Millions of Abandoned Oil and Gas Wells Foretell Unprecedented Environmental Disaster

BROOKLYN, NY, February 15, 2011 (Press-News.org) After the Associated Press (AP) last summer, in the wake of the Deepwater Horizon explosion, reported on the ecological danger from 27,000 abandoned oil wells in the Gulf of Mexico, EcoHearth.com commissioned award-winning journalist Steven Kotler to investigate the extent of the problem on land and across the planet. Kotler found that there are at least 2.5 million abandoned and unmonitored oil and gas wells in the U.S., and tens of millions more worldwide. Many--estimated in the hundreds of thousands--are already leaking oil, brine and greenhouse gases destroying habitats, polluting aquifers and occasionally exploding.

Current capping technology uses concrete that breaks down over time, just as roads and bridges made of concrete do. But unlike roads and bridges, these abandoned oil and gas wells are not inspected and there is no program for maintaining them. Accidents, natural disasters, spontaneous re-pressurization, and the breakdown of the cement over time puts all of these sites at ecological risk.

Terry Tamminen, former secretary of the California Environmental Protection Agency, calls these abandoned wells, "literally ticking time bombs." As Kotler writes, "When you examine these facts, it's hard not to believe that the energy industry has managed to turn a large portion of our globe into a Superfund site waiting to happen."

Oil industry experts quoted in the piece include Ian McDonnell, Rick Steiner, Bill Pine, Terry Tamminen, Bob Cavnar, Romana Nye, Greg Rosenstein, Norman Guinasso and Michael Bromwich.

Interview opportunity:
Steven Kotler can be reached for interviews today and tomorrow, February 15 and 16, at Steven@StevenKotler.com or 505-351-1676.

The original investigative piece can be found at http://ecohearth.com/eco-zine/green-issues/1609-planet-sludge-leaking-oil-gas-wells-disaster.html (shortened URL: http://bit.ly/g2nH7N)

About Steven Kotler:
Steven Kotler is an award-winning journalist and the author of The Angle Quickest for Flight, West of Jesus: Surfing, Science, and the Origins of Belief and A Small Furry Prayer: Dog Rescue and the Meaning of Life. His non-fiction appears in more than 50 publications, including the New York Times Magazine, LA Times, Wired, Popular Science, GQ, Outside and National Geographic. He writes The Playing Field, a blog about the science of sport, for Psychology Today and is an investigative reporter for ecology site, EcoHearth.com.

For further information, contact:
Marita Prandoni, EcoHearth.com Advisory Board chair, marita@ecohearth.com, 917-310-1350
EcoHearth.com, P.O. Box 180408, Brooklyn, NY 11218 / 718-852-2991 office / 480-393-5039 fax
[EcoHearth.com is 100% wind-powered]

About EcoHearth.com:
EcoHearth.com is among the largest creators of independent environmental content on the Web. Headquartered in New York City and 100% wind powered, it offers original ecology articles, blogs and commentaries, plus ecology videos and information on eco-friendly products, green jobs and environmental activism. With a shared concern for both ecology and healthy living, EcoHearth's international writing staff provides a unique, authoritative voice and robust angle on all things environmental to inform and inspire our readers to be eco-smart and live sustainable lives. More about EcoHearth.com can be found at http://ecohearth.com/about-us.html.