Climate Change: Now What?

[Carrikature]

If we look at states that are doing the most fracking like North Dakota do we find a significant increase of earthquakes?

What I find is a push to distinguish hydraulic fracturing from the deep well injections of fluid (never mind that deep well injections are done by those fracking ). Since I don't live in ND, I can't really speak on what they have encountered. A quick search has turned up these two links:

Fracking Earthquakes: Injection Practice Linked to Scores of Tremors

N.D. official says quake unrelated to fracking

From the second link, since it's ND specific:

[Carrikature]

Major cities should be connected with passenger rail. The electric supply system would need many booster stations to get from Houston to Lubbock. But as long as grid nodes are close this shouldn't be a huge issue.

For personal transportation hydrogen internal combustion engines or electric motor with hydrogen fuel cells are a possibility.

What would suggest for Texas, or for that matter any long distance travel?

K54

The issues with Texas aren't just distance between major cities. It's also the size of the major cities coupled with work-home transit distances. I'm given to understand that major cities in other parts of the country (and the world) end up with people working and living in a rather localized area where bus/bike/rails are feasible for mass transit. Compare that to people in my company where the majority of people are travelling ~45mins one way (~20mi). That's on average, and I know several that drive two or three times that distance. DFW does have some electric rail systems, but their utility varies. If you don't live and work near a station, it's of little to no use.

I don't know that I have suggestions for Texas and its cities. My general attitude tends to be one of balance and pragmatism. It's a nice idea to fit every location with electric rails or hydrogen vehicles, but if it's not realistic it shouldn't be pushed. I'm much more in favor of finding location-specific solutions. Short of changing the entire housing mentality of Texans, I think it's more realistic to find better options for personal vehicles. Electric cars don't have the range necessary. I know too little about hydrogen fuel systems to comment on their utility.

[seer]

What I find is a push to distinguish hydraulic fracturing from the deep well injections of fluid (never mind that deep well injections are done by those fracking ). Since I don't live in ND, I can't really speak on what they have encountered. A quick search has turned up these two links:

Fracking Earthquakes: Injection Practice Linked to Scores of Tremors

N.D. official says quake unrelated to fracking

From the second link, since it's ND specific:

Well it seems that we need to manage the waste water problem better.

[Carrikature]

Well it seems that we need to manage the waste water problem better.

Given that the link appears to be fluid injection, I suspect this would help but not be sufficient.

[klaus54]

The issues with Texas aren't just distance between major cities. It's also the size of the major cities coupled with work-home transit distances. I'm given to understand that major cities in other parts of the country (and the world) end up with people working and living in a rather localized area where bus/bike/rails are feasible for mass transit. Compare that to people in my company where the majority of people are travelling ~45mins one way (~20mi). That's on average, and I know several that drive two or three times that distance. DFW does have some electric rail systems, but their utility varies. If you don't live and work near a station, it's of little to no use.

I don't know that I have suggestions for Texas and its cities. My general attitude tends to be one of balance and pragmatism. It's a nice idea to fit every location with electric rails or hydrogen vehicles, but if it's not realistic it shouldn't be pushed. I'm much more in favor of finding location-specific solutions. Short of changing the entire housing mentality of Texans, I think it's more realistic to find better options for personal vehicles. Electric cars don't have the range necessary. I know too little about hydrogen fuel systems to comment on their utility.

Depending on the layout of the urban area, I would suggest spurs of commuter light rail coming into downtown from six or so directions. The suburbanite/bedroom community-ite would then just need to drive, bike, or walk a relatively short distance to the nearest rail station. It would be a heck of lot better than now with car traffic clogging up freeways and city streets.

Over decades I would hope that people would choose to live closer to the city, and this would require city planning aiming to make living closer to the city more comfortable and enjoyable.

K54

[Carrikature]

Depending on the layout of the urban area, I would suggest spurs of commuter light rail coming into downtown from six or so directions. The suburbanite/bedroom community-ite would then just need to drive, bike, or walk a relatively short distance to the nearest rail station. It would be a heck of lot better than now with car traffic clogging up freeways and city streets.

Over decades I would hope that people would choose to live closer to the city, and this would require city planning aiming to make living closer to the city more comfortable and enjoyable.

K54

I know there are bigger metropolitan areas than the one I currently call home, but I usually find it's hard to portray just what we're dealing with. Maybe a picture will help. It's not an issue of living closer to the city, it's that the city itself is so large, and people seldom live close to their place of work (for lots of reasons). I live in Carrollton and work in Farmers Branch. My wife works in Richardson. I know of people in my company that live in Lewisville, Rowlett, Garland, Arlington, Irving, Mesquite, Plano, Allen and McKinney (those last two aren't even on the map at this view). 'Downtown' is the center of Dallas proper. The green sections within 635 are older housing (some of it high income). Getting from home to the rail system is less of a problem than getting from the rail stations to work. It usually means riding buses and then walking, a process which isn't actually cheaper even considering toll fees and which actually takes much longer than sitting in traffic. I'm sure there are ways to fix it, but right now it doesn't matter what fuel is being used by mass transit because the costs for personal travel are outweighed by the benefits.

I'm not trying to rain on the parade here, just pointing out cases that have a bigger problem to solve.

[klaus54]

I know there are bigger metropolitan areas than the one I currently call home, but I usually find it's hard to portray just what we're dealing with. Maybe a picture will help. It's not an issue of living closer to the city, it's that the city itself is so large, and people seldom live close to their place of work (for lots of reasons). I live in Carrollton and work in Farmers Branch. My wife works in Richardson. I know of people in my company that live in Lewisville, Rowlett, Garland, Arlington, Irving, Mesquite, Plano, Allen and McKinney (those last two aren't even on the map at this view). 'Downtown' is the center of Dallas proper. The green sections within 635 are older housing (some of it high income). Getting from home to the rail system is less of a problem than getting from the rail stations to work. It usually means riding buses and then walking, a process which isn't actually cheaper even considering toll fees and which actually takes much longer than sitting in traffic. I'm sure there are ways to fix it, but right now it doesn't matter what fuel is being used by mass transit because the costs for personal travel are outweighed by the benefits.

I'm not trying to rain on the parade here, just pointing out cases that have a bigger problem to solve.

Wow! Thanks for the info. Modern sprawled-out urban areas are certainly troublesome for commuting. Electric rail and trolley buses would help at least, but there are going to need to be major changes in an urban area like Dallas-Fort Worth. Electric commuter lines could parallel the main roads and spur into downtown Dallas, but that's a minor part of the solution.

Oy.

K54

[Roy]

We should but it probably won't happen for a while. People tend to be resistant to change from the old ways unless they can be shown immediate tangible benefits. Paying higher energy costs and making sacrifices today to stop bigger problems 20, 30, 50 years down the road sadly just doesn't make sense to many in the "I want it cheap and I want it NOW!" generation.

Which generation are you referring to?

The one that is deforesting South America?
The one that is burning the world's oil supply?
The one that caught all the passenger pigeons for cheap meat?
The one that shot the blauboks for fun?
The one that killed the remaining great auks so that their bodies could be put in museums?
The one that slaughtered the Toolache Wallabies to make fur coats?
The one that ate all the dodos and most of the giant tortoises?
The one that scrambled the eggs of Aepyornis?
The one that chopped down all the trees on Easter Island?
The one that burnt the forests of New Zealand?
The one that desertified the fertile crescent?
The one that hunted the horses in the new world to extinction?
The one that dug up every specimen of Silphium?

Roy