Samantha Saville
The Paw Print
Everyone should know about the cost of alternative energies before they become too widely used. It is safe to say that almost any alternative energy (natural gas, nuclear power, wind and solar) is better than petroleum-based products for the general environment, but at what cost? Is “renewable” energy really renewable?
Oil-based products are known to give off dangerous amounts of carbon dioxide. This is what we, as humans, exhale but it is also a major player in the green house game.
Even if you do not believe in the green house effect, humans are increasing the carbon dioxide amounts in the atmosphere at an exponentially dangerous rate.
Most scientists do, however, believe in the green house effect even though most of the public does not.
Nuclear energy is relatively safe. Accidents do happen, however; the most recent is the Japan accident, and when they do occur, they are devastating. All nuclear accidents in history are human errors, but when the power plant is running smoothly and built correctly, they are one of the safest forms of alternative energy.
Solar energy is used a lot in the Valley and can greatly cut down on individual’s energy bills. The biggest problem with this energy source is it uses toxic metals that cannot be recycled even though this is a “renewable” resource.
These toxic materials, once they have been used up after twenty or so years, are thrown in a landfill where they can make everything else around them toxic forever.
Natural gas is widely used in the United States, mainly for public transportation. It seems to be the perfect alternative energy source until you look at how it is extracted from the earth. Deep wells are drilled using millions of gallons of water and chemicals.
The pressure that these fluids exert on the well cause huge cracks, or fractures, to develop releasing the natural gas. This process is going to be done in the Valley by Del Norte. This process can cause several dangerous conditions in the environment.
Several acres of lands need to be cleared, and in the case of the site be Del Norte this could be historical land. Also the fractures that take place underground have been known to cause earthquakes and severe water contamination.
This water contamination is a big deal in several areas of Colorado like Garfield County. The residents of Garfield County are running into legal problems along with no drinkable water. Nothing can be legally proven because proper base testing was not done.
However, after the natural gas drilling was done, the water contained organic compounds (like benzene that causes cancer) and methane (natural gas). The contaminants got so bad that people could light their water on fire. This is not the only case of contamination as this is happening all over the country.
If this drilling process happens in the Valley, it will not be in the aquifer directly. It will, however, be uphill form the aquifer so contamination is very possible. This will be detrimental to the Valley’s survival.
Everything, even “safer” energy, has its downfall. The next step we need to make is to decide if this is worthwhile or if there is an even better alternative out there.
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