Please Bookmark and Read Mountaindale After Dark if You Have Been Following This Blog

Greetings Fellow Anti Fracking Foot Soldiers:

All those who have been following me know three things:

A) That I have not posted in this blog for some time (since May actually).

B)  That my absence here does not mean I have not been posting articles against Fracking...just that it is very hard to find time to maintain multiple blogs.  For that, I do apologize.

C)  That I have still been active in the Anti Fracking movement, was at and spoke at the NYDEC hearing held here in Sullivan County NY in Niovember.

Looking at my own time constraints, realize that I need to consolidate my efforts to better maximize my time, and better serve the Anti-Fracking movement as well.  For that reason, I have exported all the articles from this blog to my "Mountaindale After Dark" blog, where I have been posting on various issues and news items, including the issue of Fracking. 

Over the next few days and weeks will also move all the useful links accumulated here on Fracktoid to the "Mountaindale After Dark" blog, and hope everyone who has enjoyed the content here will go over and check out this blog, bookmark it and follow us regularly.

If someone in the movement is interested in taking over this blog, it's twitter account, please drop me a private email at marcwoodsocialimaging@gmail.com and be happy to discuss it with you.

You can read my latest Anti Fracking article here.

Open Letter To President Obama-DOE's Committee To Make Hydraulic Fracturing Safe Should be Disbanded, and A Independent Committee With Citizen Stakeholder Representation Put In Its Place

Dear President Obama:

The DOE has recently formed a committee whose stated purpose is too make Hydraulic Fracturing safer, its unstated purpose seems to be a feeble attempt to placate members of the public who are up in arms over a industrial technology that is not fully understood, nor properly investigated and approved through scientific study. Secretary Steven Chu invited closer scrutiny of the legitimacy of this committee with three early signals that telegraphed the intent of the committee...to rewrap hydraulic fracturing in a way that makes it appear safe when in reality it is not.

1.  The time frame given to the committee to complete its work, and craft their recommendations...three months, with another three months to finalized their recommendations for a industry that intends to extract Natural Gas using Hydraulic Fracturing from over 350,000 square miles of our lands...most of private lands, or protected state and federal parks.

2.  Naming as Committee Chair one Mr. Deutch-director of Cheniere Energy, which operates a major liquefied natural gas terminal in Louisiana.  Could you place a more biased person in charge of this committee...someone who has a vested interest in seeing the expansion of Natural Gas extraction here in the United States.

3.  Look at Texas and its Barnett Shale play, or Pennsylvania and New York with our own Marcellus play. Look at the numerous citizen stakeholder groups such as CCSE (Catskill Citizens for Safe Energy) who are working diligently to have our voices heard on this important issue to our communities...yet, Steven Chu and the DOE in formation of this committee CHOSE not to give us a voice in the process.  One has to wonder what it is that the DOE and the White House want to hide from us?  The biased and pre-determined direction of the committee, or perhaps instead the committee will see documents that show hydraulic fracturing to be even more dangerous than we as citizens are currently being led to believe?

These three glaring facts as relates to the committee should be more than enough for you Mr. President to disband this DOE controlled committee, and instead form a Blue Ribbon Hydraulic Fracturing Committee to study the issue, give them ADEQUATE TIME to do their jobs, and summit their report...think 911 Commission.  However, there is much more, and even a cursory investigation of the facts shows the DOE is vested in the Natural Gas industry moving forward at all costs.  They show disdain for public health and protection of the environment, but instead are out touting proudly their involvement in the industry, pretty well taking credit for Modern Day Hydraulic Fracturing...this claim can be verified on their own website, looking at their own chest beating and credit taking.   Skipping over their horrible 1969 Atomic Fracturing experiment, we instead visit a page posted this year wherein they spell out their involvements in moving the Natural Gas industry to where it is today. (Link)

DOE's Early Investment in Shale Gas Technology Producing Results Today

Washington, D.C. — A $92 million research investment in the 1970s by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is today being credited with technological contributions that have stimulated development of domestic natural gas from shales. The result: more U.S. jobs, increased energy security, and higher revenues for states and the Federal Government.

More than 30 years ago, fears of dwindling domestic natural gas supplies pushed researchers to examine alternative sources of natural gas such as Devonian shales, coals, and low permeability or "tight" sands. Recognizing the need for research and development to quantify these unconventional reservoirs and to develop ways to produce them, DOE’s Office of Fossil Energy invested in Devonian shale research from 1977 through 1992, matching technology to complex geology for various geologic settings.

Through programs focused on Eastern gas shales, Western gas sands, and methane from coalbeds, DOE developed and stimulated the deployment of advanced exploration and production technologies. These technologies recovered new gas supplies from unconventional gas resources by increasing per-well gas-recovery efficiencies and lowering unit development costs. 

DOE’s National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL) employed a detailed resource characterization and technology development approach that geologically partitioned each natural gas resource and matched technology to geology to chart a path for resource development. More than 25,000 feet of oriented core and well log data from 35　cored shale wells provided the basic core and geologic data used to prepare the first publicly available estimates of technically recoverable gas for the Huron shales in West Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky.

In 1986, DOE collaborated with industry to achieve a significant milestone: the first air-drilled 2,000-foot-long horizontal Devonian shale well in the Appalachian Basin. This also marked the first recovery of core from a horizontal air-drilled shale well and the first successful use of external casing packers in an air-filled wellbore. Through 1992, DOE also worked with industry to complete three additional 2,000-foot-long horizontal wells containing multiple hydraulically fractured zones and to develop more efficient downhole tools, such as electromagnetic measurement-while-drilling and directional air hammer technology, both of which are currently used by the oilfield service industry.

Another example of early DOE leadership in the development of technologies applicable to shale gas development is fracture mapping—techniques for using seismic responses to identify the orientation and extent of hydraulically created fractures. Today, a number of companies successfully map hydraulic fractures, including many in the major shale gas plays. \

In a recent paper entitled Thirty Years of Gas Shale Fracturing: What Have We Learned?, DOE research is recognized for enabling several technology breakthroughs in shale gas development. Presented at the Society of Petroleum Engineers’ 2010 Annual Technical Conference and Exhibition, the paper reviews more than 350 technical papers and presentations on shale-specific well completions, fracturing, and operations. The paper’s author, George E. King, Global Technology Consultant for Apache Corporation, credits DOE for its early leadership in the development of several key technologies that are driving the current growth in shale gas production, including reservoir characterization, horizontal drilling, and multi-stage fracturing and slick water fracturing.

DOE’s leadership in shale gas development is receiving similar recognition from others. According to Dr. Terry Engelder, Professor of Geosciences at Penn State University, DOE’s Eastern Gas Shales Research Program "helped expand the limits of gas shale production and increased understanding of production mechanisms . . . It is one of the great examples of value-added work led by the DOE." 

This article from the DOE website leaves no doubt...the Department of Energy is the MOTHER of modern day Hydraulic Fracturing, today's natural gas extraction means of choice THEIR BABY.  It is impossible for the DOE to be impartial in this debate, impossible for any committee on Hydraulic Fracturing created by them to be unbiased....they  are going to protect their baby that they have nurtured and moved forward for a period of over 30 years.  The DOE WANTS HYDRAULIC FRACTURING to move forward AT ALL COSTS, and the committee in its current make up has but one job...placate the public, trot out some false assurances, and put the petal to the metal when it comes to letting Hydraulic Fracturing move forward at full bore.

