. Once he gets the drill, thousands of starving, thirsty people will again be able to drink and feed themselves.

More information at www.wimvandenburg.nl

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"Update on Current Events" – Jul 23, 2011 (Kryon channelled by Lee Carroll) - (Subjects: God, Gaia, Shift of Human Consciousness, 2012, Benevolent Design, Financial Institutes (Recession, System to Change ...), Water Cycle (Heat up, Mini Ice Ace, Oceans, Fish, Earthquakes ..), Nuclear Power Revealed, Geothermal Power, Hydro Power, Drinking Water from Seawater, No need for Oil as Much, Middle East in Peace, Persia/Iran Uprising, Muhammad, Israel, DNA, Two Dictators to fall soon, Africa, China, (Old) Souls, Species to go, Whales to Humans, Global Unity,..... etc.) - New ! 

India to draw on Dutch water know-how

RNW, 8 June 2011

The Netherlands is to cooperate with the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a subsidiary of the World Bank, on improving the efficiency of agricultural and industrial water use in India, the IFC announced.

The IFC’s partnership with the Dutch Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Innovation ministry is aimed at promoting private investment.

India is heading for a water crisis, says the IFC. More than 80 percent of all water is used in agriculture, and in large areas of the country there is a shortage of drinking water.

“Water is a complex and challenging development priority for India,” says the IFC’s Anil Sinha. “By reducing water waste and improving quality and access, the project will benefit industry, farmers, and households.”

Dutch water management expertise can make an important contribution to solving India’s problems, the IFC says. Water is one of five priority themes in Dutch development cooperation policy.

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Methane on Tap: Study Links Pollution to Gas Drilling

National Geographic, Rachel Kaufman, For National Geographic News, May 9, 2011

Jessica Ernst, whose village in Alberta, Canada, is surrounded
by natural gas wells, told a Calgary publication in 2008 that due
to methane contamination, she could set her tap water on fire.
Below, an apparatus the Duke University researchers used to test
methane levels. (Photograph by Wil Andruschak.)

This story is part of a special series that explores energy issues. For more, visit The Great Energy Challenge.

Photograph courtesy
Robert Jackson

A team of researchers has produced the first systematic evidence that methane has escaped into drinking water in areas where shale gas drilling is under way, finding explosive concentrations at distances far greater than were previously thought possible.

The Duke University scientists sampled 60 private water wells from homes across northeastern Pennsylvania, where rich underground deposits of natural gas are being extracted from shale rock through a process called hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking."

(Interactive: "Breaking Fuel From Rock")

In a paper published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, the team reported that in active gas drilling areas, the concentration of methane increased with proximity to wells.

And as far away as 3,200 feet (1 kilometer) of an active drilling site, they found water that contained enough methane that it could, in some cases, be lit on fire.

The methane concentrations found in well water near active drilling sites were, on average, 17 times higher than the levels found in wells farther away.

The study's findings indicate cause for concern within a much larger radius than previously imagined around drill sites. Pennsylvania state regulations, for example, presume the driller is at fault if contaminated water is found within 1,000 feet (305 meters) of a well within six months after that well's completion. But the new research uncovered methane in wells at three times that distance.

(Related: "Natural Gas Stirs Hope and Fear in Pennsylvania")

"Greater stewardship, knowledge, and—possibly—regulation are needed to ensure the sustainable future of shale-gas extraction," the authors concluded.

Controversial Energy Boom

The study adds to the controversy that has swirled around "fracking," a process where water is pumped into rock deep underground until the pressure causes the rocks to crack, releasing the natural gas.

(Related: "Forcing Gas Out of Rock With Water")

The technology's success over the past six years has opened up vast new stores of natural gas in the United States and Canada. Shale gas is on track to reach 45 percent of U.S. gas production by 2035, and a U.S. government assessment showed similar shale resources are available in 32 countries around the world.

But the boom has been sullied by environmental controversy, including complaints by residents that methane, the major constituent of natural gas, had polluted their drinking water. In some instances, homeowners literally were able to set the water from the tap on fire—as memorably captured in the Oscar-nominated documentary film Gasland.

(Related: "A Dream Dashed by the Rush on Gas")

In some of these cases gas companies have argued, and state investigators have agreed, that the gas was naturally occurring and had been in the water all along. In other cases, such as Dimock, Pennsylvania and Pavilon, Wyoming, investigators have indeed traced the gas contamination to the drilling activity. The differing findings have caused confusion and acrimony in communities where drilling is under way.

In the Duke study, the researchers found methane in the majority of water wells they sampled, regardless of proximity to drilling operations. But concentrations were substantially higher close to the wells.

Some in the natural gas industry have agreed that greater attention should be paid to the issue. "Gas migration has been an issue that the industry has had to deal with for quite some time," says Mark Boling, executive vice president of Houston-based Southwestern Energy. He attributes the problem to poorly constructed wells.

Rob Jackson, an environmental scientist at Duke University, says he and his fellow researchers agree that this is one likely pathway. A hole can develop in a well's casing or "cement channeling" can occur when gas creates pathways through still-hardening cement that methane can later tunnel through. These well casing flaws can allow gas to travel from deep underground and escape into shallow aquifers that are tapped for drinking water.

