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Coal's Great 2012 Means It Could Displace Oil to Become the World's Number 1 Source of Energy

Oil remains the world's leading source of energy, providing 33.1% in 2012, but its share has fallen to its lowest level since at least 1965 and now could be displaced as the world's top energy source by coal.

http://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/about-bp/statistical-review-of-world-energy-2013.html.

As oil loses market share, coal gains market share and provided 29.9% of the world's global energy in 2012, its highest market share since 1970. The two most carbon intensive fuels--oil and coal--are the world's biggest sources of energy and together supply 63% of the globe's energy. One need look no further than those facts to understand why the world continues to increase the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and why many are pessimistic about the world's ability to avoid enormous warming in the next 80 years.

Other than coal and oil, what does the world use for the rest of its energy? Natural gas provides 23.9%; hydro power 6.7%; nuclear power 4.5; and non-hydro renewable energy 2.4%.  Those fuels are zero carbon or lower carbon than coal or oil.

But in 2012, the world used more coal and oil than ever before, and coal moved toward displacing oil as the world's leading fuel.

New Duke University Study Finds Evidence That Gas Drilling In PA Has Caused Methane Pollution of Water Wells

Professor Rob Jackson and his colleague have published a new study looking carefully at methane levels and characteristics in 141 water wells in 6 counties in Northeast Pennsylvania.  The study is published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.  Importantly, the study was funded by Duke University and two donors to Duke University, but neither by industry nor foundations funding its opponents.  Since Duke University has funded this research done by its professors, it’s appropriate to say this is a "Duke" study.

The study finds significant evidence that mistakes in gas drilling--either in casing or cementing--have caused stray thermo genic methane gas to contaminate some water wells.  In this respect, this study's results are consistent with the findings in 2010 of the Pennsylvania Department of Environment Protection that gas drilling mistakes had caused methane to contaminate 18 water wells in Dimock, Pennsylvania.

Much of the evidence for Jackson's conclusion that stray gas from mistakes in gas drilling have caused pollution of water wells stems from analysis of the methane found in water wells and high concentrations of ethane and propane, both of which are not associated with microbes or biogenic natural gas.  Jackson also finds a statistically significant correlation between the distance of a water well from gas drilling and concentrations of methane in the 141 water wells. 

Here is the Associated Press report on the Duke University study that also mentions a USGS study that found many water wells in areas where no gas drilling takes place have methane of various levels in them.

http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/natural-gas-drilling-studies-find-methane-in-pennsylvania-drinking-water-1.408356.

Professor Jackson also states in the AP story that Duke University continues to find no evidence of fracking fluids in water wells.  That too has been the finding of testing done by the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in 2010 and the Environmental Protection Agency in 2012.

So what to make of the Duke University and USGS studies?

First, gas drilling mistakes in cementing or casing can and have caused stray methane to migrate and contaminate some water wells. I have been saying that now repeatedly for four years! Denying this problem attacks the truth and is a disservice especially to those whose water has indeed been contaminated with methane.

Second, many water wells do have methane in them as a result of its natural presence in varying levels in some waters.  In fact, naturally occurring methane in water is relatively common in some areas, but that does not mean that mistakes in gas drilling cannot cause methane to pollute water wells. Such drilling mistakes can and do.

Third, fracking fluids are not returning from depth and contaminating water wells.

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Note: The above information has been posted to share in my educational community to enrich them with various  news feeds happening around the globe with reference to some universal oil and gas news feed web links. My in tension is not to capture contents of others illegally but to promote my blog and to share knowledge where they are unable to surf those web links which i followed.