Since there are no currently active contests, we have switched Climate CoLab to read-only mode.
Learn more at https://climatecolab.org/page/readonly.
Skip navigation
Contest Image

Hydraulic fracturing (fracking) 2013

VIEW Proposals
Proposal creation

CoLab members create proposals

Jun 1, 2012 12:00 EDT - Jun 16, 2013 02:59 EDT
Finalist selection
Expert judges select finalists

Jun 16, 2013 03:00 EDT - Jun 30, 2013 11:59 EDT
Proposal revisions
Finalists can improve their proposals

Jul 1, 2013 12:00 EDT - Jul 15, 2013 11:59 EDT
Selection of winners
CoLab members vote and judges also select winners

Jul 16, 2013 12:00 EDT - Aug 31, 2013 11:59 EDT
Completed
Winners are awarded

Sep 1, 2013 12:00 EDT
What can be done to measure, monitor and reduce the climate impacts of increased oil and gas production spurred by hydraulic fracturing (fracking)?

In recent years the scale of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for oil and natural gas in the United States has grown enormously. This might be positive news for efforts to mitigate climate change, since natural gas produces fewer carbon emissions than other fossil fuels in many situations, but there are also reasons for concern, including fugitive methane emissions associated with natural gas production and the carbon footprint of oils recovered through these methods. This contest seeks proposals on how to measure, monitor, and reduce the climate impacts of fracking. See more...

What:
Where:
Who:
How:
15 Proposals
States require drillers to “buy” wasted fuels from gas utilities. The utilities deploy methane-sniffing drones and mobile sensors.
Using big data, open platforms and distributed networks to collect, share, and analyse fracking information to drive solutions
Increased fracking will create sites for CO2 sequestration. The gas/oil piping will be suitable for CO2 once the well is largely exhausted.
A MIT paper concludes that direct capture of CO2 from the air is possible. Fracking wells can sequester the CO2 from www.Skyscrubber.com
Inertia dynamics are designed to help reduce the climate impacts of hydraulic fracturing in natural gas well production.
Regulate fracking by coupling legal liability for environmental damage to individual operating companies. This imposes risks/costs on them.
Use CO2 instead of water for fracking.
Although the chemical mix used by frackers is ostensibly available to the public, this is far from the case! Make this information available
Bismuth thiols may be the solution to biofilms that cause a wide range of deleterious and expensive problems for the oil and gas industry
Methane emissions can increase the impact of fracking on climate change. Require that they be monitored.
The Bush Administration removal of regualtory authority over the use of fracking to extract natural gas no means exist to assess process.
We brainstormed ideas on fracking to make it safer.
Coupled Climate Model experiments and methane leakage measurement
Adapt currently used NEPA/CEQA regulation and policy to include fracking projects and proposals.