these outdoor adventures, though, have been disturbed by the newly implemented liquified natural gas (lng) terminal right off shore. the terminal, which looks like a large ship, is used to unload the cargo and hold the imported lng.

while kayaking, moosmann has to keep her guiding light dimmed. the terminal, on the other hand, “glows like tokyo or times square,” she said. the walks are now peppered with the smell of diesel and construction-like noises above four decibels each night.

“you see it wherever you travel around here. what used to be darkness is a bright glow in the sky,” moosmann said.

moosman and her wife, gabriela rieberer, are just two of many hooksiel residents whose dark nights were transformed by liquefied natural gas (lng) terminals in germany, as the country faces an ongoing energy crisis due to the war in ukraine. 

hooksiel residents previously voted against the placement of an lng terminal in 2020, according to moosmann. most voters, including moosmann and rieberer, said no to industrializing the harbor. reiberer said living near a terminal now, after years of fighting against one, is “heartbreaking.”

“they said we have no choice. we’re in a war,” rieberer said. “so what do you say? it’s fear mongering.”

moosmann and rieberer sang along with scores of neighbors and protestors as the first lng shipment arrived earlier this year. the terminal receives supercooled and pressurized gas in a liquid state. once lng is regasified at room temperature, it can be used to generate electricity, heat and fuel buildings.

breaking up with russian energy

at the time of the russian invasion into ukraine, almost 40 percent of germany’s gas was coming from russia, according to christian von soest, the head of peace and security research programming at the german institute for global and area studies. 

the two countries’ natural gas relationship lasted for almost 50 years. 

berlin began purchasing more natural gas last year starting feb. 24 from norway, the united states and the united arab emirates. germany broadly reduced its gas purchases from russia by about 20 percent last year. 

the german government scrambled to facilitate the infrastructure for lng, building its first floating terminal in record time, opening it on nov. 15, 2022. there are now five leased german lng terminals both on- and offshore and talks of more.

globally, lng trade was expected to grow by 5 percent in 2022, according to the international energy agency’s report last october. this creates a direct impact on areas like hooksiel.

community members push back

“our progress is torn to pieces,” said stefanie eilers, a conservationist in wilhelmshaven.

germany has also temporarily reactivated old oil- and coal-fired power stations as well as extended the use of the country’s last three nuclear power plants until mid-april.

climate change advocacy groups and scientists opposed this extensive expansion of fossil fuel infrastructure.

“there is no need for lng terminals in germany,” said reinhard knof, who operates a statewide environmental group in schleswig-holstein. “it’s bad for the climate and it’s bad for the area.”

knof noted the effects on the tourism industry as well. people are not able to enjoy a peaceful vacation at the beach if their view is an lng terminal that pollutes the air and water. the legal noise level at night around the baltic sea is zero decibels, according to sauerwein. noise in the area has increased to four decibels since the construction of the terminals.

“we’re going to lose (the tourists),” knof said. “the minister of agriculture and environment said they don’t know from where the noise is coming. this is a wonderful joke.”

liquified natural gas and the bigger picture

lng has a bigger greenhouse gas footprint than ordinary gas. the power source needs to be chilled to minus 259 degrees fahrenheit, shipped and turned back into gas, which creates more carbon and increases the potential for methane leakage. small amounts of lng molecules are converted back to its gaseous form as the lng carrier is shipped and absorbs heat from outside air. the regasified molecules are often directed to power the ship’s engine, but the transportation still has the potential to worsen climate change.

even more so, inhaling lng and associated vapor may cause a loss of consciousness or even death when a victim’s lungs are filled with insufficient amounts of oxygen, according to philadelphia gas works. many governments globally, however, tout lng as not harmful to the environment.

“the new developments pose a real threat to the environment,” said rainer sauerwein, an environmental activist. 

but there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight for rieberer and moosmann, or other german residents. the german government is allowing permits as part of the acceleration of the use of natural gas until 2043. rieberer said this has gone forward without any environmental consultation.

“the technology has not yet been sufficiently researched and tested,” said rita fette, who lives near the wadden sea. “i am concerned about the continued existence of the wadden sea and its creatures.”

at the end of 2022, germany’s re supply & trading signed a 15-year contract with sempra infrastructure to purchase approximately 2.25 million tons of lng per year. this equates to about 30 cargoes of lng, or 3 billion cubic meters of natural gas, per year. operations are expected to start during 2027.

agencies like the germany federal ministry of economic affairs and climate action, see the use of gas as a “bridge” toward more sustainable resources.

