"To sin by silence when they should protest makes cowards out of men." —Rachel Carson
Natural gas drilling by horizontal slickwater fracturing (often called fracking) is a monumental environmental issue PA is facing that impacts everyone’s future.
Often referred to as a “bridge to cleaner energy” our governor is supporting drilling any and everywhere possible in Pennsylvania to capitalize on the gas drilling boom. Since the Marcellus Shale does not underlie Montgomery County, I think many of us assume this is not our problem because it’s not in our neighborhood or 500 feet from our schools, but it could be coming our way.
As previously published in Patch, http://ambler.patch.com/articles/fracking-debate-comes-to-montgomery-bucks-counties, there is a natural gas reserve waiting to be explored in Montgomery and Bucks Counties called the South Newark Basin. Currently there is a ban on granting drilling permits in the 2 counties, but that is subject to expire in 2018 to give the state time to evaluate the potential of the reserves and the impact on the environment. This is precisely why if you are concerned about fracking you need to speak out now.
If Marcellus Shale Drilling is allowed to continue, it will make it easier for the South Newark Basin to be drilled. Not that fracking upsteam does not hurt us. We are not as island and we cannot keep the air from blowing or water from flowing, but having the actual drill rigs, well pads, extra trucks, noise pollution, air pollution, etc. in our Township would be significantly worse.
Some serious environmental and human health issues to consider are:
- methane gas leaks contributing to climate change
- greater asthma cases and costs due to increasing air pollution
- the lack of transparency of disclosure from the gas industry on actual chemicals utilized in the entire process of fracking
- forest fragmentation caused by well pad, road and pipeline construction that will hurt wildlife
- waste brine used on roads for de-icing; when ice melts or rain falls, the waste can run off roads and end up in the drinking supply
- disposal of drill cuttings and radioactive flowback waste in wastewater treatment plants and/or landfills
- and the fact that millions of gallons of fresh water is being used to frack wells, and each time fresh water is used it is completely removed from the water cycle.
Natural gas drilling is not a bridge to cleaner energy.
What can you do?
- Conserve energy at home. Get a home energy audit, add insulation, lower the thermostat on your heat. EnergyWorks is a good place to start.
- Contact your representatives. Demand more energy subsidies for renewable energy like solar and wind and have them make clean energy jobs a priority. If you don’t know who represents you, look here: http://www.congress.org/congressorg/state/main/?state=GA&view=myofficials
- Get involved in a group. There are several local ones like The Delaware River Keeper or Protecting Our Waters.
- Install solar panels or switch to an energy supplier that focuses on renewable resources like solar and wind.
Sincerely,
Erin Crump, Blue Bell
http://steingraber.com/articles/orion-magazine-articles/the-whole-fracking-enchilada/
http://pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/list-of-the-harmed24.pdf
http://www.thenation.com/article/171504/fracking-our-food-supply
Yes, LIGHT THE WATER ON FIRE. I don't need any reports from either side of the debate to make my decision, just common sense. Water is NOT supposed to be contaminated or flammable for any reason. And yes, I know it doesn't happen everywhere, but do I really want to settle my family, pony up a mortgage and property taxes, and risk my health on the promises of any industry that stands to make money? Am I really going to kid myself that I'll be protected by the EPA? Do I really think that the fracking industry cares that much about me personally? If so, I refer back to the idea of WATER ON FIRE. I'm personally not so soft that I can't scale back my energy use if it means avoiding potentially permanent damage to human health and inhabitability of an entire region. Putting my personal, possibly superfluous, gain over the availability of resources essential to life would be like... well, like trying to establish fracking when you know it can have disastrous consequences. If I dangled my kid over a railing, I'd be put in jail for endangerment. But if I took a long-term chance with the lives of thousands, and there was money or convenience involved, then it's called progress? Nonsense. WATER ON FIRE is not right. That's enough for me to make a decision.
The EPA has not completed any study of health impacts from fracking. The EPA acknowledges concerns are already known: -Stress on surface and ground water supplies from the withdrawal of large volumes of water used in drilling and hydraulic fracturing; -Contamination of underground sources of drinking water and surface waters resulting from spills, faulty well construction, or by other means; -Adverse impacts from discharges into surface waters or from disposal into underground injection wells; and -Air pollution resulting from the release of volatile organic compounds, hazardous air pollutants, and greenhouse gases. The same document states "some shale gas wastewater is transported to treatment plants ... many of which are not properly equipped to treat this type of wastewater." Another document discusses air quality rules that have recently been finalized. http://www.epa.gov/airquality/oilandgas/. These may help going into the future, but why were they not decided years ago? "The final rules are expected to yield a nearly 95 percent reduction in VOC emissions from more than 11,000 new hydraulically fractured gas wells each year. ...The rules also will reduce air toxics, which are known or suspected of causing cancer and other serious health effects, and emissions of methane, a potent greenhouse gas."
Thank you for speaking the truth. The people who reject the testimony of the people who are harmed by fracking and the people who are making the public aware of the harm just don't know what they are talking about or have a financial gain. Because of this article, I am going on Thursday to protest Governor Corbett. He is turning much of our state into an environmental disaster zone. For those of you who don't believe that our government and the oil, gas and chemical companies are collectively poisoning us with fracking, here is a partial list of people who have been harmed. The harm includes loss of livelihood, loss of farm, death of livestock and families, and disease: http://pennsylvaniaallianceforcleanwaterandair.wordpress.com/the-list/
Vote out Gov. Corbett as he is on the Big Gas Payroll!!!!! If you don't believe me... Just look it up for yourself! Ban Fracking Worldwide!
Yes, LIGHT THE WATER ON FIRE." This happens anywhere there is gas in the water. This can happen naturally when a well is dug. The people who were "lighting their water" already had gas in it (because they were in an area that had lots of natural gas... what a surprise) before the drilling. You were deceived. "I don't need any reports from either side of the debate to make my decision, just common sense" This is just an appeal to your own belief. Logic demands that we obtain all possible evidence before making an important decision. People who think like you wouldn't have dared to ride on a train, because the great speed surely would have caused their bodies to fly apart. "I'm personally not so soft that I can't scale back my energy use if it means avoiding potentially permanent damage to human health and inhabitability of an entire region." But how much do you need to scale it back? Would you set your thermostat to 55 degrees? Would you stop using your car?