"If it is in fact coming from casings, then either stronger procedures or more careful applications of procedures the gas companies already have may be all it takes to fix this problem," Jackson said.

Another Gas Pathway

A second possibility, that the fracking process itself enlarges or generates cracks above the gas reservoir, which then allows the methane to escape upward through the rock layers, was called "less likely but possible" by the researchers.

Boling, the energy executive, said that was unlikely. "The cracks are so small you have to prop them up with grains of sand," he said. "The amount of energy released when a fracture is created is the same as if you took a gallon of milk from chest height and dropped it on the floor. So to propagate a fracture from that deep" is unlikely, he said.

However, no state requires gas companies to perform a stratigraphic analysis: a study of the quality of the rock between the gas deposits and groundwater. Boling says that's essential, because a network of pre-existing faults and abandoned wells could, in theory, allow gas to leak upward. The state regulators, according to Boling, should in effect tell the gas drillers: "Ok, we know where the water is and we know you're going to fracture at 4,000 feet. I want you to tell me what's between those."

Southwest Energy and the Environmental Defense Fund have been working with 14 other energy companies and a number of environmental groups to create draft regulations that would require stronger well construction standards and stratigraphic analysis.

(Related: "New Brunswick Seeks Natural Gas, and a Safer Way")

The model rules could come under consideration as states where shale drilling is under way have been reviewing their oversight of the industry. Meanwhile, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency continues to study the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on drinking water and ground water, with an eye to whether federal regulation is needed.

One bit of good news for the natural gas industry in the Duke study: The researchers found no evidence of contamination from hydraulic fracturing fluids or the salty brine produced after drilling in any of the wells.

As for the methane, it is not a contaminant that is regulated in drinking water because it does not alter color, taste, or odor of water and is not known to affect water's potability. It does pose an asphyxiation and explosion hazard in confined spaces. In Pennsylvania between 1992 and 2008, there were at least nine documented cases involving gas migrations at operating wells, seven involving explosions, according to a compilation of incidents by the environmental group, Riverkeeper. But there are no studies showing the effects of long-term, low-level methane exposure to humans, something that surprised Jackson, he said. "We don't know what, if any, health consequences there are," he said.

What didn't surprise him was that the methane was there at all. "I don't think it's a total shock," Jackson said.

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Dutch hothouses could help solve world food crisis

RNW, 2 May 2011, by Johan Huizinga

(Photo: RNW)

Dutch hothouses used to have a reputation for wasting energy. But nowadays it’s the most innovative sector in the Netherlands, producing food extremely efficiently using sustainable energy. Even the Chinese are interested.

China, like the Netherlands, does not have enough agricultural land to feed its own population. Dutch intensive greenhouse systems could help increase food production in China.

Professor of greenhouse farming at the Agricultural University of Wageningen Olaf van Kooten explains:

“Cultivation under glass is extremely efficient in its use of water and energy. In the future, we will have to feed around 15 billion people across the world, and this could be a key to the solution.”

Water

Excess warm water is stored
underground (Photo: RNW)

Stef Huisman grows tropical plants and trees for offices. He uses a closed water system. His nursery has trees standing in two to three centimetres of water. Every week, the water is filtered for sand and ultra violet rays and reused.

“That is all the water we need. The rain that falls on the roof is enough to water the plants. We don’t use any ground water.”

Professor Van Kooten thinks this technique could be an important export product.

“If we continue like this, the only water we use will literally be the water in the product. To produce a kilo of tomatoes, you will only need a litre of water.”

Ground heat

Water is pumped from a depth of
three kilometers (Photo: RNW)

The use of the ground heat to heat the greenhouses is just as important. Ted Duijvestijn has drilled a 3-kilometre-deep shaft to heat his tomato greenhouses in Pijnacker. The system pumps salt water which is 75 degrees Celsius upwards to the greenhouses. Once the water cools it is pumped back into the ground, where it reheats again.

The system, which was installed in March, is already making 60 percent savings. Once the electric pumps are powered by his own windmills, the greenhouses will more or less only run on sustainable energy. There will even be excess energy and warm water produced so that greenhouse owners will also become energy suppliers.

LED lighting

Rob Baan uses four colours in
LED-lighting (Photo: RNW)

And then there are the lights which are used to help plants grow. Vegetable grower Rob Baan has replaced his with low-energy LED lights which give exactly the right colour. Next to the greenhouse is a windmill to provide the energy for the LED lights.

In the summer the greenhouses are heated by the sun, producing temperatures above 50 degrees. Excess warmth is used to heat water, which is stored underground for the winter.

No pesticides

Wouldn’t it be easier to cultivate food in regions where no greenhouses are needed. Mr Baan very firmly says “No.”

“There are no insects here. Our greenhouses are either free of insects or we have predators in the greenhouses which eat them. We do not spay pesticides on the plants. Our production methods are becoming more and more sustainable. In the future, these kind of farms will be built close to cities, so that food can be produced locally.”

Meanwhile he has started up his own businesses in the United States and Japan.

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