{"id":29422,"date":"2016-01-17T23:53:52","date_gmt":"2016-01-18T03:53:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=29422"},"modified":"2016-01-18T19:58:18","modified_gmt":"2016-01-18T23:58:18","slug":"methane-volcano-now-imperils-los-angeles-san-fernando-valley-permeated-with-natural-gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=29422","title":{"rendered":"Methane ‘Volcano’ Now Imperils Los Angeles, San Fernando Valley Permeated With Natural Gas"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"cfbzoxhqkoyuhvo7yzrh-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

*Data visualization shows the methane plume from the Aliso Canyon gas leak (in red<\/span>)<\/p>\n

\"MethaneLeakSpreadsAlisoCanyonGoogleEarthDatViz-1\"<\/a><\/p>\n

*Data visualization shows the methane plume from the Aliso Canyon gas leak (in red<\/span>)<\/p>\n

\"porterranchgasleakmap\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Natural Gas Leak Spews from Well at Nation’s 2nd Largest Storage Facility<\/h1>\n

Why did Governor Jerry Brown Take So Long To Declare An Emergency? Because his sister is on the board of Sempra Energy, the parent company of SoCal.<\/h2>\n

Where is the U.S. Federal Government in the midst of the worst natural gas catastrophe in American history?<\/h3>\n

The Greater Metro Los Angeles is Home to 20 Million People and the California State Government has been Effectively AWOL<\/h4>\n

TMR<\/a> Editor’s Note:<\/strong>
\nThe distractions are now coming so fast and furious that few can process the totally manmade catastrophe that is taking shape in the San Fernando Valley just northwest of the city of Los Angeles. \u00a0As far as natural gas leaks are concerned, they simply don’t get any bigger than the one spewing methane in Aliso Canyon. \u00a0Truly, this is the “BP oil spill on land!”<\/strong><\/em> as Erin Brockovich was recently quoted.<\/p>\n

Aliso Canyon methane leak emissions sky-high, pilot scientist found<\/a><\/p>\n

One of the editors of The Millennium Report worked 7 days a week, 16 hours a day on the BP Gulf oil spill for many months. \u00a0That leak was in water and way out in the\u00a0Macondo Prospect 5000 feet deep in the Gulf of Mexico. \u00a0This hydrocarbon leak at Aliso Canyon is located in the most populous county in the nation as Los Angeles County recently surpassed the\u00a010,000,000 mark. \u00a0The map of LA County below indicates San Fernando just north of LA proper. \u00a0Just west of there are the upscale communities of Porter Ranch and Granada Hills; that’s where the methane volcano has been spewing nonstop since October 23rd.<\/p>\n

\"Screen<\/a><\/p>\n

What’s the point of this SOS? \u00a0One \u00a0of the most populated metropolitan areas in the nation is the site of a ginormous natural gas leak that threatens the entire region. \u00a0Porter Ranch has already evacuated 2500 households with another 2500 to 5000 in process. \u00a0The population density of this particular area is such that upwards of 30 to 50,000 residents may ultimately be evacuated. \u00a0YES, IT’S THAT SERIOUS!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aliso Canyon gas leak: Over 150 million pounds of methane poured into atmosphere in Los Angeles<\/a><\/p>\n

For the time being, everything depends on the weather patterns. \u00a0Blue clear skies permit the methane to rise and disperse although it still poses huge problems to the environment because of its decomposition time and temperature. \u00a0Low pressure days and chemtrail-fabricated cloud cover, on the other hand, will cause the methane plumes to hover closer to the ground. \u00a0The more that the well-gone-bad leaks, the more that natural gas will accumulate here and there however the ambient atmosphere permits. \u00a0There is no question that the extraordinary outflow of methane has already caused concentrations of natural gas to occur in a metro area which have never — EVER — been seen before—ANYWHERE!<\/p>\n

Lest the reader doubt that California is right now facing the greatest manmade environmental \u00a0disaster in its history, the following two articles have been posted in their entirety for further edification.<\/p>\n

The Millennium Report
\n<\/a>January 17, 2016<\/p>\n

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Porter Ranch Methane Leak Spreads Across LA\u2019s San Fernando Valley<\/h1>\n