It is imperative that (in your words) we get this RIGHT when it comes to Hydraulic Fracturing, that the proper SCIENTIFIC (emphasis added) investigation of the processes involved in Hydraulic Fracturing gives us the assurances we need.  Let science lead the way forward, let science tell us that our Safe Drinking Water Supplies will not be compromised, let science tell us that our health will not be compromised by the use of carcinogenic chemicals deployed in the process.  Let a committee be formed that A) has one third of its make up average stakeholder citizens, B) one third from the science community (half from industry, half from the opposing spectrum) and C) that last third made up with equal parts government officials and industry types.  The number of members of this committee should be 18.

So Mr. President, I implore you...end the dog and pony show, disband the DOE's biased and prejudice committee that has been stacked in favor of the Natural Gas Industry.  Declare a Presidential Moratorium on the practice of Fracking for a period of at least 24 months, disband Steven Shu's biased committee and put together the Blue Ribbon Commission on Hydraulic Fracturing.

Use Gas Industry's Wealth AGAINST THEM...GET THEIR FREEBIES!

The Natural Gas industry, even our own government are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on what could be described as America's GREATEST PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN as they try to shape the general public's perceptions and expectations when it comes to Natural Gas, Hydraulic Fracturing, and the DAMAGE that will result from its wide spread use.  Well, it is time we in the Anti-Fracking camp start SPENDING SOME OF THEIR MONEY!  If you start looking around, you will find out that many Pro_Natural Gas Groups (funded by A) the natural gas industry and/or B) our TAXES) are willing to send you out a lot of FREE STUFF....now I know we do not really WANT THIS STUFF....but, every time one of us receives a freebie from their side, we are DEPLETING THEIR WAR CHEST in this fight.

As example, yesterday I received a nice hand written note with not one, but two bumper stickers from Energize WV.  Letterhead stationary and envelope...the time to write the note, put everything in the envelope cost them at least a few bucks...not much, but what if we started doing that in the THOUSANDS, and hitting multiple sites to collect their freebies?  Another example...Pro Natural Gas shill American Clean Skies (their whole entire board is made up of Oil Industry board members, and 20 million has been steered their way) is so anxious to get their answer to Gasland out into the hands of the public, they sent me a FREE CD COPY OVER NIGHT DELIVERY!

If you know of industry FREEBIES, leave us a comment with their name!

OMFG...Corbett Cronies THROTTLE FREE SPEAK....Deny Anti Frackers Voice At Committee Hearing

If a picture is worth a thousand words, this damning video is priceless...seems that the Pro-Natural Gas folks inside the Pennsylvania Governor's office will stop at nothing to silence those opposed to Natural Gas Fracking. Sure if I told you that the governor instructed staff to have two sign up sheets...one inside the room for PRO NATURAL GAS FOLKS, and one outside for ANTI FRACKERS (who were not allowed in to sign the other sheet), and told you that they then called up folks from the FIRST LIST ONLY, you would say I was a conspiracy nut...well, watched the video, and you decide. FACE IT FOLKS, WE ARE BEING RAIL ROAD'ED TO HELL ON A FRACK HIGHWAY.

The Frack FUCK Primer...Do Not Let DOE Committee Fool You

DOE trotting out Fracking Committee dog and pony show for public consumption.  Sorry, but do not buy into this supposed IMPORTANT Committee....you do not form a committee of this magnitude, and then give it just three months to review fracking if the outcome of the committee's findings are not already pre-determined. The three articles below will give you a quick PRIMER on FRACKING.

More on Fracking
More Fracking Problems: Surface Blowouts as Gas Wells Likely to Increase
Natural Gas Far Less Green Than Claimed - Fracking Emissions 1000s Times Higher Than Reported
Natural Gas From Fracking Emissions Can Double Those From Coal

Government and Big Business Using Propaganda to BRAINWASH Public on Natural Gas

Thank God for Gasland...it was and is a wake up call, hopefully one that America hears, hopefully one that sees us as private citizens get galvanized behind an issue like we have not done since the protests against the Vietnam War.   Leave no doubt, our lands are under siege, the Natural Gas industry with the help and full backing of our government (local, state and federal) government willing to stoop to any level to frack our lands.  We as citizens are under attack, a full bore Propaganda Campaign targeted at us, telling us how good Natural Gas is for America, how green a fuel it is...BOTH LIES, both claims meant to play on emotions, divide our communities into us and them camp as battle lines are draw, neighbor against neighbor, while the Natural Gas industry does and end around, selling the concept of Natural Gas as a clean green PATRIOTIC fuel to our children, finding insidious means to take their message right to our children in the schools.

I would suggest one do some research, begin looking at the wealth of reports and data out there that show we are being sold out, that the decision to drill for Natural Gas in New York's Marcellus Shale already made, the government merely placating us for now hoping to avoid armed confrontation, troops being used to protect Natural Gas companies like Chesapeake Energy and their access to our lands for the purpose of extracting Natural Gas at all cost...for now, they have time, time to use commercial, pamphlets, and committees filled with Natural Gas Industry insiders that have been charged to write guidelines for drilling...all of these meant to brainwash us into blind acceptance of our fate, brainwash us into believing the lie that Natural Gas is a clean green fossil fuel that is GOOD FOR AMERICA.  

Take a look at this week's announcement from the White House about their new Natural Gas committee...the purpose of the committee is not to study Hydraulic Fracturing, but instead is a committee who's sole purpose is to find ways to EXPEDITE the drilling of our lands, for us to acquiesce to the landman, sign their leases like good Patriotic Americans.  At almost every stump speech now, he hammers on NATURAL GAS and increasing its production as is witnessed by this quote from his appearance in Indiana:

"If we’re serious about meeting our energy challenge we’re going to have to do more than drill.  And that’s why the real solution is clean, homegrown energy.  The real solution is advanced biofuels -- and there’s a lot of good biofuel work being done here in Indiana.  It means that we’ve got to have natural gas vehicles.  We’ve got a lot of natural gas that can be produced here in the United States of America.  It means making our cars and trucks more energy-efficient, because if we use less oil, that reduces demand; that brings the price down; and you will see the impact at the pump.  That’s what’s going to make a difference and that’s why what you’re doing here is so important."

Forget the safety issues, don't worry about (un)Natural Gas companies spoiling the land, and poisoning our drinking water...DRILL BABY DRILL, and President Obama is LEADING THE CHORUS.  With orders from the White House, U.S. Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced a new committee on Natural Gas, and this committee was/is charged with bringing Natural Gas to the market place AT ALL COSTS...

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration, seeing increased domestic natural gas production as a linchpin in its long-term energy strategy, has named a panel of experts to find ways to make hydraulic fracturing, a fast-growing method of extracting natural gas, safer and cleaner. 

Giving lip service to safer and cleaner, the Obama White House wants Natural Gas, and they wanted it FAST.  As you read up on this new committee, read about its charge, you realize we are being conned...as example, the committee has been given only NINETY DAYS to present a plan to get more natural gas to market in a faster way...in short, DRILL BABY DRILL. As this is going on, those of us living at ground zero here in the Marcellus Shale are being deluged day and night with on-the-air PROPAGANDA as commercial after commercial touts Natural Gas as a Patriotically GREEN energy source...this onslaught times so that our children are FORCED to see, participate in and be brainwashed themselves...imagine an adult, articulate, versed on the issue, opposed to FRACKING having their child come in and say, "Mommy, we should let them drill for Natural Gas on our property, it's a CLEAN ENERGY SOURCE, and America needs the energy."

Before America races headlong into raping our lands in the name of Natural Gas, I have a few questions for the industry, for our politicians, for President Barack Obama.

