Energy

Wind Turbines or Giant Bird Blenders?

Evan 63 Comments

Christian Boudria Animal Science, Jonathan Ennis Building Construction, Amanda Golen Environmental Science

 

With wind power becoming a leading source of energy production worldwide, this billion-dollar industry is expected to grow exponentially as countries progress more towards clean energy in the future. The United States Energy Department (2013) states “wind energy became the number one source of new U.S. electricity generation capacity for the first time – representing 43 percent of all new electric additions and accounting for $25 billion in U.S investment”(para. 1). This investment is expected to pay off by providing millions of Americans with clean energy, but at what cost? How clean of an energy source could it be? Continue Reading →

Hydraulic Fracturing and Groundwater

Evan 32 Comments

Michael Deane — BCT

Isabella Maloney — NRC

Chris Therrien — BCT

In most modern households, clean tap water is considered a commodity: a common good that requires very little thought other than remembering to the pay the bill at the end of each month. People often take things like this for granted, but for Jessica Ernst, clean tap water is more than just a passing thought. Jessica hails from a small Canadian town in Alberta that rests above both a shale rock depository, and the freshwater aquifer that provides the majority of water for her home. After working as a consultant in the oil and natural gas industry for close to 25 years, she was not particularly concerned when an international gas company, Encana, decided to harvest the natural gases trapped within the underlying shale, a sedimentary rock with large amounts of fossil fuel gases. They achieved this with a method known as hydraulic fracturing, which involves drilling into subterranean shale pumping in thousands of gallons of chemically infused hydraulic fracturing fluid, cracking the rock under pressure, and releasing the gases trapped inside. The gas is then collected and shipped around the country to be used as fuel for any number of things. This very complex procedure has yielded a momentary economic boom in the U.S., and has polarized the American public into dichotomy. In this small Alberta town, however, there was an interesting side effect. Continue Reading →

Regulations on Hydraulic Fracturing

Evan 32 Comments

Lourdharry Pauyo (BCT)

James McMullen (EnviSci)

Jaenyffe Santos (NRC)

 

     Williamsport, a former ghost town most famous for the Little League World Series, is one of America’s fastest growing cities, with an unemployment rate significantly below the national average (Meng, 2015). Similarly, the locals of Smithfield, Pennsylvania experienced only the positive outcomes of hydraulic fracturing, proclaiming their admiration by naming their local food delicacy the “frack burger” (Sovacool, 2014). An hour and a half drive down I-70, in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, the attitude differs greatly. Clear streams turned into muddy swamps full of dead fish and water flammable enough to make the Cuyahoga River burn with envy (Sovacool, 2014). Meng (2015) cited the potential for environmental drawbacks, claiming hydraulic fracturing can lead to significant environmental degradation and its enormous water requirements are problematic. Pennsylvania is one of the states where hydraulic fracturing is a common practice, and it is a great example of the extremes associated with hydraulic fracturing. Hydraulic fracturing offered significant opportunity for development in the shale play regions of Pennsylvania. Continue Reading →

Impacts of oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Evan 145 Comments

Lauren Bettino, Natural Resource Conservation (Wildlife Focus)

Hank Moylan, Natural Resource Conservation (Wildlife Focus)

Victoria Stukas, Animal Science

Deemed “the sacred place where life begins” by Alaska’s native Gwich’in people (Cultural Survival, 2005), the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) possesses massive environmental and cultural importance. Spanning approximately 8.9 million acres across northeastern Alaska, the ANWR is part of the National Wildlife Refuge System run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; one of 16 refuges in Alaska. Continue Reading →

Assessing the Problem of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids

Evan 39 Comments

 

Richard Hicks – Building Construction Technology

Brendan McGowan – Natural Resources Conservation

Kyle Karaska – Building Construction Technology

 

Assessing the Problem of Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids

Across the United States, millions of people have access to natural resources. One of the most important resources, clean drinking water, is usually held to strict regulations. In the small town of Dimock, Pennsylvania, this privilege was stripped from people due to the actions of Cabot Oil & Gas, one of the largest fracking companies in the U.S. CBS reported that the corporation collected natural gas via hydraulic fracturing and as a result chemicals seeped into their water, compromising all of the drinking water (2010). Hydraulic fracturing companies left families across the town with toxic, flammable water. This was only the beginning of their problems, as the gas company wasn’t held accountable due to a loophole, the same loophole that protected Chesapeake Energy in 2009 after fracking fluids infiltrated waters nearby killing 17 cows (CBS, 2010). Continue Reading →

Gone with the Wind: The Threat Posed by Wind Turbines to the Surrounding Ecosystems

Evan 38 Comments

John Balsamo: Building and Construction Tech.

Will McKenney: Building and Construction Tech.

