On top of all the conflicts with the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico that occurred earlier this year, Japan currently plans to drill for methane in the sea floor.  Frozen methane gas deposits, called methane hydrates, are stored in the sea floor and in the frozen ground of countries at high latitudes.   Japan currently imports over 99% of its oil and wants to produce energy domestically, and the only domestic oil source is from methane hydrates.  However, the environmental consequences of methane drilling are incredibly steep.  To start with, methane is a greenhouse gas that is over 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping sunlight in the atmosphere.   In addition, drilling can cause landslides on the sea floor that would destroy organisms living there.  Given the frequency of accidents that have happened with oil drilling, these are definite, serious risks.

The consequences of energy production are getting steeper and steeper as dependence on fossil fuels increases.  I learned about methane hydrates in one my classes last year and according to the IPCC, methane hydrate explosions are one of the four main catastrophes that could increase climate change exponentially.  Methane gas deposits are very volatile, but are held in place by extremely cold temperatures and high pressures.  However, with warming of the oceans due to climate change, pressure and temperature changes may occur and cause methane hydrates to rise to the surface and explode, releasing tons of methane gas into the atmosphere.  Hopefully, Japan will review the risks of methane drilling more carefully and not follow through with the current plan.  It is so devastating to see how we seem to be moving farther and farther back in making meaningful progress towards decreasing our dependence on fossil fuels and combating climate change.  It’s highly likely that something will go wrong with methane drilling, and if it does, it may be even more catastrophic than an oil spill, both for the environment and the economy.

http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/09/27/japan-will-drill-for-methane-off-its-shores/?ref=earth

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