Scattered Work

The cost of fracking

Photo by Flickr user chibi_ro

One point I make in passing in today’s column about CPS Energy’s solar deal is that the value of solar power is relative to the cost of other sources of electricity, primarily coal, natural gas, and wind. And as more of the environmental costs of the fossil fuel sources are factored into their market prices, solar becomes more attractive.

For instance, CPS opted to close an old coal plant 15 years ahead of schedule shortly before EPA regulations mandating new scrubbers were announced. These scrubbers, which remove mercury and other pollutants from power plant emissions, had been required for new facilities, but a large number of coal plants built in the 1970s had been grandfathered in. So the cost of bringing these aging facilities up to code has pushed some utilities to think seriously about retiring them in favor of cleaner sources of power.

As regulations have made coal more costly, natural gas has become much more affordable, due to the surge in fracking. Right now, fracking is almost totally unregulated. Texas is actually one of the first states to require energy companies to even disclose what they are putting into their fracking compounds. But this situation is likely untenable. Most of the concerns about fracking related to contamination of water supplies as millions of gallons of water and chemicals are forced underground to break apart rock and release natural gas. The EPA recently released a report linking fracking to contamination of water supplies, and recommended that the State of New York tighten its proposed fracking rules.

There are also concerns about the sheer quantity of water being used in these operations. As the Texas Tribune reports, the new Texas law, which will go into effect February 1, requires not just disclosure of the chemicals used but also the amount of water consumed by fracking operations. Although the amount of water used in fracking is a tiny fraction of what a big city consumes, in some regions it can be quite significant. From the Texas Tribune article:

Dan Hardin, the water board’s resource planning director, said fracking is not expected to exceed 2 percent of Texas water use.

But drilling can send the water numbers much higher in rural areas, Hardin said. For example, he projects that in 2020, more than 40 percent of water demand in La Salle County, in the Eagle Ford, will go toward “mining,” a technical term that in this case means almost entirely fracking. Until recently, no water went toward mining there.

As these natural gas operations come under closer scrutiny, and eventually actual regulation, the cost of natural gas will naturally rise. Cities like San Antonio, with ambitious solar and wind projects underway, will see the benefit of a diverse energy portfolio with a high level of renewable sources.

Tags: fracking, natural gas, renewable energy, solar power

One thing led to another…

When I started Scattered Work, I was excited to move beyond my focus on arts writing, to grapple with social structures outside of a gallery. I showed my project to an editor at Plaza de Armas, and she asked me to contribute to the San Antonio-based web magazine. I agreed, happy to find a wider audience and an editor to help me sharpen my work. So far, I’ve written two columns, with another coming out next Tuesday. I’ve also been trying to keep up with posting here, and am investigating several ideas that should lead to new posts in the next week or so. For now, here are links to my columns:

Carne asada is not a crime — in this article I explored San Antonio’s prohibition on downtown mobile food vendors. I came at this issue from two angles: first, the practical effects of allowing kitchens on wheels into city center, as explored by by William Whyte in “The Social Life of Small Urban Spaces”; and second, the pride San Antonio has in its culinary culture, and the potential power of sharing that culture with both natives and visitors within the urban core. This is just one way, albeit a very compelling one, of sharing culture on a human scale.

The needs of the many v. the rule of capture — this is about an ongoing dispute over water rights in Texas (although this is playing out in various ways in many places). It’s a thorny issue with lots of legal ins and outs, but ultimately we need to recognize that ranchers and other land owners cannot all own the groundwater under their property, and this fact needs to be recognized and clearly codified in our laws. State lawmakers are currently unwilling to bring real clarity to ownership rights underlying the regulations, and until they do groundwater conservation districts and farmers will both be held back by legal wrangling.

Thanks for staying tuned.

Regulations: downtown food vendors

I was digging through San Antonio regulations this week, and thought I’d share a few of my favorites.

Allowed food vending downtown:

10.26.1 Raspas

10.26.2 Pre-packaged, Non-potentially hazardous food items (not allowed on Alamo

Plaza)

10.26.3 Hot Dogs (not allowed on Alamo Plaza)

10.26.4 Steamed Corn (not allowed on Alamo Plaza)

10.26.5 Ice Cream (not allowed on Alamo Plaza)

And, assuming you do want to sell steamed corn to tourists:

6.11.2 All petitioners are required to receive approval of their cart design by the City’s Historic Preservation Office (HPO).

On the other hand, if you want to take your canoe out in the San Antonio river, go here to apply for a free permit. But beware:

Willful body contact with water is prohibited.

Tags: downtown, food vendors, improvisation, raspas