“we can only set the framework,” said press officer katharina grave. “as long as gas was cheap there wasn’t a large push to [set up greener infrastructure] fast. obviously it takes time.”

sauerwein said that the consumption of gas shows how little the government cares about the issue.

“we’ve never had such an increase in environmental destruction as we’ve had now,” he said.

this story was featured in our series, a greener zeitgeist: medill reports from germany.

eleven years ago, unity college, a small environmental college tucked into the woods of rural maine, became the first institute of higher education in the country to divest, scrubbing their finances clean from fossil fuels. with the help of climate activist bill mckibben and activist groups, unity college’s story started a movement. today, over 100 schools are divested or in the process of divesting from fossil fuels. from private, wealthy goliaths such as harvard and yale to the entire california public college system, fossil fuels are out the door. 

on this planet forward audio story, i talk to the former president of unity college about how divestment works and the story of how his school became the first to do it. also, he happens to be my dad.

in the state of new york, environmental organizations are fighting for access to clean water and clean air for their communities despite obstacles created by the pandemic. food & water watch, a national nonprofit founded in 2005, works on a variety of environmental issues including industrial pollution, the spread of diseases by factory farms and the privatization of water.

“we work very closely with some wonderful groups in buffalo that were contending with, you might say, an epidemic of water shutoffs that became particularly acute with the pandemic because of the absolute imperative for people to be able to wash their hands,” said new york senior organizer eric weltman. 

as millions of people all over the country lost their jobs during the pandemic, many were unable to pay rent or their utility bills, resulting in widespread water shutoffs. in june, new york gov. andrew cuomo signed a bill banning utility shutoffs until march 31, 2021, at the latest. this landmark piece of legislation is one of many that food & water watch has lobbied elected officials to pass. 

another of the organization’s major goals was realized in 2014 when cuomo banned fracking in new york state. however, this has not prevented the construction of other fossil fuel projects including pipelines and fracking power plants, which food & water watch has fought against in order to protect communities from exposure to harmful pollution. weltman says that the pandemic has not slowed down the progress on this campaign or any of the other work that his organization continues to do. 

“we have a range of tools at our disposal to interact with people. and let’s be clear, i mean, we love to see people,” weltman said. “we miss seeing a lot of our favorite activists and allies face to face but….we’ve got twitter, we’ve got facebook, we’ve got email, we’ve got texting, we’ve got zoom, we’ve got instagram — even old-fashioned telephones.”

weltman continued to list all of the ways food & water watch has adapted to the pandemic including calling elected officials, hosting webinars, and sending out petitions. in the past, the nonprofit rented buses to transport people from new york city to albany to lobby in the state’s capital. now, inspired by the marches for black lives matter, weltman and his colleagues have held outdoor rallies where people are required to socially distance and wear masks. 

despite not being able to meet with fellow activists or speak with elected officials in person, weltman has found the silver lining to an online approach. 

“you’re able to invite more people to attend and are able to invite more guest speakers. if you want to hold a zoom meeting and have a guest speaker from, you know, los angeles or honolulu or wherever, you just do it,” he said. “people are still craving connection and we’re providing it.”

just a little more than 60 miles north of new york city on the hudson river, one of the organizations that food & water watch works with faces its own battle with access to clean water. in the historical district of newburgh, generations of people have been plagued by a variety of illnesses including cancer and compromised immune systems. the newburgh clean water project (ncwp) believes the source of this hardship is the long-term contamination of their community’s water sources. 

“so we’re fighting lead in our water pipes and in our paint,” said tamsin hollo, one of ncwp’s steering committee members. “we’re fighting the pfas. we’re fighting pcbs in the hudson river. we’re fighting generations of manufacturing pollution. and most recently, we’re fighting this massive fracked gas power plant expansion just three miles from the center of newburgh.”

according to the environmental protection agency (epa), pfas is an umbrella term for man-made chemicals that do not break down easily over time and have been shown to result in a number of health issues including low birth weight for infants, compromised immune systems, thyroid problems and cancer. pcbs are organic chemicals used in industrial and commercial processes that can result in cancer, neurological issues and many other health problems. 

deborah brown, also a member of the steering committee and one of the people who founded ncwp in 2017, said that continuous industrialization has created a cycle of pollution, beginning with the construction of the stewart air national guard base in 1934. 