1.  Is it fair to used Pooling to force property owners to accept drilling using Hydraulic Fracturing under their lands...even when they OWN THEIR MINERAL RIGHTS?

2.  Is it fair to use a drilling method that you know will drive down the property values of those living in these new Gas Drilling Fields?

Will be Imprisoned For Opposing Fracking?

3.  Is it fair to force Hydraulic Fracturing on communities, is it fair to even let the industry use this technology when you know that said technology will negatively impact the drinking water supplies of many of the communities which will be fracked?

4.  In the name of National Energy Security, is it right and moral for the US EPA and other regulatory agencies to let Natural Gas companies use FRACKING CHEMICALS that are known carcinogens that cause cancers, birth defects and other health issues too access this resource?

5.  Just how much collateral damage in despoiled land (including in our state and national parks), in ruined drinking water supplies, in lost lives is acceptable in the name of Natural Gas?  Have we learned NOTHING from the nuclear disaster in Japan?  Have we not learned that you cannot simply assumed the worst case scenario will NEVER HAPPEN?

I ask you America...at what cost Natural Gas?

Forget The Cheney Loophole...2005 Energy Act A Financial Gravy Train For Gas Industry

Ever heard of RPSEA? Research Partnership to Secure Energy for America, which was created to fulfill terms of Title IX, Subtitle J, Section 999 (Section 999), of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct), and it seems the BIGGEST JOB of RPSEA in the name of R&D is to throw FIST FULLS OF AMERICAN TAX DOLLARS at both the Oil and Gas industry, why making sure that citizen stakeholders HAVE NOT SEAT AT THE TABLE!  Take a gander at their membership, and then picture millions upon millions upon millions of your tax dollars being handed over to these folks. (on list...BP America, EXXON, Chesapeake Energy)

RPSEA Members
Acute Technological Services, LLC Advanced Resources International, Inc. AeroVironment, Inc. Altira Group LLC
American Gas Association Anadarko Petroleum Corporation Apache Corporation Apex Spectral Technology
APS Technology, Inc.
Baker Hughes Incorporated Bill Barrett Corporation BJ Services
BP America, Inc. Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck, LLP Cameron/Curtiss-Wright EMD
Campbell Applied Physics
Capstone Turbine Corporation
CARBO Ceramics, Inc. Centre For Marine CNG, Inc.
Chesapeake Energy Corporation Chevron Corporation City of Sugar Land Colorado School of Mines
Colorado Oil & Gas Association ConocoPhillips Company Conservation Committee of California Oil & Gas Producers
Correlations Company CSI Technologies, Inc.
DCP Midstream, LLC
Deepwater Structures, Inc.
Deepwater XLP Technology, LLP
Delco Oheb Energy, LLC Det Norske Veritas (USA)
Devon Energy Corporation
Drilling & Production Company
EnCana Corporation
EnerCrest, Inc. Energy Corporation of America Energy Valley, Inc.
ExxonMobil Corporation
Florida International University Gas Technology Institute GE/VetcoGray Granherne, Inc.
Greater Fort Bend Economic Development Council
GSI Environmental, Inc.
Gunnison Energy Corporation Halliburton
Harvard Petroleum Corporation Houston Advanced Research Center Houston Offshore Engineering, LLC Houston Technology Center
HW Process Technologies, Inc. Idaho National Laboratory Independent Petroleum Association of America
Independent Petroleum Association of Mountain States Indepedent Petroleum Association of New Mexico
Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Intelligent Agent Corporation
Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission Jackson State University K. Stewart Energy Group
Knowledge Reservoir, LLC Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory Leede Operating Company
Los Alamos National Laboratory Louisiana State University Marathon Oil Corporation Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Merrick Systems, Inc. Mississippi State University
Nalco Company Nance Resources
NanoRidge Materials, Inc.
National Oilwell Varco, Inc.
Natural Carbon, LLC Nautilus International, LLC
New England Research, Inc. New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology New Mexico Oil & Gas Association
NGAS Resources, Inc. NiCo Resources Noble Energy, Inc.
Novatek, LLC
RPSEA Draft Annual Plan 87 July 2009
Oklahoma Independent Petroleum Association OTM Consulting Ltd.
Oxane Materials, Inc.
Petris Technology, Inc. Petrobras America Inc.
Petroleum Technology Transfer Council
Pioneer Natural Resources Company QO, Inc.
Quanelle, LLC Quest Integrated, Inc.
Rice University Robert L. Bayless, Producer LLC Rock Solid Images RTI Texas Sandia National Laboratories Schlumberger Limited Shell International Exploration & Production Simmons & Company International
SiteLark, LLC Southern Methodist University
Southwest Research Institute
Spatial Energy
Stanford University
StatoilHydro Strata Production Company Stress Engineering Services Inc. Technip Technology International
Tejas Research & Engineering, LP
Tenaris Texas Energy Center Texas A&M University Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association
Texas Tech University The Discovery Group, Inc.
The Fleischaker Companies
The Ohio State University
The Pennsylvania State University
The University of Kansas
The University of Oklahoma
The University of Texas at Austin The University of Tulsa The University of Utah Titanium Engineers, Inc.
TOTAL Exploration Production USAUniversity of Alaska Fairbanks University of Colorado at Boulder
University of Houston University of Michigan University of South Carolina University of Southern California VersaMarine Engineering, LLC
Watt Mineral Holdings, LLC Weatherford International Ltd. WellDog, Inc. Western Standard Energy Corp.
West Virginia University Williams Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Wright State University

Why Did DOE Use Our Tax Dollars To Produce Pro SHALE GAS Literature?

How many of you know that the DOE (with our tax dollars) has been subsidizing the Natural Gas Industry since its inception?  How many of you know that the DOE has been doing the Natural Gas Industry's Research and Development FREE OF CHARGE for DECADES?  How many of you know that right now, the DOE is using OUR TAX DOLLARS to produce slick eight pages PRO SHALE GAS pamphlets for the Natural Gas Industry?  When is this Natural Gas industry WELFARE GOING TO END?

New Shale Gas Brochure Now Available!
A new brochure, Shale Gas: Applying Technology to Solve America's Energy Challenges, has been released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Laboratory. The brochure explains the origins of shale gas and maps the locations of shale gas plays in the United States. Included is a timeline of important milestones in the development of shale gas—from the first U.S. commercial natural gas well in 1821, through the technological advances of the 20th century, to today’s growth in production. Further collaborations will focus on safety, environmental sustainability and quantifying the risks of exploration and production activity.

See the free Pro SHALE GAS handout here.

Battlement Mesa...The Tragic HISTORY of Natural Gas....Would You Believe Nuclear Bomb FRACKING?

A cursory look at the DOE, and its various sub-agencies dedicated over to Natural Gas, and you realize they have a Pro Natural Gas Industry bias that should see them STEP ASIDE when it comes to any issue involving decisions about protecting Human Health, our Environment, and our FRESH WATER SUPPLIES...simply stated, they cannot be trusted.  Imagine if you will using Atomic Bombs to FRACK for Natural Gas...far fetched right? INSANE RIGHT?  Would never happen?  WRONG, it did happen!  Back in 1969 as the DOE looked for peaceful uses for the Atomic Bomb....talk about an OXYMORON!  Now, all these years later, our Federal Government is actually wanting to let a new company drill for natural gas in the same area of the Rulison Site where in 1969 this NUCLEAR FRACKING turned out to be a dismal failure, the gas extracted so radioactive it could not be used.

