A massive escape of methane gas is underway near Baggs, Wyoming as the result of drilling coal-bed methane wells.
Coal bed methane is obtained by drilling into the aquifer in a bed of coal. Water rushes out, with lots of dissolved methane. The methane is captured. Very nice, except for the dirty water and now what at first looked like a natural geological phenomenon — emergence of methane springs.
Medium concentrations of methane are both poisonous and highly explosive !!
Methane is also a much more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide on a basis of equal volumes.
This is a big waste of a valuable resource.
Story in the Casper Star Tribune. What Lies Beneath.
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