“the (new york state) department of health dropped our watershed from its maps very conveniently to allow the (new york state) department of transportation and the new york new jersey port authority to build a highway right on our watersheds,” brown said. “there are storm drains so if there was some kind of accident, if there was some kind of spill of chemicals or anything, it goes right into our reservoir.”

according to the u.s. census bureau, newburgh’s population is mostly latino and african american. the epa has recognized that environmental issues disproportionately impact communities of color and that these communities do not receive the same protections that predominantly white areas do. on top of this, the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) found that communities of color have been at a higher risk from covid-19 due to “long-standing systemic health and social inequities.” 

“there definitely is a trend. i think just the term ‘environmental justice community’ was coined because of the relationship between poverty, race, and contamination,” brown said. “when you go around the country, where does the coal ash go? where do all the really toxic end products of the american lifestyle go? they tend to go to the places where poor people live and where people are the least listened to.” 

to combat these issues, ncwp successfully advocated to expand blood testing for harmful chemicals by the new york state department of health and demanded that the information also be provided in spanish. before the pandemic, ncwp held in-person events where people would break bread and share information to be prepared when different government agencies like the department of defense held community meetings about pollution coming from the air base. ncwp also held watershed tours where people could go see how the streams running near big box stores like kohl’s and home depot carried trash into various water sources. 

now during the pandemic, the grassroots organization continues to work with colleagues like food & water watch to campaign against a number of issues such as preventing a power plant in newburgh that operates only a few days each year from becoming a fracked gas plant that would operate year-round. throughout new york, 150 elected officials, including members of the state senate and state assembly, signed a letter urging cuomo to stop the upgrade of danskammer generating station and prevent newburgh residents from being exposed to “the brunt of air pollution.” 

“right here, right now, this community cannot survive yet another source of pollution,” hollo said.

in addition to partnering with other organizations, ncwp also relies on social media and webinars to get the word out on the dangers of contaminated water and fossil fuel emissions. according to hollo, who runs ncwp’s social media accounts, there are pros and cons to strictly virtual advocacy. 

“not having that face to face interaction, not having something on paper, i think, has not been the best way to reach out to our communities of color,” she said. 

hollo went on to explain that many people in her community only speak spanish or french creole but because ncwp is a small volunteer-based grassroots organization with limited funding, they can’t afford instant translation for webinars and other online events.  

“i guess i’ll just say it’s a double-edged sword,” she said. “you may think you’re reaching, you know, hundreds of thousands of people and you are, but are you reaching all the people for whom this is the most important issue and for whom this is really a life threatening issue?”

despite these limitations, both brown and hollo have been astonished with how effectively social media has mobilized young people. 

“young people have created a different way of voicing their concerns and certainly the latinx community has definitely come out strong in newburgh against danskammer (power plant),” hollo said. 

she also noted that many of the older members of the community were concerned about their vulnerability to covid-19 and were unable to protest in person, creating a unique call to action. 

“(young people) had to carry the torch and they did it beautifully,” hollo said. 

one organization has used social media as not only a tool for change but as a way to create a network of young climate advocates. new york youth climate leaders (ny2cl) is a coalition of 70 individual groups across new york state, founded in november 2019. the leaders of the organization are either in their late teens or completing their first semester of college, while members across the state range from middle schoolers to college undergraduates. the coalition focuses on policy surrounding fossil fuels, renewable energy, health care, and the green new deal. 

according to social media director sophie campbell, ny2cl has taken advantage of the digital space by organizing virtual strikes, creating a social media campaign to support the new york fossil fuel divestment act, pushing petitions on multiple platforms, and encouraging people to call elected officials such as cuomo and new york state senate majority leader andrea stewart-cousins. the organization also created a podcast and hosts informational webinars with guest speakers and panels. 

“i think the biggest thing was figuring out how to do our events and actions virtually,” campbell said. “social media has really been the key to activism and just keeping the climate movement alive during the pandemic.” 

even though ny2cl has fully embraced online tools for activism, campbell recognizes the limitations of not being able to conduct business as usual in person. 