LOL....Read This DISCLAIMER Found on DOE Report Claiming State Regulations Designed To Keep Our Water Safe

I surf the internet looking for things that interest me...what interests me, is protecting our environment, our SAFE DRINKING WATER...so, I am surfing the net today, and come across a DOE link to a report with the title of, "State Oil and Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources".  Now knowing how FRACKING can cause serious damage to our Safe Drinking Water supplies, I am thinking to myself...hmmmm, I should check this FEDERAL GOVERNMENT REPORT OUT!  The first thing you really see to read of all things is a DISCLAIMER!...please read the disclaimer, and tell me just how much FAITH you have in the rest of the report as presented.

DISCLAIMERS
1. This report was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United States Government. Neither the United States Government nor any agency thereof, nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States Government or any agency thereof. The view and opinions expressed herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or any agency thereof

2. The electronic version of this report contains hyperlinks to documents, reports, presentations, websites and other reference materials. The Ground Water Protection Council (GWPC) does not warrant the viability of any hyperlinked reference in the report. The text of the Addendum does not represent the full or official published version of a state’s rules or regulations and is provided for reference purposes only. The Addendum is current through August 1, 2008.

 So, a report prepared by and for the United States government by an agency of the Federal Government, and the first thing you do is state that you do not make any warranty, express or implied about the accuracy of the report, and state clearly FOR THE RECORD that said report does not necessarily state or reflect the views of the United States Government or any agency thereof...AND OUR TAXES PAY FOR THIS KIND OF BUFFOONERY? 

Just Whose Side is DOE On? Are They Trying To Stop EPA From Regulating FRACKING....SEEMS THAT WAY

Is the DOE working in collusion with the Natural Gas Industry (think RICO) to see that regulations on the Natural Gas industry either A) do not happen, or B) if they do happen, ARE WEAK?  According to a cursory read of a DOE POLICY POSITION PAPER, one would think so.  Lets look at some of their bullet points in this paper, and you the reader can judge for yourselves.

Significance/Potential Impacts

More restrictive regulation of hydraulic fracturing, which may not increase the protection of underground drinking water could have a deleterious effect on the supply of natural gas in the U.S.-especially now, when the country is counting on natural gas to meets its growing energy requirements in an environmentally responsible manner.


The folowing apply:

• More stringent hydraulic fracturing regulations have increased Alabama's compliance costs.  If these regulations are widely enacted, costs are expected to rise in all states.
• Industry is expected to challenge increased regulation, which will re-direct large sums of capital frm E&P budgets to legal services.
• Currently, efforts are being directed towards reaching a legislative solution.
• Delays in issuing permits, and commensurate delays in well stimulation and gas marketing, can be expected.
• Cost increases associated with added regulation will drive up the wellhead cost of gas by at least a like amount; consequently, consumers will pay more for energy.
• Even the possibility of more restrictive regulation of hydraulic fracturing demands that additional Research and Development (R&D) funding be set aside for the advancement of technologies to offset potential increases in gas extraction costs.

It seems to be pretty damning, seems to suggest that the DOE has decided LESS REGULATION of the Natural Gas industry is a GOOD THING...for the industry.  Another damning piece of information, is the DOE's admission that more stringent regulations may not do any more good in protecting our DRINKING WATER...this is damning, as it is a TACIT admission on the part of the DOE that THEY KNOW OUR WATER WILL BE DAMAGED.  So, if even more regulations, more stringent rules are not going to protect our SAFE DRINKING WATER, the only thing left is BANNING HYDRAULIC FRACTURING.

On the next page of this report, the DOE admits that more stringent regulations for Hydraulic Fracturing could impact the Natural Gas Supply...OK, which is more important to most Americans?  Interrupting the Natural Gas Supply, or keeping our limited supplies of FRESH CLEAN WATER SAFE?  Then, in the little box, they tell us that the SCNG (Strategic Center for Natural Gas) is working WITH THE INDUSTRY, and keeping an eye on the EPA, and will review ALL THEIR WORK PRODUCT...WHY? To make sure it does not IMPEDE THE INDUSTRY?

Think I am CHICKEN LITTLE...let's look at some more DOE words on Natural Gas:

Oil and natural gas are the lifeblood of our economy, accounting for more than 60 percent of the energy consumed in the United States. To meet projected demand, our Nation has a vital interest in ensuring that competitively-priced domestic natural gas and oil remain part of the U.S. energy portfolio for decades to come.

Again, the question has to be asked...at what cost do we ensure competitively priced domestic natural gas? Is it OK to make small rural communities and our lands SACRIFICE ZONES for the greater societal good?Another question...if we are not going to be forced to allow the Natural Gas industry to rape our lands, ruin our communities, if this decision has not already been made on a National Level, why is it that the Strategic Center for Natural Gas was founded in 1999 with the SOLE PURPOSE of assuring abundant, economical, domestic supply of Natural Gas?  More importantly, why does the SCNG game plan CALL FOR SIGNIFICANT INDUSTRY INPUT, and ZERO INPUT FROM CITIZEN STAKEHOLDERS AND ENVIRONMENTALISTS?...our taxes providing MILLIONS if not BILLIONS of corporate welfare to the Natural Gas Industry, and with a wink and a nod letting them know they can rape our communities.

Curious...could someone from SCNG tell me from their own slide what it means when they say they ENCOUNTERED SIGNIFICANT WATER?...below was copied from the linked report above.

Gas E&P Program Highlights
• Deep Horizontal Well
− Intersected 400 open fractures at 15,000’
− Produced over 6.4 bcf in three years
− Encountered significant water
− CD available

For those that are wondering...just how much ACCESS TO NATIONAL POLICY is the DOE, the SCNG giving the industry?  Well, they have a slide pointing out ALL THE OPPORTUNITIES for the Natural Gas Industry to DRIVE NATIONAL POLICY AND REGULATIONS, while affording NO OPPORTUNITY OF REAL MERIT TO BOTH CITIZENS and ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS....

Options for Industry Participation
• Advisory Committees
− Hydrates program
• Roadmapping
− Infrastructure, hydrates, and many others
• Cooperative Agreements
− Joint industry projects, individual firms, etc.
• Consortiums
− Advanced turbines, carbon products, SWC
• National laboratory partnership
− NGOTP, hydrates, ultra-clean fuels

Now, if you wonder just how much of our MONEY is supporting the Natural Gas industry, is being used to shape policy and regulation that assures CHEAP WELL HEAD COSTS of extracting Natural Gas, lets take a peak at some of the numbers FROM 2002!...it has gone up DRAMATICALLY as we provide the industry with Natural Gas WELFARE!

Within NETL, the mission of the Strategic Center for Natural Gas is to conduct comprehensive science and technology development in the areas of natural gas supply, infrastructure, and utilization, as directed by national policy. From a funding standpoint, the overall DOE natural gas budget in 2001 was $238 MM of which roughly $125 MM was managed by SCNG. Of that $125 MM, about $26 MM was used for upstream programs, $8 MM for midstream, and $90 MM downstream. About $24.3 MM was directed towards E&P and methane hydrate projects, a number that jumped to $30.5 MM in the 2002 budget signed by the President.

The question becomes...What pressure is our Federal Government putting on local, state governments, and some Federal Agencies to do as little regulation of the Natural Gas industry as they can get away with, short of insurrection of the citizens who's lands and lives are being destroyed?

Get On The Ban Wagon Anti-Fracking Rally

Another MUST WATCH You Tube Fracking Video

In our on going efforts to educate the public to the risks of FRACKING OUR LANDS, we are always on the look out for worthwhile things to share with our readers...we especially like You Tube video presentations, as they are an EASY TO SHARE educational tool you can share with your family, friends and neighbors.  Tonight, found this one to be a great example of tools you can add to your own arsenal of weapons in combating the (un)Natural Gas Industry's PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN going on here in New York State.

