I’ve nearly finished “Frozen Fire,” the new techno-thriller by Greenwich resident Bill Evans, and it’s clear the WABC meteorologist can do more than give the weather report — he also tells an engaging story. Even more importantly, Evans has brought to the surface a little-known, but highly divisive debate over the potential use of methane hydrate as an alternative energy source. For a preview of the book, go here.
Found mostly beneath the ocean floor, methane hydrate is a solid compound that contains a large amount of methane frozen in the crystalline structure of water ice. Since there’s so much of the stuff — the U.S. Geological Survey suggests there is between 100,000 and 300 million trillion cu. ft. on Earth — it has the potential to be an abundant source of energy. Even better, it burns relatively clean.
But Evans, a supporter of research into methane hydrate extraction, admits that there are obstacles to harvesting the substance. For starters, it would take an enormous financial investment to start a drilling operation on the ocean floor (in “Frozen Fire,” it is risk-taking billionaire Dennis Cavendish who does just that). And though it might sound far-fetched, Evans warns that an operation could be sabotaged by radical eco-terrorists (that’s where evil Earth activist Garner Blaylock, Cavendish’s arch-nemsis, comes in).
But from what I’ve gathered, those aren’t the primary concerns of many scientists and environmentalists, who view the idea of methane hydrate extraction as yet another way to exploit and already vulnerable planet. As we have observed in the Niger Delta in recent years, oil drilling operations conducted by gas giant Shell have created an environmental disaster and contributed to political and social upheaval in that region. What then, the environmentalists ask, would happen if companies like Exxon/Mobil, Shell and Texaco were given free reign of the ocean floor?
I’ve really only scratched the surface on this debate, but I encourage anyone interested in the topic to do some research on their own. “Frozen Fire,” an entertaining and easy-to-read novel, might be a good start. And a recent article by Sonia Shah on Salon.com is also very informative on the subject.
We are facing a dire energy crisis and as Evans suggests, methane hydrate could be a viable solution. At the same time, are we willng to risk further environmental destruction to satiate our energy needs?
