Video Shows Frightening Scale of SoCal Gas Leak

Two environmental advocacy groups have released an aerial video of the ongoing natural gas leak that’s plaguing Porter Ranch, CA and it’s startling. This is known as the Aliso Canyon methane leak, the worst environmental disaster since the BP gulf oil spill.

The video, shot using a specialized infrared camera aboard a helicopter, released this week by the groups earthworks and the Environmental Defense Fund, shows a heavy plume of methane rising high above the leak from SoCal Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon well. Methane, the main component of natural gas, is colorless in the visible light spectrum, but does absorb some frequencies of infrared radiation. The Porter Canyon leak thus shows up as a dark plume in the video.

The groups also released the first-ever publicly viewable photos of the leak site, showing some of the damage from the mishap. As of Christmas weekend almost 70,000 metric tons of methane has leaked from SoCal Gas’s well, with an effect on the climate equivalent to the total annual pollution from all of California’s oil refineries.

SoCal Gas, which used the site to store natural gas in underground sandstone reservoirs, has told regulators that it doesn’t expect to have the leak stopped before March 2016.

Read full story…

 

 

The following are paid links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.