IF you would like an example of Natural Gas PROPAGANDA, there is no greater flim flam artist than T.Boone Pickens who has been trying to sell us (un)Natural Gas snake oil now for a few years...ask yourselves, can you really trust a BILLIONAIRE OIL MAN when it comes to ANYTHING?

Great Anti Frack Organization Meeting Today in North Branch

FRACKING is a World Wide CONCERN

On my way home today, made a significant detour over to North Branch, NY for a Volunteer Organizational meeting hosted by Catskill Citizens.  First, please visit their website.  Secondly, consider donating to their cause, as these folks are working VERY HARD to reach out to the community, educate the public to just what FRACKING is, and to persuade our politicians in Albany to do the right thing.  

My biggest regret today is that I did not have my camera along with me, so have to plan a second trip to the area in and around North Branch...if you want to see just what is at risk as the (un)Natural Gas industry plans a FRACKING ASSAULT on our lands, you could not ask for a better example than the drive along 17B out of Monticello toward North Branch.  Beautiful lush farm land, steams and rivers shaded by majestic trees, fly fishermen knee deep in rushing waters, a trout on the line.  Saw one American Bald Eagle, and so many hawks that I lost count of them.  It is truly God's Country, and the Natural Gas industry wants to despoil it extracting Natural Gas to sell to China...YES, IT IS TRUE...as example, Chesapeake Energy has been selling LARGE SHARES of it's own holdings in the Marcellus Shale to overseas investors interesting in shipping it overseas, the largest deals being made with Chinese State Owned CNOOC.

Just here in lower New York State, we need to awaken and educate some EIGHT MILLION CITIZENS to the risks of Fracking, educate them on just what it is they stand to lose...both in natural beauty, and more importantly in clean fresh SAFE DRINKING WATER....to do that, organizations like that need your support, and your donations...just the yard signs that THEY HAND OUT FOR FREE are four dollars each, and trust me, the Natural Gas industry is giving away their own signs that read, "Friend of Natural Gas"...so it is imperative that organizations like Catskill Citizens have the ability to get their own signs out in peoples yards, imperiative that they have the resources to put a No Fracking button into the hands of every citizen they can find willing to wear one.  Hopefully, those reading this blog will get involved in whatever way each of you can.

Which brings me to ONE LAST REQUEST in this article.  I have been charged with a task...start compiling a list of Wolves in Sheep's clothing Environmental Groups, or Pro Natural Gas organizations that are a FRONT for the Natural Gas Industry, are wholly, or mostly FUNDED BY THE INDUSTRY...if we are to fight their PROPAGANDA CAMPAIGN, we have to identify their FALSE FRONT ORGANIZATIONS.  So, if any of you know of organizations being FUNDED BY THE NATURAL GAS INDUSTRY, please email me their Organizational Name, and if you have it a link to their website.  You can send the information to:  fracktoidnews@yahoo.com All email will be kept confidential, but every organization identified and verified as being funded by the Natural Gas Industry will be A) put on a widely distributed list, and B) featured in our newest blog project, "FRACKTURDS".

I accept Senator Cornyn's CHALLENGE to Enter Into Intelligent Discourse on Subject of FRACKING

Apparently I caught the attention of rabid right wing Texas Senator @JohnCornyn on twitter (his profile) He replied that he "LOVES AN INTELLIGENT conversation in regards to a remark I made to someone else about him (see his TWEET BELOW)...

Love an intellegent conversation RT @FracktoidNews: @bacco1 I would tell Senator John Cornyn (R) TX to kiss my hillbilly white arse. I got his SMART SCIENCE RIGHT HERE. #GASLAND

Now I am sure our ESTEEMED (use that term LOOSELY...emphasis added)Senator John Cornyn was being flippant, but I was raised to TAKE A MAN AT HIS WORD.  Going to assume here that Senator John Cornyn was/is sincere in stating he "loves an intelligent" conversation, specifically on the subject of Hydraulic Fracturing as relates to Natural Gas...he is for it, myself and others are against it, and his past behaviors would lead me to believe he has a VERY CLOSED MIND on the subject, but I am more than willing to be proved wrong on that assumption. 

So, Senator Cornyn, you have CHALLENGED ME to enter into intelligent discourse with you, and I hereby accept on the behalf of myself and all those who feel Hydraulic Fracturing as it is currently being carried out presents a grave peril to human health and our environment.  As I am sure you are aware, blog posts have a comment section...we can use that too debate and/or discuss this issue, the National Security ramifications of not going after Natural Gas plays here in America, the truth or lies of the industry (and our government's) claim that our Natural Gas deposits can help get us off of addiction to oil, as well as the health and environmental risks that are involved in the exploitation of this energy source, and wither or not it is fair to ask our rural communities to PAY THAT PRICE.  

The comments section on this post is hereby OPEN TO YOU SIR...lets, as you say, enjoy some intelligent conversation.  Or is our esteemed Senator from Texas a CHICKEN?

Natural Gas Flowback-A MUST READ REPORT for All Anti Fracking FOLKS

As an Activist, one of the reasons why I love Twitter, is it levels the playing field a bit, allows people in a common cause from different parts of the country to share important news, provide links to articles and/or reports we all in a given movement should read.  Today is one of those moments when Twitter provided such an opportunity.  From Dallas paper, would encourage you all to read the article:

New Study From Gas Drilling Activists Gathers Decade of Industrial Woes in the Barnett Shale

This is a very well written article about a study/report put together by Texas Oil & Gas Accountability Project on the various problems and health issues caused by the natural gas industry in extracting gas from the Barnett Shale Play.  I would strongly encourage every activist with a blog or a website to link to the report:

Natural Gas FLOWBACK...this is a MUST READ REPORT for all those opposed to FRACKING...you need to sign into Facebook to download the PDF.

Guest Article...Call To Ban Natural Gas Drilling Heard Around The World, But Not Heeded

Call To Ban Natural Gas Drilling Heard Around The World, But Not Heeded

By Theodora Filis

Environmental and health concerns have people around the world calling for a ban on natural gas drilling. Global warming effects of methane in natural gas are many times greater than the global warming effects of carbon dioxide. Subsidies granted to gas drilling promote the use of fossil fuels and undermine the development of conservation, efficiency, and renewable energy sources.

From the Permian Basin (western Texas and the southeastern part of New Mexico) to the Paris Basin, from Pennsylvania to Poland it is clear that in the next 20 years the global natural gas industry will not only be far bigger and more valuable than it is in 2011, but it will also be much more diversified.

Communities around the world will be faced with costs for baseline-testing of water pollutants, emergency response, health department monitoring of complaints, property tax assessment changes, building and repairing roads, and waste water treatment facilities.

Samples of flowback fluids in Pennsylvania and West Virginia have shown concentrations of cancer-causing chemicals that weren’t included in the list of Department of Environmental Conservation’s (DEC) hydraulic fracturing chemicals, and that in some instances the concentration of a single one of these carcinogenic chemicals exceeded 0.5% of the fluid – which is the purported total concentration of all chemicals in fracking fluid.

Studies reveal that components of natural gas affected the reproductive health of women working in gas processing plants in Russia.

The US National Energy Policy (NEP) adopted by President George W. Bush on May 17, 2001, led by former Halliburton CEO Vice President Dick Cheney, warned that the US was becoming ever more dependent on imported energy, thereby endangering national security. It called for increased reliance on domestic energy sources, especially oil and natural gas.

