The whole natural gas question in this country is a complicated one. On one hand, we have oodles of the stuff, it’s relatively low carbon, and it would seem to be a sensible pillar of our country’s energy future. On the other hand, extracting it from Mother Earth does nasty stuff to the water supply. How nasty? Check out this video shot in Fort Lupton, Colorado, a little town just north of Denver’s northernmost suburban sprawl.
Until a year ago, these Fort Lupton residents had run-of-the-mill, non-flammable water. But there’s some aggressive oil and gas production in the area, and now local faucets are liable to create a massive fireball if you hold a lit match near them. It’s hardly an isolated incident either, as communities across the west from Texas to Montana are already being affected in disturbing ways. So apparently will be communities in the eastern US sitting atop the massive Marcellus Shale formation which stretches from upstate New York down to West Virginia and which gas companies are just in the early stages of exploiting.
So it seems to shape up as a case of lower carbon emissions and potential energy independence vs. kitchen faucets across the country becoming flamethrowers. Um… whadda we do, boss?
The clip comes from an in-progress documentary called Water Under Attack — click through the jump to see a 16 minute video about Fort Lupton.
