HYDROFRACKING
Hydraulic Fracturing, otherwise known as Hydrofracking, or Fracking, is a process for extracting natural gas from deep under the earth. It has been used in many states over the course of a few years, and there have been numerous recent catastrophes that are associated with this method of natural gas extraction. For example: (1) 1,000,000 gallons of hydrofracking fluid in addition to NG and methane were spewed 75 feet up into the air in PA. (June 2010) (2) In W. Virginia they hit a pocket of methane during a hydrofrack and the well exploded, killing several workers. (June 2010)
The best possible education for you at this time is to see the movie GASLAND which is just coming out in theaters fall 2010 (already an HBO movie).
Gas drilling has been going on in the state of New York for many years, but it is a standard practice, straight drilling, with no toxic fluids. Hydrofracking is new to NY, and is referred to as "unconvential" drilling.
In fall 2009, I put up a commentary on YouTube voicing my concerns with hydrofracking, and I received a couple comments from people whose lives had been irreversably altered because of their consent to lease their lands for drilling.
Unfortunately, these people had to remove their comments for fear of retaliation from the gas companies. However their stories were horrifying and heart-wrenching. One person experienced the gas well blowing up while the drillers were out to lunch. Another spoke of his tap water turning to flame as either methane or natural gas mixed with his water supply; his house was subsequently condemned.
The big voice in the opposition to hydrofracking has been New York City, which boasts one of few unfiltered water sources in the country. We have to thank NYC leadership for taking a firm stand in the protection of this water supply, as their voice has been the rallying cry for the anti-hydrofracking movement.
The reality is, most upstate residents rely on well water, and there are several other watersheds that serve an additional 10-15 million people along the corridor of NYC - Philadelphia - DC. Right now (June 2010), the Delaware River has been placed at the top of the list of all endangered rivers in the US, because of proposed hydrofracking activity in PA and NY.
Due to a 2005 ruling known as the Halliburton Loophole, gas exploration companies are exempt from the Clean Air and Safe Drinking Water Acts. This means that there is no standard whatsoever for the gas companies to abide by. They can pollute as much as they want, and walk away free as a bird when they've sucked the ground dry, destroyed water supplies, ecosystems, infrastructures and public health.
New York Legislators, including Charles Schumer and Maurice Hinchey, have initiated the Frack Act in Congress to close this loophole, but we need to push this legislation forward ASAP. Obviously, the gas companies are trying to get in and start drilling before this legislation is passed.
Natural Gas is NOT clean energy. There are over 200 extremely toxic chemicals used in the hydrofracking fluid, including carcinogens, mutagens, neurotoxins, cyanide and benzene. Over 50% of the chemicals are known to cause brain and nerve damage, in addition to diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Leukemia, Parkinsons Disease, and Brain tumors.
Ironically, according to Bruce Ferguson of Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy, this toxic brew is not necessary to the hydrofracking process; it's just the cheapest possible way to extract the gas!
In addition, the extraction process releases radioacive elements (Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials, or NORMs), methane and radon (a highly toxic, invisible carcinogen) into the water supply and air.
At least 5 million gallons of fresh water is used in each frack. Each well has 10 prongs, and each prong can be fracked up to 6 times. Upon removal of the drilling equipment, at least 30% of the hydrofracking sludge is left in the ground.
This water comes from our lakes, aquifers and streams.
In addition to these horrifying facts, there are other extremely important issues to be dealt with. If drilling goes forward, NY State will see the largest industrialisation it has ever known; they are projecting 80,000 wellheads. Our forests will be destroyed from Ithaca to Woodstock to Bath to Bethel. The countryside will be turned into gas wells. Our farms will be a memory. The poisoning of our water supply will kill everything, the diesel fumes from the millions of truckloads, and the evaporation of the wastewater ponds will poison the air.
What is now one of the most pristine areas in the entire country will become a toxic wasteland.
The NY Department of Environmental Conservation (NYDEC) is an underfunded and understaffed organization that is completely unable to deal with this issue. They published an 800-page draft in fall 2009 suggesting guidelines for drilling, but it was criminally inadequate.
Issues that were not addressed in the Draft include: infrastructure maintenance, public health, loss of property value, loss of income, damage to the environment, damage to the aquifers, waste displosal and cleanup.
The gas companies lie outrageously both to the public and to prospective lessors. I'm not sure how they get away with it, but it is criminal. A friend who runs an organic dairy in PA leased her land in a collective, and the gas companies agreed to only use "biodegradable" fracking fluids. I feel so horrible knowing that - even if biodegradable fracking fluids EXISTED - her cows will be contaminated by the NORMs and radon that are released when they created the underground earthquakes, and that most probably, her water will be unusable.
According to Chief Oren Lyons, who represented the Iroquois Nation at the January 25th rally ini Albany, the area where the Marcellus Shale exists in New York State is where ONE QUARTER of all fresh water in the US is found.
A minor point comparatively is that most of this natural gas is being sold overseas, and not intended to help us "get off oil" at all.
Also, being that the gas companies are only taxed 1/3 of 1%, there is not a lot of money to be made on a local or state level from hydrofracking. They bring in their own equipment, their own teams, and their own culture; the only people who make money are those who sign leases.
We need to be thinking about our future. Undeniably, water is more precious than gas. After the gas of the Marcellus Shale has been depleted, the water will still be polluted, for untold generations.
What can you do? Educate yourself and others, because time is of the essence. We need to get Congress to pass the Frack Act as soon as possible. Call your federal representatives and tell them to support the Frack Act!!
Also find out if your local politicians are being funded by the Oil and Gas industry. If they are, vote them out!
In this article I speak of NY State, but the Marcellus Shale extends into PA, WV, and Ohio... and each of those states will have to fight as hard as we are fighting in order to protect their land and health.