“A primary goal of the National Energy Policy is to add supply from diverse sources,” the document declared. “This means domestic oil, gas, and coal.”

Despite the obvious hazards and dangers, as well as inadequate safety practices, the Obama Administration backed corporate strategies strongly favoring the exploitation of oil and gas reservoirs in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico and other environmentally sensitive areas.

Nicolas Sarkozy, The Prime Minister of France, ordered a national ban on shale oil and gas drilling until June -- when two separate government reports will be released.

The government of Quebec halted all shale gas drilling until it can conduct its own in-depth analysis.

The Polish government, on the other hand, is ignoring the environmental impacts of gas drilling. Shale gas is now an issue of national foreign policy adopted by foreign minister Radoslaw Sikorski.

In the UK, Cuadrilla Resources has completed a test well in the Bowland Shale formation between Pendle Hill and Blackpool, in Lancashire. The company is backed by Riverstone Holdings, a private equity firm that former BP executive, Lord Browne, is a partner and managing director.

Companies are leasing land across Europe for gas exploration. Engineers and geologists from Italy and Norway have been to Texas, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania to learn how to extract gas from shale, and oil executives are now in Asia and North Africa mapping out gas fields.

The global call from citizens to preserve what is left of our clean water and clean air is being drowned out by the drilling for natural gas.

 

Posted by Theodora Filis Visit her Blog

Severely INJURED Workers Suing Chesapeake Energy

Seems two workers injured in a serious fire on February 23rd are suing  Chesapeake Energy...what is interesting, is the facts that come out when you start looking for different versions of the news.  In the short story below, it's OK...lawsuit for injuries, basic negligence case right?  But then look at the second article from a different news source, and you see much more SERIOUS CHARGES are being claimed that should alarm all environmentalists, as well as all those who are supposed to regulate the industry...specifically, a charge of EVIDENCE TAMPERING has been brought again Chesapeake Energy.

Article Version One

AVELLA, Pa. — Two workers injured in a fiery explosion during testing at a natural gas-drilling site in southwestern western Pennsylvania are suing the drilling firm and two subcontractors.

The Observer-Reporter in Washington, Pa. says 50-year-old Richard Lancaster, of Sardis, Ohio, and 36-year-old Frank Lancaster, of New Martinsville, W.Va. filed the suit in the Circuit Court of Kanawha County, W.Va.

The men were working for a trucking firm that is not being sued, and are blaming Chesapeake Appalachia for the fire at the well near Avella, about 25 miles west of Pittsburgh.

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has said the driller failed to properly manage flammable byproducts before the Feb. 23 fire in which five 500-barrel storage tanks of the liquid condensate ignited, but has yet to say if fines are warranted.

A Chesapeake spokeswoman declined comment. Article Source

More Than Just an Eye Sore...LAND RAPER

Article Version Two...more serious charges highlighted in RED.

Injured workers sue driller
By Scott Beveridge, Staff writer
Observer-Reporter
April 28, 2011

AVELLA, PA -- Two workmen who were severely injured in a massive Feb. 23 fire at a Marcellus Shale natural gas well site near Avella have sued the drilling company, claiming it was negligent in allowing flammable vapors to ignite at the site.  As we said, basic claim of being negligent...but READ ON.

Attorneys for victims Frank Lancaster and Richard Lancaster also claim the driller, Chesapeake Appalachia, removed critical evidence after the fire at the Joseph Powers well site, West Virginia court records indicate. The lawsuit further claims the fire was a result of "lax government regulation" in Pennsylvania over the Marcellus Shale industry. The problems with oversight have "created an environment where drillers believe they can disregard commonly accepted industry standards and risk the health and safety of workers and local communities without accountability," the lawsuit states.  Article Source

Removal of EVIDENCE!...wonder if they also removed evidence of wrong doing at the well pad blowout last week? Even more DAMNING...a charge LEVELED RIGHT AT GOVERNOR CORBETT who is trying to tie the hands of his DEP inspectors behind their backs.

A Fracktoid FACTOID on Corbett's Pennsylvania

As citizens listen to Governor Tom Corbett digging in his heels, refusing to TAX the (un)Natural Gas being extracted from the state, as companies like Chesapeake Energy claim to be paying MILLIONS into the state treasury, consider this HARD FACT...Of the 783 companies to file corporate net income tax returns in 2008, 85% paid nothing in taxes.  Wonder why states like Pennsylvania have budget deficits, wonder why states like Pennsylvania are CUTTING BACK ON SOCIAL SERVICES LIKE EDUCATION?  There is your ANSWER.

Why Tom Corvett's Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission's IS A SHAME

As pointed out in the previous article, protesters yesterday successfully interupted the proceedings of the Pennsylvania Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission's second meeting, and they should be applauded.  More importantly though...do they have a point in their protests, is the governor's Commission a SHAME, stacked in favor if a dishonest, corrupt (un)Natural Gas Industry?  In a word, "Yes".  Consider if you will some very disturbing facts.

1. EIGHT companies that have liberal representation on the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission were cited with VIOLATIONS last year...including the notorious KING DADDY ENVIRONMENTAL RAPIST, Chesapeake Energy who has had TWO well head failures in the past few months, three in the past ten with the latest being the Bradford County well failure which dumped tens of thousands of gallons of lethal fracking chemicals out onto farmland, and into streams.

2.   One of these companies with commission representation LEAD THE STATE IN VIOLATIONS, and will let you guess WHO IT WAS.

3.  SURPRISE SURPRISE, every one of these companies WERE HEAVY CONTRIBUTORS to Tom Corbett's campaign for governor.

Now if you listen to these industry insiders, the proverbial FOXES guarding the henhouse, they will claim their
presence on the Commission adds extremely valuable expertise, knowledge and talent to the panel. Knowledge of what?  How to skirt and/or break the laws meant to protect human health and the environment?  How to see that the rules meant to regulate themselves are written in a way that FAVORS THEMSELVES?  How to see that the recommendations, and resulting rules are written in a way that they can just write out a check as a cost of doing business every time they destroy a water supply, or despoil the land?

The citizens of Pennsylvania should already be circulating a Recall Petition to rid themselves of Tom Corbett who may well be the most dishonest politician to hold public office.

Protesters Interupt Commission Meeting in Harriburg

Anti Frack Protesters yesterday interrupted the Marcellus Shale Advisory Commission's second meeting, speaking TRUTH against a commission stacked in favorite of the (un)Natural Gas industry, most of the seats filled with industry insiders, and chaired by what can only be described as a industry whore and slut in Lt. Gov. Jim Cawley who along with Governor Corbett have an affinity for sucking on the teat of (Un)Natural Gas Industry money changers as the industry lines their pockets with Fracked Gold. 

Fracking Well Pad Daily Occurance?

When one protester (Mr. Stilp)suggested that the Commission be disbanded, a new one with more CITIZEN STAKEHOLDER representation created, Lt. Governor Jim (slick lips) Cawley reportedly SNORTED, "the makeup of the commission is nowhere near as important as the information that is collected." He went on to spew forth some Paul Bunyan sized tall tale about how any one could get him information they wanted the commission to review, and he would see it was put into the right hands...YEAH RIGHT.

