New book release: The Shale Controversy by Dr Ian Palmer.

INTRODUCTION.

“Whether you are pro or con fracking, this book provides a solid science foundation and weighs the issues to reveal the facts around the shale controversies. Truly an informative and enjoyable read!”
Melanie Will-Cole, College lecturer.

I started writing this book five years ago when an editor suggested I write a book about fracking and earthquakes, which were big at that time in Oklahoma. A lot of folks wanted to blame fracking for the earthquakes. So I started writing – partly to answer this question.

Then a colleague said he opposed fracking because it contributed to global warming. So I researched global warming to find out whether his statement was correct.

The result is a large truth book, about 250 pages and 70 illustrations. Lots of pictures because the book is written for laypersons (as well as experts) who want to know the truth about fracking and global warming, and the role of oil-and-gas companies in all this.

WHY TITLE THE BOOK, THE SHALE CONTROVERSY?

Shale is short for shale-gas and shale-oil, which since 2000 has been a revolution in the USA. By that we mean production of shale-oil and shale-gas has boomed and led to cheap gasoline, aircraft fuel, home heating, and plastics.

So where’s the controversy in that? Well, the shale industry’s success has been accompanied by risk and problems. The new technology of fracking in long horizontal wells, the key to shale success, has been connected to contamination of aquifers and drinking water, shortage of water supplies in drier drilling locales, earthquakes, and global warming.

The good and the bad are rolled in together – and that makes it controversial.

CHAPTER ABOUT AUSTRALIA.

In the middle of the book is a fascinating chapter on Australia – a poster-child for global warming. I went there to see for myself……almost exactly one year ago.

The normal rugged beauty of the outback had the life sucked out of it by a soul-destroying drought in southeastern Australia. We saw dead kangaroos along the road and encountered others pitifully scratching for water in dry sandy creek beds.

Then I was transported to the heavenly delights of the Great Barrier Reef in northeastern Australia where the mountains touch sun-splashed beaches. But evidence of global warming could be seen even there in outbreaks of severe coral bleaching.

Two months after my visit the worst wildfires ever shocked southeastern Australia and 3 billion animals were killed or displaced.

DILEMMA FACED BY OIL, NATURAL GAS, AND COAL INDUSTRIES.

The Shale Controversy addresses the immense challenges faced by these companies due to the threat of global warming – attributed to the burning of fossil fuels, including shale-oil and shale-gas. Should oil and gas companies cut back on drilling and fracking? By how much? And how soon?

The book rounds out the debate with solutions to avoid potential disasters that the climate experts insist are coming at us fast. Curiously, one of the solutions could be implemented by geologists and petroleum engineers right now.

The book is available on Amazon, both as a paperback book and also as an eBook. Click HERE to preview the book. The paperback copy is not cheap, because the production cost is high for all the color illustrations in the book.

Click to read Chapter 1.

TAKEAWAY.

As Bob Moore, a petroleum engineer, says in the Foreword to The Shale Controversy:
“Regardless of which side of the debate you are on, if you think it is a good idea to ban fracking or you think that the extraction of oil and gas from shale is critical to human happiness, your arguments should be based on facts and not myths or untruths.

Dr. Palmer not only gives you the facts but also delves into the gray areas between the facts, where debate is needed. He introduces two characters, Pandora and Aladdin, who carry out this much-needed debate in his book.”

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BLOG TOPICS: I write content (in-depth) blogs about a mix of topics: Science and Energy, Health and Hiking, Inspiration and Hope.
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The Gray Nomad ….. Read and search for truth.
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If you want to grow and become vibrant, successful and alive, live all your life on tiptoe stretching and reaching for new things.
[Roko Paskov.]