Contains the keyword opinion
New York's drinking water is under threat from dirty drilling made possible by "hydraulic fracturing" -- but it doesn't have to be.
We can take a drilling "time-out" -- to learn the hard-won lessons of drilling-polluted communities in Pennsylvania, Colorado, and everywhere drillers pushed ahead without adequate regulation and enforcement.
After having seen the powerful documentary Gasland that shows the impact of “fracking” on households across the United States, including flammable tap water and cancer clusters that are the inevitable outcome of natural gas drilling byproducts, I have begun to pay closer attention to news coverage, including my hometown papers in Upstate NY where energy companies are attempting to buy support from impoverished land owners.
So with that in mind, I read the article “When a Rig Moves In Next Door” by Clifford Krauss and Tom Zeller Jr. in the Business section of today’s NY Times with keen interest.
As is so often the case with the newspaper of record, it has to maintain the illusion of objectivity, so necessary for its market niche: college-educated professionals who vote Democrat, watch PBS, listen to NPR, drive a Lexus, and donate money to the ACLU or mainstream environmentalist organizations. It simply would not suffice for Krauss and Zeller Jr. to write the sort of thing that you would hear from Rupert Murdoch hirelings, even if it amounts to the same thing more or less.
I especially enjoyed his reporting on how some environmentalists are for gas drilling despite the inflammatory water faucets and cancer clusters:
"Some environmentalists support fracking and other means of extracting natural gas because gas emits a fraction of the carbon of either oil or coal. They also prefer it because it could replace coal as the nation’s principal source of electricity and provide a lower-carbon bridge before renewable energy sources can be developed on a larger scale."
You don’t have to be working at FAIR to ask the question which environmentalists?
I am the moderator of the Marxism mailing list, where my various articles first appear.
"I will start this story by saying that Aruba Petroleum has taken a great deal from my family, but they cannot take away our faith in God. This story may sound like one of defeat, but we are not defeated.
My husband Tim, daughter Reilly, and I purchased 10 acres and a wonderful home in Wise County, TX about six years ago. We thought that country life would be the best life for our daughter given her love of animals and nature. We have lived a peaceful life, improving our home when we could and striving to provide the best childhood possible for Reilly.
Aruba Petroleum turned that life upside down on August 29th 2009 with no regard for property or human health. We learned shortly after that day that our 10 acres were, unfortunately, a part of the 920 acre Wright lease held by Aruba Petroleum."
Beverly May and Terry Ratliff grew up like kin on opposite sides of a mountain ridge in eastern Kentucky. Now in their fifties, the two find themselves in the midst of a debate dividing their community and the world: who controls, consumes, and benefits from our planet's shrinking supply of natural resources?
While Beverly organizes her neighbors and leads a legal fight to stop Miller Brothers Coal Company from advancing into her hollow, Terry considers signing away the mining rights to his backyard-a decision that could destroy not only the two friends' homes, but the peace and environment surrounding their community.
Co-Director/Cinematographer
JEN GILOMEN is Director of Public Media Strategies at the Bay Area Video Coalition (BAVC).
Co-Director/Editor
SALLY RUBIN is a documentary filmmaker and editor based in Los Angeles.
See: Shnayerson, Michael. 2008. Coal River. 1st ed. Farrar, Straus and Giroux, January 8.
See: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. Mobilizes on Mountaintop Removal
See: Marsh Fork Elementary: Journey Up Coal River | A Community and Strip Mining
See: Mountaintop Removal (Film)
See: Mike Roselle clip 2-from the Southern Regional Jail West Virginia
See: Tree spiker : from Earth First! to lowbagging: my struggles in radical environmental action
See: Leveling Appalachia: The Legacy of Mountaintop Removal Mining
Shale gas drilling is looming in the Upper Delaware River Watershed in NY and PA.
Why is this a threat to our water supplies?
What are the risks involved ?
Established in 1988 upon the appointment of the Delaware Riverkeeper, the Delaware Riverkeeper Network (DRN) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) membership organization. DRN's professional staff and volunteers work throughout the entire Delaware River Watershed including portions of Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware and New York.
See Delaware River Keeper. (2009). "Natural Gas Well Drilling and Production in the Upper Delaware River Fact Sheet".
"...An increased risk of stillbirths linked to the flaring of natural gas with high levels of hydrogen sulfide has been reported in cattle in Canada. Incidents in Texas are increasingly reported, especially in the Fort Worth region.
There is a need for thorough study of the environmental and health impacts of well drilling and development; there is very little on record. For instance, in Colorado a Health Impact Assessment has been called for as part of an Environmental Impact Statement due to documented pollution problems from natural gas development in Garfield County that require scientific analysis.
To date, research has been impeded because fracking fluids are protected from disclosure by federal protections granted to the oil and gas industry despite health and environmental impacts..."