Nathan Sooy of Clean Water Action (one of the organizations who spear headed the protest) said Lt. Governor Cawley's assurances were not enough...and they are not.  Any anal retentive chimp tripping on LSD could look at the Commission's make up and see where the ship is being steered.  It is the tail wagging the dog, the (un)Natural Gas industry getting to create/write the guidelines that they will be willing to abide by as they rape the environment, disrupt communities, and poison water.  Voluntary compliance is a farce, and putting together a Marcellus Shale Commission wherein the industry holds the MAJORITY VOTE is worthy of the Justice Department stepping in with a RICO investigation of the Governor, Lt. Governor and various members of the commission now seated.

READ MORE

Old Fracking News WORTH A SECOND LOOK...Pay ATTENTION New York...Natural Gas Industry ADMITS TO RUINING DRINKING WATER in Pittsburgh...PARTLY

KDKA-photocredit

A little late to close the barn door AFTER THE COW is gone...it will be a bit late to Save New York's Safe Pure Drinking Water has been forever TAINTED with deadly chemicals...now we all watch the Natural Gas Industry commercials here in New York (Sullivan County)...listen to HOW SAFE FRACKING IS, how they will NOT HARM OUR WATER.  Well. the Marcellus Shale Drilling Industry has admitted responsibility for CONTAMINATING PITTSBURGH's CLEAN DRINKING WATER...well, admitting partial fault, which for them is HUGE.

Do you really want to believe the (un)Natural Gas Industry's FALSE ASSURANCES, or do we here in New York want to say Thanks, but not thanks to FRACKING in the Marcellus Shale...the answer should be obvious to all those that have not had a frontal lobotomy.

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) – Officials with the Marcellus Shale drilling industry made a shocking admission Tuesday morning.

The president of the Marcellus Shale Coalition, which represents natural gas companies, said the group now believes the natural gas exploration industry is partly responsible for rising levels of contaminants found in area drinking water.

The group came to the conclusion after reviewing research from Carnegie Mellon University and the Pittsburgh Water and Sewer Authority.

One of the major factors that led to the conclusion was the discovery of bromide in the water. It’s a salt that is also found in drilling wastewater.

Now, the DEP is calling on Marcellus Shale drillers to stop taking wastewater to 15 treatment plants in the state.

Watch The KDKA-TV News At 5 p.m. For Andy Sheehan’s Full Report

RELATED STORIES
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Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale Plan Under Scrutiny
Pitt Researchers Test Waste Water From Marcellus Shale Drilling
More Marcellus Shale News

Fracking Video...Easy To Understand...Please Watch

From the folks over at Fracked Again, a MUST WATCH video presentation on the EVILS of Fracking...it is like watching the old drivein movie cartoons at intermission encouraging us to go buy refreshments.  I urge you to both watch it, and to share it with your friends, neighbors and countrymen.  Meanwhile, you can read Chesapeake Energy's PROPAGANDA FACT SHEET here.

The (un)Natural Gas Lie...Ours Is a SAFE Industry, Our Gas Clean, and Green

If you listen to the Natural Gas Industry propaganda, watch their carefully orchestrated commercials in the communities being TARGETS for FRACKING, they will have you believe theirs is a safe industry, their product both CLEAN and GREEN.  I did a cursory Google Search, by no means comprehensive in nature, but rather to show our readers just how easy it is to find example after example of just how UNSAFE Natural Gas wells are.

1. 
   

    Explosion, Fire At Marcellus Shale Gas Well Site Under ...

   
   

   Feb 23, 2011 ... Marcellus Shale Natural Gas Well Fire Injures 3 In Washington County ... Resident Says Natural Gas Well Fire 'Sounded Like A Bomb Went Off' ...
   www.wtae.com › Pittsburgh News - Cached
   ►
2. 
   

   Bluedaze: DRILLING REFORM FOR TEXAS: Natural gas well fire may ...

   
   

   Apr 7, 2011 ... Natural gas well fire may burn for 16 days or longer ... AUSTIN – Authorities now say a natural gas drilling rig fire that started April 1 ...
   txsharon.blogspot.com/.../natural-gas-well-fire-may-burn-for-16.html - Cached 

   Gas Well Fire Takes Ten 18-Wheelers | Firegeezer
3. 
   

   Apr 16, 2011 ... A FIRE AT A NATURAL GAS WELL NEAR SHREVEPORT, Louisiana, Friday afternoon caught a tanker truck on fire. It then spread to several others ...
   firegeezer.com/2011/04/16/gas-well-fire-takes-ten-18-wheelers/ - Cached

   
   

   Firefighters battle fire near natural gas well | 9news.com

   
   

   Dec 12, 2010 ... BYERS - Crews are still trying to contain a fire near a natural gas well that started Sunday morning in the Latigo Storage Field. ...
   www.9news.com/rss/article.aspx?storyid=169396 - Cached

   
   

   Natural-gas well fire in Auburn Township under DEP probe ...

   
   

   Jul 15, 2010 ... The state Department of Environmental Protection is investigating a fire at a natural-gas well pad in northeastern Pennsylvania.
   www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/state/s_690476.html - Cached

   
   

   Gas well fire at Procter & Gamble extinguished; no injuries ...

   
   

   Nov 2, 2010 ... A fire at a natural gas well on the Procter & Gamble plant site near Mehoopany brought several firefighters and other emergency personnel to ...
   thetimes-tribune.com/.../gas-well-fire-at-procter-gamble-extinguished-no-injuries-reported-1.1057574 - Cached - Similar

   
   

   2 killed in gas well explosion in western Pa. - US news - Life ...

   
   

   Jul 23, 2010 ... PITTSBURGH — A natural gas well where welders were believed to be working exploded Friday, killing two people and sparking a fire that ...
   www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38380210/ns/us_news-life/ - Cached - Similar

   
   

   Natural-Gas Well Fire Continues to Burn in WV

   
   

   Sep 24, 2010 ... Until Chesapeake Appalachia can figure out how to choke off the flow of natural gas, a well fire in the Northern Panhandle will continue to ...
   www.whsv.com/westvirginiaap/headlines/103722269.html - Cached

   
   

   More on the 3/19 Lebanon well fire | un-naturalgas.org weblog

   
   

   Mar 20, 2009 ... Another example of gas company drilling PR damage control. Read between the lines: Gas well explodes in nearby Lebanon Tyler Murphy, ...
   un-naturalgas.org/weblog/2009/.../more-on-the-319-lebanon-well-fire/ - Cached

   
   

   Gas well burns out of control in northeastern B.C. - British ...

   Nov 12, 2008 ... A ConocoPhillips natural gas well caught fire in northeastern B.C. on Tuesday. (
   

   ConocoPhillips Canada). A ConocoPhillips Canada gas well is ...
   www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british.../story/.../bc-chetwynd-gas-well-fire.html

Fracking...Why I Have Joined The Fight

It's Easter Saturday, I am up drinking coffee as I look out my window at a lush woodland view, can see in my mind the pristine stream and its waterfall that is just down the path about half a mile from my apartment.  I ponder what my old eyes (I am 55) have seen in five plus decades...memories take me back to my own youth when I lived in the small town of Jeffersonville, Indiana which is located just across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky. 

As a very young child I fell in love with nature, water, the proverbial Great Outdoors.  Imagine a young boy walking along the rivers edge looking for frogs, fishing with a string tied to a stick, the thought of needing a hook never crossing his mind.  Imagine if you will that same young boy looking down and across the river and seeing the Belle of Louisville paddle-wheeler coming into view, steam billowing from her stacks, the American Flag fluttering in the wind, calliope Music giving the moment a very festive feel.

