DailyDirt: What, Me Worry?

The price of oil is surprisingly low -- dipping below $30 a barrel recently. That's not a bad thing for consumers who like to drive and have warm homes in the winter and for the prices of a whole lot of other things. But let's not get too comfortable with hydrocarbon-based fuels for too long. There are a few concerning things about burning fossil fuels -- even if we're not worried about carbon dioxide emissions and climate change. However, the alternatives might not be that great, either.

• A massive methane leak in southern California has been spewing over 100,000 pounds per hour of natural gas into the atmosphere for months now. Several attempts to plug the leak have failed, possibly making the problem worse each time, and it could be sometime in March before the leak is under some control. [url]
• BP spent over $14 billion on cleanup efforts after the Deepwater Horizon accident in 2010. The environmental damage is still being assessed, and all kinds of marine wildlife from around the world might be affected (e.g., turtles). It's estimated that 4.9 million barrels of oil were released, and a sizable amount of that oil is unaccounted for -- though Mother Nature may have biodegraded some of it. [url]
• Satellite imagery from 2003-2009 detected a mysterious methane hotspot near the Four Corners intersection of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. This leak poured about 590,000 tons of methane into the air for each year it was seen, and no one has quite pinpointed its source(s) yet. For reference, this methane hotspot emits more than natural leaks from the ocean floor. [url]

After you've finished checking out those links, take a look at our Daily Deals for cool gadgets and other awesome stuff.

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