It’s possible that there is $1 trillion worth of natural gas beneath the ground of Pennsylvania. With that kind of money at stake, out-of-state drilling companies are flocking to Pennsylvania and so are their lobbyists.
Use this site to find out which gas companies have been giving unlimited contributions to Pennsylvania politicians… and who's been taking them.
Common Cause Pennsylvania is a non-profit, non-partisan citizens' lobby organization. We are dedicated to restoring the core values of American democracy, reinventing an open, honest and accountable government that serves the public interest, and empowering ordinary people to make their voices heard in the political process.
We work to strengthen public participation and to ensure that the political process serves the public interest, rather than the special interest. Common Cause Pennsylvania conducted the data research available on this website as part of its "Deep Drilling, Deep Pockets" report, released in May of 2010.
Photo By Kalim A. Bhatti, for USA Today. 4/28/2010.
Bob Myers, an avid hiker, in Lock Haven, Pa., has become concerned that state forests are being freely leased to drilling firms, leading to clear-cutting of forests, sludge pits and risks of accidents.There have been many incidents of water contamination and even buildings exploding because of natural gas hydro-fracturing operations. The most common problem is methane migration due to defective casing.
According to the Pittsburgh Geological Society's article "Natural Gas Migration Problems in Western Pennsylvania" methane migration occurs when natural gas escapes "from the reservoir rock, coal seam, pipeline, gas well, or landfill. If the gas migrates through the bedrock and soil, it can result in an explosion capable of damaging property and causing loss of life."
Bob Myers has written an informed overview on the impact and consequences of hydraulic fracturing in Pennsylvania. In the section titled, "The Pennsylvania Natural Gas Industry Wall of Shame", he lists violations and pollution from 2009-2010.
Supporters of the gas industry often claim that we have nothing to fear from the big, reputable companies. But, the incidents listed above were caused by Cabot, Range Resources, Anadarko, Chesapeake, East Resources, Talisman, Fortuna. Who's left?"
Professor Myers received his Ph.D. from Penn State in 1991. He teaches American Literature, and has published a biography of the author Harold Frederic, as well as several articles on late-19th-century literature.
Bob and Lisa were told by their doctor to move out of their home withing 48 hours because it was too dangerous for them to stay after they were diagnosed with drilling chemicals in their blood and organs.
Videos and posting by Bluedaze Sharon Wilson.
Brandon Evans. 9/27/2010. Fight for Survival. Wise County Messenger. Online Edition.
It doesn't have to be this way. There are affordable emission controls that industry could use to prevent 90% of the emissions. These are some of the best practices least destructive practices described in DRILL RIGHT TEXAS: Best oil & gas development practices for Texas. Industry refuses to use control technology unless it is mandated.
Before you go all weird and start attacking Texas, have a look at this map and know that they are finding more shale areas everyday, everywhere, all across the globe. Shale gas is the biggest scam ever played on the human race.
Keep drilling toxics out of our drinking water.
Tell your Senators and Representatives to support the FRAC Act.
Minnesota based Blog by Shelly Thomas. Lively, entertaining, with well organized links, videos, photos. Covers UK, Canadian, international and U.S. issues. Updated regularly since April 2008.
Futurism Now is about the energy, challenges, and green jobs of the future. There are big changes coming and Futurism Now attempts to find the news and information people will need to adapt to their changing lifestyles.
See: Take the Tar Sands Pledge of Resistance
“We are in a crisis situation. In order to bring global CO2 back to the safe zone, we need a global shift now,” writes Beyond Talk. “These and other tar sands operations amount to the single-most destructive and unsustainable project on earth. (See this brief H2oil segment for an excellent introduction.)”
See: H2Oil: An Explanation of the Tar Sands in Alberta
Example Feed from 10/3/2010:
- Worst Climate Change Video Ever Made
- Activists Vow to End Mountaintop Removal
- The End of the World As We Know It
- More Downsides to Natural Gas
- Fighting Big Coal With Some Success
- UN Urges Governments to Build a Climate Change Foundation
- H2Oil: An Explanation of the Tar Sands in Alberta
- Recent Climate and Politics News
- Eco Study and Inspiration
- Pacific Walrus Threatened by Global Warming
Statement by the National Council of Churches of Christ (2008). A Call for Faithful Stewardship of God’s Creation: Reflections on Natural Gas Drilling and Leasing. National Council of Churches in Christ. Published by Beach Lake United Methodist Church, Beach Lake, PA.
Beach Lake United Methodist Church. Located in Beach Lake, Pennsylvania, near the New York Catskills.
"Biblical and theological considerations are commended to everyone, whether or not they have been approached about a gas lease and regardless of whether they have signed one. People are encouraged to think as broadly as possible and learn all they can in order to make the best possible decisions in the future.
Purpose: To involve church members, wherever in the United States gas drilling is operative or proposed, in biblical and theological dialogue, in order to equip and motivate them to engage in discussions and decisions in their respective communities."
