Why are we using this stuff anyway?: Rash of fatal residential gas explosions across New England


So, the natural gas industry wants to increase demand, eh?

Here are a few reasons we need to reduce it: this winter’s rash of natural gas explosions in New England suburbs, and the lives lost:

1. One dead in house explosion
http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=One+dead+in+house+explosion&articleId=b0836fb5-ce5c-4986-aa7b-168dc60b083e

2. Gas leak forces evacuations in Keene
http://www.theunionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Gas+leak+forces+evacuations+in+Keene&articleId=31ffaf73-a619-4cee-83e5-8afedc73b28f

3. Woman killed in gas explosion in Somerset

http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090220/NEWS/902200349

Before explosion, gas crew waved off help; told firefighters they could leave the scene
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2009/02/21/before_explosion_gas_crew_waved_off_help/

4. More natural gas leaks discovered around Gloucester
http://www.wickedlocal.com/manchester/news/x959451230/More-natural-gas-leaks-discovered-around-Gloucester

Owner miraculously survives explosion – ‘Miracle day’
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view.bg?articleid=1147762

5. 1 Dead In Scituate House Explosion  4 Nearby Homes Condemned After Explosion
http://wbztv.com/local/scituate.house.explosion.2.889634.html

The infrastructure is aging: For years Matt Simmons, the only Peak Oil activist among the oil & gas industry elite, has been warning about, besides peak oil, the aging energy delivery system:

“If the world wants to keep using energy from oil and gas, it will have to rebuild the infrastructure and the cost of doing this could rival the combined cost of the World War II war machine, the post-war Marshall Plan that rebuilt Europe, and the post-war buildout of the U.S. interstate highway system.”

Simmons said the costs could be enormous–in the $50- to $100 trillion range. Triage needs to happen immediately to prioritize which links in the system are the weakest and need to be repaired or replaced first. Pipelines are old, some dating to World War II. The average age of the drilling rig fleets onshore and offshore is 24 years. Refineries are even older.

See:
http://blogs.oilandgasinvestor.com/leslie/2008/05/05/matt-simmons-rust-happens/