“climate anxiety is very real, especially in youth organizers, and taking away that socialization aspect makes it very difficult to keep going and keep fighting all the time,” she said. “but i think that, you know, we’re getting through it. and we’re finding ways to have more fun, engaging in activities, not just activism, because i think that with everyone doing school virtually, and being on zoom all day every day, people are less excited to get on the call for climate organizing.” 

to prevent members from feeling isolated or disengaged, campbell has incorporated more art and activities into her social media strategy. 

during earth week, ny2cl held a climate art challenge where people could post individual creations inspired by the environment. the organization also hosted a virtual open mic via instagram, launched the #hugsomethinggreen challenge and drew slogans with chalk about divesting from fossil fuels in front of stewart-cousins’ office.

“we’re working on a lot more kinds of artistic, creative projects for our social media, for our website, for engagement, because i think that art and activism is incredibly important to the climate movement, both for engagement and (because) it’s just such a good way to spread awareness.” 

despite the variety of strategies and individual obstacles, all three organizations agreed on the importance of continuing their work during the pandemic. 

“climate change is the greatest threat that humanity faces because now, more than ever, we need access to safe (and) clean food, air, and water,” said food & water watch’s eric weltman.

manure, fish bones and charcoal. ancient native farmers in central america recycled these wastes in an intricate system to sustain water resources as well as replenish the land.

they used fire and ashes as a natural way to fertilize their land. with these sustainable systems, the natives developed their complex and diverse farming techniques and expanded the types of crops they cultivated.  these communities received all that they needed to survive from the land, and did as much as they could to make sure they gave back to their environment.

fast-forward to modern day panama, where the eco-town kalu yala strives to attain levels of sustainability like those who laid the groundwork for them in central america thousands of years ago. in a small valley, high up in the mountains, more than 100 members of the kalu yala community of interns and staff have started to establish irrigation systems for fish and water farming systems. they are also testing new crops that can flourish in the jungle’s hot and sticky climate, or during the daily downpour of the several-months-long rainy season. when it comes to sustainability, the members of kalu yala use the eco-town as a living laboratory for the best ways to reduce their carbon footprint and become as self-sustaining as possible. growing their own food and producing their own fuel from organic wastes helps meet that goal.

“we don’t want to be constantly reactive to (fixing) things that are unsustainable,” says rachael maysels, 26, the assistant director of biology, one of several internship programs at kalu yala. “we want to think about it ahead of time and act in advance of our actions so there is room for mistakes.”

in the conversation surrounding sustainability, carbon footprint and carbon emissions are topics that often come up. a person’s carbon footprint measures the amount of carbon dioxide and other carbon compounds emitted as waste products due to consumption of materials — particularly fossil fuels.

“we’re not just trying to shoot for being carbon neutral at kalu yala. it’s trying to be carbon negative,” maysels says. “that’s something we can do with reforestation, pruning and turning (the plant matter) into charcoal. there are all these ways to kind of take one step further and it’s more of a proactive approach.”

maysels is helping the eco-town through the production of biochar, one of many ongoing programs that involve the interns that come to kalu yala from across the globe.

“it’s a simple idea and a simple method that can make a really big impact,” maysels explains. “it’s the idea of turning waste plant material, organic material into charcoal through a method of pyrolysis,” or the heating of materials without oxygen.

according to the united states department of agriculture, biochar is thought to have been used as a soil supplement in the amazon basin thousands of years ago. indigenous people created areas of “terra protta,” or “dark earth,” to regenerate fertilized soil for planting. by burying biomass, a combination of burnt wood and other organic materials, deep in the ground, the material heats up under pressure and goes through the process of pyrolysis, the thermodynamic decomposition of organic materials.

“almost like if you have a campfire, what’s left at the end is ash” – and char, maysels says. but when the burning process is buried, “you’re releasing all of the other material except for carbon.” this captures the carbon and prevents it from escaping back into the air, slowing down the release of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. this release prevention negates the carbon footprint that the burning of wastes would generate.

the creation of biochar also has other benefits, such as increasing soil fertility and water retention, as the ancients knew. “this really helps when it comes to the rainy season here,” maysels says. “we want to prevent erosion and hold on to as many nutrients as possible.”

but in the jungle, there are many challenges when it comes to accessing resources to make these experimentations with biochar more elaborate. “having a lot of the resources … to keep you going out here can be tough,” says ryan king, the director of biology at kalu yala.

