Despite the fact that Coal Seam Gas extraction is proven as a fairly clean way to produce energy, it has suddenly become the new bogey energy form for environmentalist groups.

About 20 percent of Australia’s natural gas production – and 70 per cent of Queensland’s natural gas – already comes from applying pressure to coal deposits and catching the gas that emerges. Like all miners, clearly there are a number of environmental issues that need to be addressed by the CSG companies and the rights of land-holders are a serious concern – but there is no argument that this is not a successful means of energy extraction.

If Australia invested heavily in coal seam gas to make base-load power, we could reduce the carbon dioxide emissions that we otherwise produce from coal-fired stations by 60-70 per cent, and make significant steps towards meeting ambitious carbon dioxide reduction targets.

Despite all of these things, many environmentalists have decided they don’t like CSG. Amongst the arguments are that the fracking process is dangerous, that the injection of chemicals into the ground could poison aquifers, that it releases some greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and that the gas companies are trampling over the rights of farmers.

The reason that these arguments could end up biting our environmentalist friends on the rear is that all of these things are also true of one of their golden boys of renewable energy, geothermal.

Geothermal energy is still unproven in Australia, but the Government has nonetheless pinned its hopes on it to produce 21 per cent of our total energy needs by 2050, making it the biggest projected single contributor of our so-called renewables.

Geothermal energy has still yet to contribute a watt to Australia’s energy grid, and nobody is holding their breath for it to happen any time soon.

However, like CSG, the geothermal energy extraction process also involves fracking, interfering with aquifers, releasing greenhouse gases, and trampling over farmland. Geothermal energy also has a major problem in that it induces earthquakes as an intrinsic part of the process .

(This video, by the way, is somewhat slow, but stick with it, and it will tell you a great deal about these shortcomings.)

Despite having more going for it than the geothermal industry, the Coal Seam Gas industry’s biggest mistake appears to be that they failed to get Tim Flannery on board as a shareholder very early on.