In the confrontation between Trump and Harris ahead of today's elections, the issue of using hydraulic fracturing to extract oil or gas from oil shale came up. Supporting this industry means a threat to the environment. opinion
Dr. Yossi Borochov, Angle - Science and Environment News Agency
in the presidential conflict which took place on September 10 in the United States between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump stated that he would continue to encourage shale gas production in Pennsylvania in particular, and in the United States in general, as part of his energy policy. Harris also emphasized that she does not intend to ban use in hydraulic fracturing (fracking, fracking) to extract oil from oil shale. These statements entail many threats to the environment and global ecology since the United States is the country that owns it The largest cumulative hydrocarbon footprint on earth
The economic and political changes in the world led to the increase in oil prices up to a peak of about 140 dollars per barrel in 2008, which caused the largest oil consumer in the world, the United States, to change direction and turn for oil production from oil shale which until then was considered relatively expensive. Through advanced technologies, the oil shale industry has managed to reach a cost of About 35 dollars per barrel of oil, something that created viability for production in an environment of high oil prices. In doing so, the United States was able to stabilize its energy balance, and reduce its dependence on fuel imports from OPEC countries. This energy independence made it possible to maintain crude oil prices of about $80 per barrel of oil, and also created additional jobs, as a side effect positive of the expansion of the oil shale production sector.
In the medium and long term, the use of oil shale distances humanity from the use of alternative and renewable energies. Photo: Brad Weaver, Unsplash
replace one pollutant with another pollutant
Oil shales They are actually rocks that contain a high concentration of organic matter, such as oil, and therefore energy can be extracted from them. Shale gas production technology has been perfected in the last decade, and is considered to be only slightly less polluting than producing fuel from coal, but more polluting than renewable energies (editor's note: producing oil and gas by hydraulic fracturing is worse than using coal in some environmental parameters, such as huge emissions of Methane). The process of producing gas from oil shale requires the use of many water sources and heat, which damage aquifers and pollute them and the land for years. The process of refining the oil from the shale a pollutant Not only the soil and water reservoirs, but also the air from emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. technologies Advances are trying to address these risk factors, mainly such as carbon burial, and in-situ mining technology, but they are not yet applicable in the field. So we actually replaced a polluting resource such as coal, with another resource that has quite a few negative external effects. on top of that, Studies They showed that these rocks act as a kind of "sponge" in case of seismic changes, and can reduce damage from earthquakes.
Also in Israel there was an attempt in 2010 to allow the production of gas or oil Oil separators. This attempt was stopped in light of the opposition of green organizations, which put pressure on the Ministry of Energy to cancel this procedure. a few months ago Has announced Rotem Energy Minerals (RAM) which received permission from the Israel Lands Authority to build a plant to produce oil from oil shale and plastic waste in the Rotem plain. This proves that the regulator's and policy makers' thinking is still short-term (fossil fuel), at the expense of the long-term (renewable energies).
In the medium and long term, the use of oil shale distances humanity from the use of alternative and renewable energies, by reducing the initiatives and incentives for clean energies. Thus, in fact, the chance of reducing emissions of carbon dioxide and other pollutants that are created as by-products in gas production, decreases. On top of that, in terms of jobs, this industry results in the relegation of entire populations to "blue collar" professions, which makes mobility or social mobility difficult. Finally, this technology requires the use of many land resources in a substantial and acute manner. The chance of renewal The biological diversity and ecological restoration in these areas for the use of humans, animals, and plants tends to zero.
Dr. Yossi Borochov is an economist and natural resource management researcher at the School of Environmental Sciences, Haifa University, and served as director of the Oil and Gas Administration, Ministry of Energy.