“we’re trying to switch over everything to renewable energy.” biochar is one of the key ways to do so.  

to jump these hurdles, maysels finds that creativity and her college training in indigenous farming help make the process as simple, yet as effective, as possible.

“initially, my first design was a biochar system that took a lot of materials, which took some specific style hardware that couldn’t easily be found,” maysels says. “i think by setting limitations is when you get creative. restricting the ease of things, your brain starts to work around those obstacles.”

the process comes along with a lot of trial and error, but the community at kalu yala emphasizes learning from mistakes in experimentation. “here, they want you to do as much as you can and be creative, passionate, and make mistakes and keep doing it again,” king says. “having sterile and pristine equipment is definitely needed in certain fields of work, but you can’t control our systems. our earth systems have proven to be a lot more complicated with interacting factors. you have to study it through a different type of ecology.”

since joining the kalu yala staff in january and experimenting with biochar, maysels has combined her background knowledge with new and creative adaptations to progress toward reducing carbon from campfires. one solution involves digging a hole for the fires to hold more carbon in place.

“i graduated college in 2012 and did my field research part of my degree in the himalayas,” maysels says. “on a backpacking trip, i studied indigenous agriculture and high mountain ecology. i got launched into agriculture and since then have been to maybe about 20 countries and worked on maybe 18 farms in those countries, just studying internationally different styles of farming, food systems, small scale techniques, indigenous techniques.”

like the indigenous communities thousands of years before, the kalu yala systems are not perfect on the first try, but they strive to utilize what they can from the environment around them, reusing and replenishing as much as possible. the community members like to say it’s a culture of learning. but the learning at kalu yala would not happen without doing.

at sunrise, maysels heads down the dirt path to the area of campus with a large compost pile and stacks of burnt wood and organic waste ready for her to bury. she starts digging.

our house was an “all electric home,” powered by connecticut light and power. cl&p supplies their customers with energy through oil and nuclear technology. at the time of our renovation we looked into installing solar panels on our roof, but our state didn’t offer an incentive and we wouldn’t see the return on investment as immediately as we did with propane. after making the switch, our monthly energy bill is one fifth of what is was before, our home heats and cools more efficiently, and sometimes the butter on the stove melts too fast.

less carbon, less harm

the word “carbon dioxide” is tossed around by scientists, journalists and citizens a lot; it comes with a negative association — at least for many. carbon dioxide is the world’s most prevalent greenhouse gas. many don’t know that it is a necessary component of the earth’s atmosphere and that it has only become threatening over the past few decades. the concentration of co2 in our atmosphere has risen exponentially due to human activities like the burning of coal for electricity and fossil fuels in our cars; the excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is contributing to anthropogenic climate change. atmospheric carbon dioxide is measured in parts per million (ppm), and over the past 50 years the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere has gone from 320ppm to almost 400ppm.

the burning of coal produces two times more carbon dioxide than the burning of natural gas. we are approaching a tipping point of 450ppm, where the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide will be too great for mitigation efforts to actually reverse the effects of climate change. so with our planet’s future weighing in the balance, is natural gas the bridge to renewable energy?

by 2040, natural gas will make up 38 percent of u.s. energy production. coal production in the us is slowing, and while the development and use of domestic natural gas resources is reducing carbon dioxide emissions, natural gas production and distribution does come with its own environmental concerns.

a temporary solution

the process of getting natural gas, trapped in between the layers of rock, can be harmful to the environment if not done carefully. hydraulic fracturing “produces fractures in the rock formation that stimulate the flow of natural gas or oil, increasing the volumes that can be recovered. wells may be drilled vertically hundreds to thousands of feet below the land surface and may include horizontal or directional sections extending thousands of feet.” methane flaring and water contamination are two environmental concerns related to hydrofracking; this reality cannot be ignored, even though natural gas is a cleaner burning fuel.

so while my family didn’t go the extra step and invest in renewable energy technology, that’s where the united state’s energy future needs to head. we need to move in the direction of renewable energy technologies like solar, wind, and geothermal. these technologies produce energy without emitting carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases and can help reduce and eliminate the threat human activities pose to our planet.

fracking is part of a contentious debate across the u.s. but just how did we get to this modern day gold rush? how did we get to 82,000?

