In North Dakota, Flames of Wasted Natural Gas Light the Prairie
By CLIFFORD KRAUSS 10:08 PM ET
About 30 percent of the natural gas produced in North Dakota is burned as waste. Executives say they cannot afford to capture all the gas for now.
via Business and Financial News – The New York Times.
It’s really a crime that this country burns off natural gas because we have no national energy policy to promote its use instead of importing foreign crude oil. The jobs it could create building infrastructure, refitting vehicles, and extracting are estimated to be in the millions. This one change alone could probably create a new renaissance for America. It’s only a matter of time before enough people get fed up and do something about it. That’s why I’m keen on domestic energy producers of all kind, coal, oil, and gas.
Yet another impact of hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling practices.
While it looks like the issue will persist for a while, it’s good to see at least a few companies are starting to collect rather than burn it.