Methane hydrate doom and gloom

Today's Guardian features an interesting and informative article on the enormous energy potential of methane hydrates. All you have to do is make it past the bullshit at the start:

More than a mile below the choppy Gulf of Mexico waters lies a vast, untapped source of energy. Locked in mysterious crystals, the sediment beneath the seabed holds enough natural gas to fuel America's energy-guzzling society for decades, or to bring about sufficient climate change to melt the planet's glaciers and cause catastrophic flooding, depending on whom you talk to.

No prizes for guessing the US government's preferred line. This week it will dispatch a drilling vessel to the region, on a mission to bring this virtually inexhaustible new supply of fossil fuel to power stations within a decade.

After the obligatory cheap shot at the US the article becomes quite a good read. But, read on far enough and you'll be confronted by this revelation:

Environmental groups oppose attempts to extract methane from hydrate reserves.

Naturally, scenarios of doom and gloom follow. Regardless, the article's well worth a look.