the fracking boom took off once scientists figured out how to tap shale rock. shale gas now accounts for 40 percent of all natural gas in the u.s, bringing in big money, revitalizing rural areas across the country and creating over a million jobs and counting.

this map from the us energy information administration shows possible fracking sites across the country. click for a larger version.

while fracking was present in some areas of the country before last decade, shale rock discoveries in places like pennsylvania set off the natural gas craze. but it had consequences.

in 2011, a pennsylvania fracking site blew up, sending 30,000 gallons of contaminated fluid into rivers that lead into the chesapeake bay and give water to 6 million people. the state of maryland is now sueing chesapeake energy.

fracking’s opportunities and dangers were brought on by decades of relaxed regulations for oil and gas companies, which were exempted from the safe drinking water act and clean air act.

thus, here lies the conundrum: fracking is getting people jobs and supplying us with energy. but activists call it pandora’s box because there are question marks about just how safe it is for our water, land and air.

but keep waiting for 2014. that’s when the environmental protection agency will release the first comprehensive study on the impact of fracking, and we can find out whether the 82,000 wells are helping or hurting us.

do you think fracking is worth it? would you be okay with it in your backyard? sound off in the comments while we wait for the epa’s report.

cory weinberg is a senior majoring in economics at the george washington university. chloe sorvino is a senior majoring in journalism and mass communication at the george washington university.

many experts say fracking is dangerous and can lead to poisonous and radioactive material entering groundwater, but that many of the concerns with fracking can be allayed if it’s done right. but, what exactly is the “right” way? wireless automation group (wag) of broken arrow, oklahoma has an answer, at least when it comes to the production and completion phase of fracking, where the real danger to communities and environment lies.

much of the threat to our soil and water comes after water has been collected and must be transported. with multiple holes created in rock layers, and so much water to collect from different outlets, it is easy for this runoff to go back into the ground. any potential spillage from water in the tanks, or while it is being transported or pumped, can have disastrous effects on local ecosystems and even, allegedly, drinking water, which has created much of the environmentalist opposition to fracking. wag’s automation technology corrects the potential for these on-site and transportation errors that can create environmental danger.

it’s not just in stabilizing and safeguarding the production and completion of fracking where wag is making a difference. wag president mark patton maintains that while the united states has the potential to surpass saudi arabia in barrels of oil produced, outdated and expensive monitoring systems in the u.s. not only create greater potential for fracking-related mishaps and other environmental dangers, but also hamper remote oil and gas operations. the disadvantage the u.s. faces is not with its oil supply, but how we are going about extracting that supply. all too often, critical information is received too late to prevent costly disruptions, accidents, and environmental spills.

“through remote, automated monitoring of all phases of median and marginal oil and gas production, we can simultaneously boost production and reduce risks,” patton maintains. “labor costs are minimized, while pumpjack failures and other incidents are immediately addressed.”

rapid transmission of data is especially critical in limiting environmental impacts, which can easily prove a thousand times more costly than the production interruptions themselves. in the wake of something like a pumpjack failure or blowout, even mere minutes can mean untold costs in labor safety, environmental safety and production.

“environmental issues have assumed top priority in the minds of government agencies,” patton adds. “near real-time monitoring of flow allocation, well performance, and detection of potential environmental threats is no longer an option – it has become a crucial component of competitive survival.”

wag seeks to change the face of oil and gas production through automated, remote monitoring of all phases of the processes, as illustrated in the diagram below:

wag is moving oil production to an almost completely remote process, not only moving the human element out of danger, but adding greater efficiency and safety to u.s. oil production as well. real-time operational status can be viewed on a mobile device via an internet connection. oil production monitoring can include the amount of oil taken, the start/stop of the salt water injector pump, the high/low level of the saltwater tank, and high and low pressure of the salt water line from the injector pump.

this cloud-based, near real-time monitoring allows operators to manage their remote operations efficiently, to increase production while reducing risks. for example, operators can manage the variable speed drives that reduce the demand charge when the pumps start up, thereby reducing energy costs. the operator has the ability to start and stop all operations at each site in near real-time, from a safe, remote location.

operators can detect a problem within minutes, and implement an action plan to fix it before it has a major effect on production, and possibly impact the environment. for example, pumpjack failures can usually be fixed immediately. operators can send notices of operational alarms to cell phones, as well as video monitoring and motion sensor alerts. depending on the seriousness of the event, field teams can communicate with management for advice, support, or approval. operations that are more extensive can include a central monitoring station.