Lorraine Chow
\nECOWATCH<\/p>\n

It now looks like the\u00a0catastrophic<\/a> Porter Ranch<\/a> gas leak, which has spewed more than 83,000 metric tons<\/a> of noxious methane for nearly three months, has spread across\u00a0Los Angeles\u2019s San Fernando Valley.<\/p>\n

On\u00a0Wednesday<\/a>, Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander called on the Southern California Gas Co. to extend residential relocation assistance to residents in Granada Hills, Chatsworth and Northridge who live near the Aliso Canyon gas leak above Porter Ranch.\u00a0These residents reported symptoms related to the exposure of natural gas<\/a> such as nausea, vomiting, headaches and respiratory problems.<\/p>\n

\"porterranchgasleakmap\"<\/span><\/a>
The researchers have developed the Valley\u2019s first comprehensive map of methane exposure. Photo credit: HEET<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

This latest development\u00a0compounds with a\u00a0new\u00a0analysis<\/a> from Home Energy Efficiency Team (HEET). The Cambridge-based\u00a0nonprofit sent Boston University Professor Nathan Phillips and Bob Ackley of Gas Safety to take methane measurements around the San Fernando Valley for several days and their findings were\u00a0disturbing.<\/p>\n

As the Los Angeles Daily News<\/a> wrote, \u201cthe researchers recorded elevated levels of the main ingredient in natural gas\u201410 miles away from the nation\u2019s largest gas leak.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not just in Porter Ranch, it\u2019s going all the way across the [San Fernando] Valley,\u201d Ackley told Inside Climate News<\/a>.<\/p>\n

According to HEET, the researchers drove a high precision GIS-enabled natural gas analyzer down the roads around the gas leak to create a comprehensive map of the leak around San Fernando Valley. The red on the\u00a0map indicates where they drove and the levels of methane they found is shown by the height of the peaks.<\/p>\n

Their monitors showed methane levels at 3.4 parts per billion, about twice the level of natural clean air, the Los Angeles Daily News reported. Another measurement showed 127 ppm, or an astounding 67 times above normal.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhatever else may be in the gas\u2014benzene, toluene, xylene\u2014that is what people may be breathing,\u201d Phillips told Inside Climate News. \u201cEven though we\u2019re not measuring things other than methane, there is a legitimate concern that there is that other nasty stuff in there.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Inside Climate News observed: \u201cThe findings challenge assurances from the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the regional air pollution control agency, and the state\u2019s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment that the leak hasn\u2019t increased residents\u2019 exposure to toxic gases.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dozens of public health and environmental advocates and experts will rally at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency headquarters in Washington, DC tomorrow to press for federal action on the Porter Ranch leak.<\/p>\n

Friday\u2019s rally, organized by members from Food & Water Watch<\/a> and other organizations, will ask the U.S. EPA to\u00a0intercede and permanently shut down operations at a blown-out gas storage facility in California.<\/p>\n

Southern Caliifornia Gas Co. has evacuated more than 2,000 residents living near the leak since October. Porter Ranch was officially declared a state of emergency<\/a> by California Gov. Jerry Brown, however, advocates have criticized his slow response to the escalating public health crisis.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor months, Governor Brown and California authorities sat on their hands as this gas blowout crisis deepened and scores got sick,\u201d Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter<\/a>said. \u201cNow it\u2019s a matter of \u2018too little, too late\u2019 from the governor, and the people of Porter Ranch are desperate for federal intervention to end this catastrophe and ensure it never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n

On Saturday<\/a>, in Granada Hills, California, hundreds of residents of Porter Ranch will rally and testify at the second hearing on a stipulated Order for Abatement\u2014which requires a company operating out of compliance to take specific actions or to shut down its operation to come into compliance\u2014over the Porter Ranch Gas Leak.<\/p>\n

Southern Caliifornia Gas Co. said in a statement<\/a> that methane leakage has been slowly falling. Estimates by the California Air Resources Board showed an estimated 60-percent reduction from peak levels in late November.<\/p>\n

The gas company is currently drilling a relief well in an effort to plug the leak, the Los Angeles Daily News<\/a> reported. The effort, however, could take months.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve drilled to a depth of approximately 7,000 feet (and) we have to drill to a depth of over 8,000 feet, and remain on schedule to complete this process between late February and late March,\u201d company spokesman Raul Gordillo said.<\/p>\n

For more background information and personal accounts from affected local residents, watch here:<\/p>\n