hydrofracking

[flowerseverywhere]

I live on the Northern border of the Marcellus shale and there has been a huge fight around here about the gas leases and drilling. This article was posted yesterday about the problems that Pennsylvania has had with hydrofracking and water contamination.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/2011/01/pennsylvania_allows_dumping_of.html

(I could not find how to shorten the link)

Like the wars we are fighting for oil, contamination of our water supplies seems like the last thing we should be doing. What about conservation efforts? I would think that is all we should be hearing about, but rarely a peep.

[razz]

Scary info!!

[Savannah]

Very scary stuff. We live in the Southern Tier of NY, right at the PA border, so this has been in our news quite a bit, too. I haven't been following the issue that closely. I will be now. Thank you for posting this.

[redfox]

Jeez, the word hydrofracking sounds like an obscenity...

[Bronxboy]

Given our energy predicament in the U.S., it is very hard not to drill for natural gas in our own country. The shale gas will eventually be drilled, even in New York state.

But without reasonable environmental controls, extractive industries like oil, gas, and mining have proven that they will destroy other people's land with no hesitation. No other industry gets to deliberately discharge solvents into wells and use cyanide on open pits on the ground.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heap_leaching

Other industries have to contain their hazardous chemicals in tanks.

[flowerseverywhere]

Yes, the problem is that the companies don't disclose what chemicals they are using saying it is proprietary information and they are allowed to do so. They don't live in the area and potentially don't have to live with the backlash. If a company stands to make a ton of money history has shown us that the whole truth is not always told. This area could potentially reach the drinking water not only of Pennsylvania but of NYC and surrounding areas.

[Jemima]

Here's how to make a shorter URL: http://tinyurl.com/

[baybay]

There is a great documentary called Gasland that I saw on HBO about this very issue. The filmmaker was able to document how people's water supply was being contaminated to the point they couldn't use their wells anymore (and they were able to ignite the water coming out of their taps). Check out their website for more info on the documentary and on supporting legislation against this environmentally destructive process: http://www.gaslandthemovie.com/

[creaker]

One of the few regulations they were given is to not use diesel fuel in fracking chemicals. But a number of the sites tested have diesel fuel contamination.

[CatsNK]

We are very lucky in NYS that NYC water is unfiltered, therefore they have a HUGE interest in protecting the NYC watershed. The Catskills will not suffer from hydrofracking. But I do fear for the Southern Tier. Those who live in that area need to organize big-time and prevent the disaster of PA up here in NY.

[loosechickens]

This is an issue of importance to us, as my sweetie was born and raised, and we lived for a number of years in Bradford County PA, that is now practically in the middle of the huge Marcellus Shale gas drilling frenzy. When we were back east in 2009, the county was overrun with drilling rigs, pipeline workers and our former sleepy little rural area now has the feeling of a "boomtown", with the instant millionaires not concerned about long term damage, and many others wringing their hands.....

piece in the NY Times yesterday, well worth reading:

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?_r=1&hp

edited for yet another danged typo.......why oh why can't I see them before I post 'em?????

[flowerseverywhere]

that article is excellent, thanks for posting. Besides the horrific contaminated well and public drinking water contamination issues this weekends paper talked about 5 year leases that are set to expire in NY and people who own the land want to back out. The gas companies are saying they can't because there is a drilling moratorium in NY and they haven't had a chance to do what they wanted. Also, there is talk in some areas of allowing the companies to force people to allow drilling on their land, similar to an eminent domain type of deal. There would be compensation but it would be against their wishes.

in all of this has anyone heard a peep about conservation? No lets continue on and pump all these contaminants into the environment for future generations to deal with.

if anyone is interested check out the superfund sites list all over the country http://www.epa.gov/superfund/
areas that have been contaminated that the federal government is dealing with, which by the way uses taxpayer dollars but they try to get money from the companies responsible. I drive by one on my way to Syracuse. People who grew up here used to wonder if the bright green plume running from the plant to the lake might be dangerous. There might be a site right near you and your drinking water supply! But don't worry, someone made lots of money and moved on. The drilling is "good for the economy".

[Zigzagman]

This article (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/03/06/fracking-arkansas-earthquakes_n_831633.html) shows the danger of fracking and the need for more regulation.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Two natural gas companies have agreed to temporarily suspend use of injection wells in central Arkansas where earthquakes keep occurring.

Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy and Clarita Operating of Little Rock told the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission on Friday that they've stopped operation of the wells near Greenbrier and Guy pending the panel's next regular meeting on March 29.

The commission says there is likely a link between the wells and the earthquakes. There have been more than 800 quakes in the area in the past six months and a magnitude 4.7 quake – the strongest in Arkansas in 35 years – hit there Sunday.
The high-pressure wells are used to dispose of waste water from natural gas drilling.


Peace

[SRP]

I live in Arkansas, about 50 miles north of Little Rock. Yep, Zigzagman's post is true. We've been having lots of earthquakes in an otherwise geologically stable area. And guess what? Not a single rattle since those companies slowed things down. And I'm on well water too. Periodically it tastes like pure and utter crap, despite my filtration system, because the drilling stirs up the water table. Lots of people around here are panicking and buying earthquake insurance.

The whole thing is sad. Threatening people's homes and water supplies - and finances, for that matter. And why? Because we're so enamoured with our beloved petroleum-related resources. As my sister (who also lives in the area) said, the earth can only take so much, and some day we're gonna have to pay. Maybe with a 6.0 quake in Arkansas? Good grief.

[loosechickens]

interesting piece in propublica.org today as a former Bush EPA official says the fracking exemption went too far:

http://www.propublica.org/article/former-bush-epa-official-says-fracking-exemption-went-too-far

every time I think it couldn't be any worse, it quickly becomes so. I literally grieve for the area where my sweetie was born and raised, and where he and I lived for many years before we began our nomadic life........because it is right in the middle of the Marcellus shale area and they are going nuts drilling there in the past two years.

[flowerseverywhere]

thanks for all your posts and links. These articles leave me speechless.

[Zigzagman]

Mayor Calvin Tillman Leaves Dish, Texas Fearing 'Fracking' Effects On Family's Health (http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/24/mayor-calvin-tillman-leav_n_827478.html)

Fearing for his children's health, Mayor Calvin Tillman is leaving behind his government position and getting out of Dodge... or rather, Dish. Dish, Texas is a town consisting of 200 residents and 60 gas wells. When Tillman's sons repeatedly woke up in the middle of the night with mysterious nosebleeds, he knew it was time to move -- even if it meant leaving his community behind.

Last Memorial Day was the final straw. Tillman's 5-year-old son awoke in the middle of the night with a severe nosebleed. "He had blood all over his hands, blood on the walls -- our house looked somewhat like a murder scene." In the weeks prior, both of Tillman's sons had experienced severe nosebleeds. At the same time, the town was surrounded by a strong odor from their natural gas facilities.

Around the country, similar reports of nosebleeds can be found among residents living near hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," sites, though the energy companies insist that their methods are safe.

Peace