So, you think the oil-spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico is bad? Why? Is it terrible that petrochemicals are poisoning our water? Is it terrible because it is ruining our beautiful beaches? Of course! So, why is it "OK" to destroy our water and land on a mass scale throughout the United States, through a process known as "fracking" or "fracing"... a process which is poisoning water supplies and dumping all sorts of horrendous waste on thousands of acres of land? Is it just hypocrisy that makes all of our other destructive behavior acceptable, or is it lack of people knowing what is happening (since the news rarely mentions the destruction occurring due to fracking)?
If you are new to the term "fracking" for natural gas, it refers to the practice of drilling wells and injecting a cancer-causing toxic soup of petrochemicals and undisclosed compounds into the ground under high pressure to effect hydraulic fracturing of stone in order to extract natural gas from a layer of stone (typically a type of shale).
Thanks to what is now known as the Haliburton Exemption (a la Dick Cheney's Haliburton) to essentially ALL environmental regulations (Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, etc), companies can pump toxic waste into the ground, under pressure, to crack deeply buried layers of natural gas containing rock, in order to get the natural gas to come out in an "economical" way. Never mind the fact that this act is poisoning the ground water in many regions of the country, and that toxic sludge is also pouring out onto the surface of the land (including radioactive sludge) near these drilling sites in Texas, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, West Virginia, Colorado, and other States.
Vanity Fair just did a wonderful article on the damage that fracking is causing throughout America, and their is a movie called Gasland that is coming out in 2010 that will expose some of the horrors of this practice. Why does it continue? Thanks to Dick Cheney's shady behind-closed-doors dealings with the industry, and working out exemptions from every environmental law. This quote from the Vanity Fair article says it all:
Although fracking was never regulated by the federal government when it was a less prevalently used technique, it was granted explicit exemptions—despite dissent within the E.P.A.—from the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Clean Air Act, and the Clean Water Act by the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the wide-ranging energy bill crafted by Dick Cheney in closed-door meetings with oil-and-gas executives. While the average citizen can receive harsh punishment under federal law for dumping a car battery into a pond, gas companies, thanks to what has become known as the Halliburton Loophole, are allowed to pump millions of gallons of fluid containing toxic chemicals into the ground, right next to our aquifers, without even having to identify them.
The current "gold rush" in the Natural Gas industry is focused on a vast rock formation rich in natural gas known as the Marcellus Shale, which stretches along the Appalachians from West Virginia up to the western half of the state of New York. But, the only way to "economically" get the natural gas out of the ground (according to the industry) is to inject highly toxic sludge into the ground in order to force the natural gas out. Don't mind the fact that this sludge is then interacting with ground water... the same ground water that we rely on for drinking!
And, acquiring mineral rights to land in the target areas has been quite easy for these companies... they are preying upon, in large part, poorer areas of the nation like Appalachia, where a few thousands dollars sounds like quite a bit of money; people willingly sell their long-term health and the health and safety of their family and children, all for the promise of some quick money. They do not read articles before signing lease deals... articles like the one appearing in Vanity Fair which detail the destruction and health problems that people are experiencing once they sign up for that "quick cash".
What amazes me is how people will ignore the fact that this type of natural-gas drilling (ie, fracking) has destroyed the water supplies of entire towns, yet people still want to know "how much per acre can I get to lease". Is there ANY price per acre worth destroying your water supply, poisoning your family and neighbors, your pets, your livestock? People are watching their property values plummet - or become worthless - after fracing has contaminated their land and water! Unless people demand enough cash to buy their entire property outright, with some added money for "profit" and moving expenses (to move away from fracking), they are just asking to lose everything.
Search the Internet and get the truth about the widespread damage caused by fracking. And, if you think the Gulf oil-spill disaster is terrible, get ready to have the similar destruction in your own neighborhood if you let this drilling occur nearby. Sadly, you can choose not to allow drilling on your property, but some uninformed (or just money-motivated) person near you can allow it, and it will STILL poison your water. Entire towns have been trashed by this fracing (e.g., read up on Dimock, PA!)
Sure, someone is making money... but it is not the people that took a few thousand dollars and then watched their homes and land become worthless! The only ones getting truly wealthy from this are the companies extracting the natural gas without regard for the health of the poor suckers who sold their mineral rights off for cheap. And, most often, those companies are not even based in the State(s) where the destruction is occurring. Keep in mind: these companies are exempt from the Clean Air/Water Act, etc... they have essentially zero incentive to preserve the quality of your land/water, and you will NOT win any lawsuits against them if you think you can just "sue" and get a pile of money after they destroy your water/land. Sell your mineral rights, and sell your rights to ever recover your damages (that will almost certainly occur).
The temptation for quick money is what keeps this sick natural-gas drilling practice going, regardless of the damage and despair it is inflicting on thousands of people. And, I fear, no matter how much damage it causes, people will still be enticed by the money and condemn us all to disaster and tragedy. I sure hope I am proved wrong, but I doubt I will be. Humans never learn. So, point your finger at the Gulf oil spill and scream about how bad it is... all while signing those papers to collect your mineral rights money from the fracing industry and poison yet another part of the planet.
2 comments:
The guy who made Gasland was on The Daily Show last week so it's getting some exposure.
I really don't want to give the 2012 doomsday crowd any credence, but the way we get pushing things I feel like something catastrophic is going to happen in the next few years that's going to result in the deaths of millions. Maybe not all at once, but over a period of time. No, I don't have proof. It's just this gut feeling I have. I know, not very scientific.
Ded, I too am not with the "2012" crowd (especially since there is zero factual basis for they presumed theories ... plenty of scientific sites have debunked all their hype).
But, I too see this horrendous trend occurring, whereby instead of putting the brakes on destroying the planet, we are instead applying the accelerator. It is like we are in some huge hurry to drive off the cliff. I blame it all on greed: short term desire for money (an intangible concept only humans could come up with) is what motivates the ever-increasing pace of consumption and correlated destruction of our world. Until we find something more fulfilling than "stuff" (that money can purchase), I fear we are doomed.
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