Answer to Question 1
The answer is both yes and no.
Yes: There can be significant heavy metal contamination and release of saline water by
the facility. In this case, pollution can be significant.
No: These pollutants can be reinjected. If they are, there would not be significant pollution.
Answer to Question 2
Natural gas is used mostly to supply heat to homes and businesses and to run gas
turbines for the utilities. In the very late 1990s and early 2000s, gas supplies have been
found to be in short supply, and the oil-producing countries have begun shipping the gas
associated with their oil instead of flaring it because the price has risen enough to justify the
construction and commissioning of refrigerated gas tankers to bring the gas to the United
States, where it is introduced into the gas pipeline system (Fig. 12.14).
Using the gas for motor fuel is certainly possible, but it would have to be reformed (which
costs a significant energy penalty) and the recent rise in gas price, which seems unlikely to
recede, means that the economics of conversion would not be overly profitable. It is an
unlikely scenario that motor fuel would compete with home heating for natural gas.
Global energy imbalance ~0.75 Wm-2
The Three Components of Energy Needs
Geothermal Gradient
Production of ATP in Skeletal Muscle
Chart showing average yearly dose of radiation from natural and human-made sources
Energy requirements of an uncatalyzed versus an enzymatically catalyzed chemical reaction