That was me, the life I lived.  Other days found me out by the railroad tracks, putting pennies on the rail for the train to roll over, flattening them into medallions that my Dad would later drill a whole through so I could wear them on a piece of leather cord.  Times were different, the engineers waving too us as the Locomotive slowly chugged past heading for the factory just down the way where they would load up potato-chips that were destined to far off places.  Just across the tracks and through a small strip of trees was a field, the farmers cows content as they grazed upon fresh meadow grass, some lounging under a old willow tree that sat perched next to the stream from which they drank.

One summer we went to Mammoth Cave State Park, but along the way, my father insisted on taking us through COAL COUNTRY, down into some of the crooks and hollers where everything has a black dusty downtrodden feel to it.  He stopped along babbling brooks that just did not seem quite right, a dirty film upon the surface, the leaves on the trees withered and sparse.  He would be angry...not at us, at the damage being done to the earth, and the people...poverty was everywhere.  Another summer we traveled to West Virginia, and there way back some 40 plus years ago, he drove us through tens of thousands of acres of strip mined lands, the landscape taking on a eerie inhuman feel, almost nothing there but destruction.

Later on, a young man I found myself out in Utah where I saw up close and personal the ravages of Uranium Mining, the BOOM TIMES GONE, communities and lands left scarred pocked and UGLY.  I traveled through and lived in Ohio...again, tens of thousands of acres of strip mined land, some of it restored but NOT LOOKING RIGHT, and down outside of Portsmouth Ohio the unseen dirty underbelly of the Nuclear Industry reared its ugly head as I drove around the Gaseous Diffusion Plant with all of its rusting, earth contaminating barrels of Depleted Uranium sitting there behind a even rustier 12 all chain-link fence.  The government found a way to deal with that waste...they reclassified it as potential future use resources when it was learned it could be used to make armor piercing ammunition's.

Living outside of Cambridge Ohio, I uncovered a specialty steel alloy company that processed South African Ores...the naturally occurring radioactivity in these ores would re-concentrate into the slag that was being skimmed off during the process.  That slag was then dumped into a wetlands that drained into our community's drinking water supply, given away as road and construction fill, over 200 of our county's 1200 homes contaminated, in need of remediation...you can read about this by doing a search for Shieldalloy...you will find they did this at a site in Byesville Ohio, as well as another in New Jersey.

Until recently, lived in Peekskill, could look out my window and see the looming danger that was/is Indian Point perched there upon the Hudson River.  Studied that site, am familiar with the 300,000 plus gallon plume that IP 3 floats on top of, a radioactive concoction of the worst kind. I know that the Fuel transfer canal that goes from IP2 into the overly crowded spent fuel pool is leaking, though Entergy will deny it.  I could spend hours discussing Indian Point and why it should be closed down....could also tell you about DOE, NERAC and why it was decided to re-license EVERY REACTOR IN AMERICA in the name of National Security.  I could point to the 30 plus nuclear reactors now leaking tritium, and would suggest to you that the NRC is telling us not to worrying about that for very selfish reasons...Did you know that tritium is needed to recharge our NUCLEAR ARSENAL, and where do you think that tritium comes from?

Now, I find myself living atop of the Marcellus Shale formation, seeing the few Anti-Fracking signs popping up here and there, and I see the clouds darkening.  I know what is coming, and I know the lies.  I watch my TV, and see slick commercials promising the citizens CLEAN AIR, GREEN FUEL, and prosperity for one and all...and I know it is all a lie.  I watched Exxon-Mobil run a PRO-FRACKING commercial on Earth Day yesterday...watched the day before as the entire National Media simply choose to ignore the Chesapeake Energy well blow out that was unfolding on the one year anniversary of BP's accident that did critical harm to the Gulf...never mind the fact it was Chesapeake Energy's SECOND BLOW OUT IN AS MANY MONTHS IN Pennsylvania.

Do I think we can win this fight?  Probably not, we are simply out gunned and out financed at every step of the way, and desperate people want to believe in dreams.  Couple that with a national energy policy that holds communities like our own in little regard, a pentagon convinced that the Natural Gas fracking promises is far more important than any land or waters that might be destroyed, and I can only hope we can preserve small pieces of land, communities here and there as we preserve a patchwork quilt of the beauty that once was...it is not much, it is not what I would wish for, but it is something I feel is worth the fight.  Hopefully more of you will as well, and over time, I pray that all of our small splintered local groups can join into one LARGE NATIONAL Anti FRACKING group, as that is OUR ONLY HOPE.

Chesapeake Malfeasance CREATES EMERGENCY as 1,000's of GALLONS of Chemically Contaminated Fracking Fluids Ruin Farm Land, POISON LOCAL CREEKS! HAPPENING NOW

 

Chesapeake Energy, who sure seems to have a LOT OF ENVIRONMENTAL VIOLATIONS seems to have a major catastrophic emergency on its hands in Bradford County, PA.  The company who insists that FRACKING has never damaged ground water can NEVER AGAIN SAY THOSE WORDS, nor can the industry.

A Fracking Well GONE WILD over night has literally poured TENS OF THOUSANDS of gallons of highly dangerous, poisonous fracking fluids onto the farm land in this once picturesque area, the volume of the chemicals so large that it has FLOODED INTO THE NEARBY CREEKS AND STREAMS, with the damage to Ground Water sure to be immense.  The deadly chemical mix is so lethal to both animals and humans that nearby residents HAVE BEEN EVACUATED.

A Chesapeake Energy spokesperson said, "thousands of gallons of fluid leaked over farm land and into a creek from a natural gas well in Bradford County."  The timing could not be worse, as President Obama just yesterday had said, "If we are going to do this, it has to be done in a way that does not POISON PEOPLE."  TOO LATE!

First responders, and other qualified personnel in a all hands on deck NATIONAL EMERGENCY are desperately trying to contain the spill of these deadly chemicals as the FRACKING FLUIDS continue to flow unabated from the WELL PAD.

The blowout occurred on the Morse family farm in LeRoy Township outside Canton, a farming community who probably jumped at the money when the landman showed up, lease in hand with his slick sales pitch...that easy money for Randy Morse who ran cattle on his land is NOT SO EASY NOW, as he and his family will NEVER AGAIN be able to drink from the brook on his land that Chesapeake Energy has forever poisoned.

Chesapeake Energy official Brian Grove trying to put lipstick on a pig said "A piece of equipment on the well failed.  Now a major response is underway to stop the leak of frack fluid and get control of the well. We've been able to limit the flow. We're still doing additional work to regain full control,"   NOTICE HERE FOLKS, that the well is STILL GUSHING dangerous deadly chemical laden toxic FRACKING FLUIDS into the environment, threatening both SAFE DRINKING WATER AND HUMAN HEALTH!

Mr. Grove went on to say, "There is no telling yet how much of that extremely salty water mixed with chemicals and sand has impacted the nearby Towanda Creek, but no gas has escaped into the air."  Can't you almost hear him saying under his breath, "Yet".

Neighbor Ted Tomlinson said "The biggest thing is the footprint on the environment. Well obviously this is a big footprint."   Thanks to one neighbors GREED, a entire community is NOW SUFFERING, PAYING THE ULTIMATE PRICE FOR (un)Natural Gas FRACKING...for those not liking the tone of this article, too bad.  We have tried to WARN YOU, and now people like TEd Tomlinson are worried that their SAFE CLEAN DRINKING WATER that is just a few football fields away from this poorly managed and installed Chesapeake Energy Drilling Well has FOREVER BEEN RUINED.  It is noted here, that the IMMEDIATE HEALTH RISK IS SO SEVERE that Ted Tomlinson was forced to evacuate he and his family from their home

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