Jess Creighton: Animal Science

Jamie Lay: Wildlife Conservation

In the late 80’s, the California condor was officially extinct in the wild. With poaching, DDT, lead poisoning, and more general habitat destruction, one of the largest birds on the planet was driven to the brink.  As of the 2014 report, there are approximately 425 condors in total on the planet, easily ranking them among the rarest species, both in North America and globally (Wikipedia, 2015). Now might be the time to mention that most Condors are currently inhabiting an area only a few miles away from the majority of California’s wind farms. It might also be the time to mention that, in Spain, upwards of 2,000 vultures– a close relative with similar patterns and behaviors– are killed annually in wind turbine collisions (Duchamp, Lange & Wiegand, 2012). Both species are known to actually perch atop wind turbines, as the treachery of the blades is no match for a hungry bird in search of a good vantage point to roost and scope out a meal.  All of the moving parts involved, physically and metaphorically, seem like a disaster waiting to happen for a critically endangered species teetering on the edge of the precipice. Continue Reading →

Benefits of Public Education on Offshore Wind Farms

Evan 17 Comments
Painting by Marie Wise 2006 http://www.mariewise.com/galleries/2006-2/nggallery/page/2

Painting by Marie Wise 2006 http://www.mariewise.com/galleries/2006-2/nggallery/page/2

Tyler Conaway-Environmental Science

Scott Curry-Geology

Samuel Evans-NRC

Edgar Hernandez-BCT

Sam Shepherd-BCT

Evan Stark-BCT

Don’t judge on outward appearance, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.  We’ve all heard this phrase countless times in life when applied to people, but why shouldn’t it apply to wind farms?  Wind farms and turbines are constantly referred to as eyesores and quickly dismissed by a portion of our population without thinking about the content of their “character.”  These turbines produce clean energy without producing harmful greenhouse gasses and without using a rapidly dwindling non-renewable resource (http://energy.gov/eere/wind/how-do-wind-turbines-work).  However, some people refuse them strictly because it would make their pristine beach view a little less pristine.  Many would agree that wind turbines are not the most aesthetically pleasing form of architecture, but they could be instrumental in reducing the world’s total carbon footprint.  A common view held by people pertaining to environmental issues is a way of thinking known as NIMBY or “Not In My Backyard”.  It means that a person may be supportive of overall positive environmental change as long as it doesn’t directly affect them negatively. Continue Reading →

Why We Should Invest on Solar energy

Evan 38 Comments

Jose Belliard- Building and Construction Technology

Jeffrey Brown- Geology

Colin McGuire- Environmental science

Introduction

When we think about history both names and events come to mind.  Even though there are more people than events, I could name more events than people.  Only the most influential people in history go into the history books and only a select few names will live throughout human history.  Some of the names that come to mind are Julius Caesar, Leonardo da Vinci, Albert Einstein, and Thomas Edison.  Thomas Edison is often called the godfather of modern electricity-intensive living.  Edison holds countless patents and is one of the world’s most renowned inventors.  What most people do not know about him is that throughout his career he advocated for sustainable energy. Continue Reading →

In the Black: How Federal Regulations of Shale Gas Can Save the Economy and the Enviroment

Evan 20 Comments

 

In the Black

How Federal Regulation of Shale Gas Can Save the Economy and the Environment

James Campbell, Nina Orellana, Mary Emma Searles

UMass Amherst

 

This April marks the sesquicentennial anniversary of the signing of the treaty that ended the American Civil War.  Fast forward 150 years and it appears there are still some towns in upstate New York that are looking toward the south with hopes of secession…well, Pennsylvania that is.  First reported by WBNG-TV Binghamton, fifteen towns that share a border with Pennsylvania are researching the plausibility and legality of actually removing themselves from the state of New York and incorporating with their neighbor to the south.  Among the list of reasons why these long time New Yorkers yearn to join the Keystone State are complaints of high property taxes, low sales tax revenue, and a recent decision to deny the region a casino licence.  However, these qualms pale in comparison to the real issue at hand, a potential game changer that could turn this otherwise economically destitute area around overnight.

An economic boom has come to Pennsylvania.  Between 2007 and 2011, income rose by 19% in some counties, over 44,000 jobs were created, and $3.87 billion was added to the state economy (Furchtgott-Roth & Gray, 2013).  What do these numbers have in common?  They represent the money brought in by a relatively new industry – hydraulic fracturing, known as “fracking”.  According to the Manhattan Institute, a conservative think-tank, this new method of drilling revitalized the Pennsylvania economy and is capable of doing the same for other states within the large Marcellus shale deposit on the East Coast (Furchtgott-Roth & Gray, 2013).  It is numbers like these that have spurred the 15 towns just north of the border to seek a motion of secession as a direct result of a December 17, 2014 all out ban on hydraulic fracturing by New York governor Andrew Cuomo. Continue Reading →

Farms Should Invest in Solar Panels Over Fracking

Evan 15 Comments

This is a cow grazing on land where fracking occurs. Schilke, J. (2012). Livestock falling ill in fracking regions [picture]. Retrieved April 7, 2015 from http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/29/15547283-livestock-falling-ill-in-fracking-regions

This is a cow grazing on land where fracking occurs.  Part of this cow’s tail is missing as a result of exposure to chemicals from fracking fluids. 
Schilke, J. (2012). Livestock falling ill in fracking regions [picture]. Retrieved April 7, 2015 from http://investigations.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/29/15547283-livestock-falling-ill-in-fracking-regions

Jeffrey Beauregard (Building and Construction Trade), Kerin Gustafson (Pre-Veterinary Science), Isamar Hodge (Animal Science)

Are you worried about contaminated beef from fracking land?

Americans love beef. We consume as much as 26 billion pounds of meat every year knowing that it’s safe and uncontaminated, right? (“The United States meat industry at a glance…,” 2011) Many people do not know where their meat comes from before they buy it in supermarkets. In the recent years there have been cases where cattle in certain areas are falling ill and dying, while the reason cannot be 100% confirmed. “In Louisiana, 17 cows died after an hours exposure to spilled fracking fluid” (Royte, 2012, para. 6). While these cases are relatively rare, it should be a concern for consumers who could be affected.

Continue Reading →