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Loading...Why We Should Worry About Fracking
by Frances Beinecke, President, NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council)
Yesterday I returned from several days in western Pennsylvania seeing and hearing about the impacts of fracking firsthand from local activists, homeowners and scientists. People in the region fear their water is contaminated with toxic substances from fracking operations. They worry the air pollution coming from compressor stations or well pads is harming their families. And they believe their property values are forever compromised.
Their fears were heightened by reports — featured on NPR last month—that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has confirmed methane from improperly constructed gas wells has contaminated people’s drinking water in Northern Pennsylvania — and created a risk of fire or explosion in people’s homes and water wells.
We experienced two instances of flammable water, one in a field, another in a jug of drinking water. We don’t know what caused them, and sadly the state doesn’t seem to have investigated to determine the causes, but we could see how disturbing it was for homeowners to have flaming water. Every single person we spoke with had stories of contaminated water and air.
There were many aspects to the trip that were very troubling. First, was the high potential for exposure to contaminants with little to no information on what compounds people may be exposed to. Second was the consistent story of how little response and assistance people were getting from state or local governments.
The health and environmental threats posed by fracking are simply too high to let the oil and gas industry run amok in our towns and cities.
In the past five years alone, ExxonMobil, Shell, and other energy companies have drilled more than 200,000 new wells across the United States — many in the backyards of people’s homes, schools and parks.
These operations can turn rural towns and peaceful suburbs into industrial zones. Gas production and diesel engines emit hazardous levels of air pollution. Millions of gallons of wastewater laced with carcinogens are dumped in open-air reservoirs that can leak and contaminate drinking water. Some people living nearby say they suffer from migraines, dizziness, nausea, asthma, burning eyes and fainting.
When something goes wrong at one of these well pads, nearby residents have very little recourse. Thanks to the so-called Halliburton Loophole, fracking operations are exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act and other bedrock environmental measures.
State governments, meanwhile, have a patchwork of often ineffective rules. Only half the states where fracking occurs have even taken the simple step of requiring companies to disclose the chemicals they use in fracking fluid. And in eight of those states, companies can withhold any information they decide is confidential. And state enforcement of existing rules is woefully inadequate.
NRDC is committed to changing this. We are pushing for strong national safeguards for fracking, and helping empower local communities to restrict or ban dangerous fracking as they so choose. We want to ensure that reckless fracking operations no longer endanger people’s health and well being.
Take Action! Call on President Obama to protect us from dangerous fracking by imposing tough federal safeguards on oil and gas drilling.
Read more: big oil, clean energy, clean water act, contaminated water, fracking, Frances Beinecke, halliburton loophole, health, hydraulic fracturing, natural gas, natural gas drilling, natural resources defense council, nrdc, oil and gas industry, pennsylvania, safe drinking water act, Stop the Frack Attack
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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We should run on Browns Gas (seperated water) Water from the sea seperated into H2 and O. Rocket fuel I believe. Once burned it goes back to water for reuse. It can replace Coal Oil and gas, though there is no money in it, thus it is not used. We Polute Mother Earth for the mighty Dollar Greed at its worst.
Great article, thanks,
Singalong with this Fracking Gasholes song:
http://voxerth.net/fracking-gasholes/
5 million gallons injected per well
aquifers wasted, tastes like hell
for all the life that loves to live
demand a law, kill the drill
fracking gasholes
we know you know
a million reasons
fah fah freako
80 tons of co2 per well
ice caps melting, climate hell
for all the kids that love to live
shout, march, or souls we sell
fracking gasholes
we know you know
for hundreds of years
they really blow (brutal/ sucky)
2 thousand big truck trips per well
dusty growling beasts of hell
for all the critters that love to live
block the roads, or bid farewell
the world is so screwed up..
Interesting, ty
The Smoky Mountains are getting their tops blown off so the coal companies can send more coal to China. The slag that gets pushed off the mountain tops is forever polluting the water sources the people in the area depend on. Words cannot descibe the hellish conditions these three types of operations are creating that does not result in lessening our dependece on foriegn energy. If things continue the way they are America will have to import most of it's water...
http://www.eia.gov/dnav/ng/ng_move_expc_s1_a.htm
Koch Industies has an interest in the mining operations up in Canada and that is why they push the Keystone XL pipeline, that is why they spent so mucvh money in wisconsin where at least one tar sands pipeline enters the U.S. and why they and the 72 other dirty energy members of ALEC push anti-environmental alws via their bought and paid for state legislator lackies and why they want to get rid of the EPA, the only government agency standing between them and their desire to do what they are doing in Canada to an area near you...
America’s natural gas exports have more than doubled since 2006 from 724 billion cubic feet to 1.5 trillion cubic feet in 2011. [1] When you have 5% of total production going to other countries then the risk to the environment outweighs any further fracking. The amount of clean, fresh water America has is rapidly being depleted. Why take the risk of polluting aquifers we rely on with the toxic mix they inject into the earth so that some energy official can add to his obscene salary and benefits package. Once an aquifer has been polluted there is no way to clean it up and you know those energy company execs are not going to pony-up any of their fortunes to buy anyone any fresh water once ours is all polluted.
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The Tar Sands mining region in northern Alberta, Canada has hundreds of square miles stripped of all vegetation and topsoil where there was verdant borreal forests teeming with wildlife. There are more than 70 square miles of waste water ponds, it takes two barrels of water to extract one barrel of tar sands oil.This is the reason Keystone XL and other planned tar-sands pipelines should not be approved. America's refineries are running at full capacities with more than 50% of their output being shipped over seas. America would just be a conduit for Canadian tar sands oil, any jobs would be temporary but any damage from spills over our aquifers would be permanent.
Get all your neighbors to VOTE to defeat Romney. He is the penultimate Corporate bastard.
His magic underwear will not protect us!
If this is allowed in New York State, through the Marcellus shale, it will at a minimum polute drinking water from Central NYS, Pennsylvania, into Virginia.
Where fracking is allowed in Pennsylvania, tap water can be lighted with a match. Yes, turn on a kitchen faucet and make a flaming torch. Corporations deny this, but seeing is believing. If the Government doesn't stop this because of all the political payoffs, is the only solution target practice at fracking sites?
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