all wag wireless platforms provide both production and security management. they can support traditional scada (supervisory control and data acquisition) implementations, as well as voice, data and video applications. they can keep a log of system status for epa (u.s. environmental protection agency) reports and oil company settlements.

in short, wag’s near real-time wireless delivery is key to assisting operators make timely decisions that, before now, had been severely limited by dated and irrelevant information. wag solutions result in greater safety and security by not only optimizing production, but also by enabling the early prevention of expensive, lengthy and potentially risky repairs. thus, timely delivery of accurate information on all phases of production systems results in higher profits optimal production and minimal incidents.

wag service offerings include design engineering, construction, installation and maintenance, database records and storage, and instrumentation and electrical solutions. they also provide systems integration of plcs, scada, wireless networking, and custom control panel fabrication. clients include municipal, public works, private, and industrial applications.
for more information, please go to http://www.wireless-automation-group.com

the company’s systems use patented technology that combines catalyst plates, pulsed electricity and uv light to destroy a wide variety of bacteria and polymers in water. it delivers excellent, environmentally friendly remediation results at competitive prices.

aquamost bacterial treatment:

for all phases of hydraulic fracturing.

highly effective bacteria elimination. kills 99.9% of all bacteria present in injection fluid makeup, flowback or produced water.

dramatically low operator costs for killing bacteria – as low as 10 cents per barrel.

high flow rates. scalable to cost effectively meet any size needs with these highly effective kill rates.

uses no chemical feedstocks or biocides to achieve 99.9% kill rates.

easy, modular installation. this advanced technology system is available as a standalone unit or in a mobile container depending on operator requirements. it can be plumbed as a component in a treatment train or as a standalone bacteria remediation solution.

aquamost polymer remediation:

reduces polymers in eor produced water.

reduces viscosity in post eor water to less than 2 cp. the aquamost system has proven highly effective at breaking down polymers from as high as 20 cp to less than 2 cp at full production speeds.

dramatically low operator costs for polymer remediation – less than 10 cents per barrel. half the costs of other methods.

high flow rates. aquamost i/o flow rates in a single trailer are 10bpm (13.7 kbpd).

easy, modular installation. this advanced technology system is available as a standalone unit or in a mobile container depending on operator requirements. it can be plumbed as a component in a treatment train or as a standalone polymer remediation solution.

many alternative fuels that may help slow down global warming suffer from technical barriers. hydrogen and methane gas (also called ‘natural gas’) are both more environmentally friendly than gasoline, but contain very little energy per unit of volume. this video shows how self-assembled porous materials can lead to fuel tanks that are able to highly concentrate gaseous fuels and thus hold a lot of energy in a small space. cutting edge algorithms and materials are depicted, drawing from research and development in the previous two years at northwestern university in the snurr and hupp laboratories. commercialization of this technology is being carried out by a new startup company: numat technologies.

the super heated steam then must be cooled to steam by evaporating water. this requires volumes of water evaporating into the atmosphere. then the cycle is repeated to super heat the steam to forcefully expand and operate the turbine.
the coal emissions of carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitric oxide, hydrochloric acid, and hydroflouric acid are related to the volume and type of coal burned. one pound of coal produces approximately the same btu of one gram of hydrogen without the coal emissions.

hydrogen can be made by spraying super heated steam over finely ground iron rust. this will yield hydrogen, cooled steam, and red paint pigment without sending large volumes of surface water into the atmosphere. the hydrogen produced is sprayed into the furnace as a second fuel with the powdered coal dust decreasing the amount of coal required to produce the btu to super heat the steam. (the ratio of coal dust to hydrogen is not known by this writer.) with hydrogen as an additional fuel in the furnace, the cooled steam is then reheated to super heated steam driving the turbine to produce electricity. the amount of coal burned to produce the electricity is decreased. the amount of coal emissions is reduced. the amount of the coal or natural gas fuel cost is decreased. i do not see any reason the same hydrogen boost cannot be used in natural gas fired electrical generators.

essentially, hydrogen is a byproduct of cooling super heated steam by a method other than evaporating water. the natural gas required to fire all of the existing coal fired electric generators would consume most of not all of us natural gas production. therefore use hydrogen to make the coal and natural gas electric generators more efficient.