July 7, 2015
By Chris Ruvo
When it comes to fracking in Bucks County, (click here) lifelong resident Beth Ann Rinkus’ position is unequivocal.
The Buckingham woman firmly believes that the impacts to human health and the environment, particularly water supply, are so detrimental that fracking should be banned.
“It will pollute and ruin the water, and once you do that, there’s no way of fixing it,” said Rinkus.
Her comments drew applause from the approximately 70 people who attended a Tuesday evening meeting about fracking at the Newtown Friends Meetinghouse in Newtown.
Locals, led by Marguerite Chandler, of Middletown, organized the meeting to galvanize resistance to a proposed joint ordinance that would regulate fracking in Newtown Township, Upper Makefield and Wrightstown....
Our National Forests and National Parks are under attack.
July 8, 2015
By Laura Peters
With the controversy surrounding hydraulic fracturing, (click here) or fracking, in the George Washington National Forest, Virginia petroleum experts are arguing the benefits of it.
Fracking in the national forest may add jobs in the area, and tap the United States' natural resources, rather than outsourcing energy needs, say proponents.
The U.S. Forest Service now prohibits oil and gas drilling on almost all the national forest land, according to its final management plan released Tuesday.
The forest service permits drilling on 167,000 acres with existing private mineral rights and 10,000 acres already leased to oil and gas companies....
The exploding tropedo was nitroglycerin.
The practice was very limited. In 1949, which is where the petroleum likes to say is their beginnings, the earliest oil discoveries, dynamite or nitroglycerin detonations increased a well’s production. The practice expanded, but, the primary method of extracting oil and gas was through vertical drilling. Fracking was very limited in it's use. It is a dangerous technology otherwise it would have been used more widely.
In 2005, the Cheney Energy strategy removed all regulations to allow the practice to expand to very inch of land in the USA. The deregulation has been highly egregious. The deregulation is corruption by Republicans.
The practice is dangerous to the country and the people. The land is destroyed of any reasonable use, even after the gas and oil harvesting is over.
The maximum of fracking wells in the USA since the first commercial well in Oklahoma was 1500 until 2005. Why so few wells for such a long time? 1949 to 2005 spans over five decades. That means there was approximately 300 fracking wells per YEAR.
The practice was very limited and in states that would allow it. Up to 2005 this technology was mostly outlawed across the country. Why? Because the practice was known to break the law in the Clean Air Act and the Clean Water Act. It was known to emit dangerous greenhouse gases that were more dangerous then carbon dioxide. It was known to cause cancers in the benzine it emitted. There were many, many laws that prohibited this practice, not by naming the practice, but, because federal laws impacted a very dangerous practice. Up to 2005 the practice could not pass the test of federal regulations that protect the American people from harm.
In 2005, corruption hit the USA as issued from the federal government under "W"'s energy committee. The Cheney energy committee removed all the regulations of which protected the American people. Cheney promoted the dissolution of the laws' impacts for the petroleum industry. It specifically put the profits of the petroleum industry over the safety of the American people.
The escalation of the number of fracking wells since 2005 is astronomical. The number of wells in the USA went from 1500 in 2005 to 2 million today of which at least 1.2 million are still working. That is nothing but greed and has absolutely nothing to do with the USA's need for natural gas or any of the by-products of the practice. This is a graph from the US Department of Energy. The red line is the production and the blue line is the demand. Let's just say the shortage was hurting the country, which it wasn't. It provided for conservation of energy. But, let's just say the shortage was horrible and more gas wells were needed.
In 2005, at the time of the deregulation, there was a demand of 22 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and the production was at a low of 18 trillion cubic feet (TCF). Natural gas is measured in cubic feet because it is a gas, not a liquid.
By 2008, the production exceeded the use in 2005. But, that wasn't good enough for the petroleum industry, they marketed natural gas as an answer to any energy crisis and moved the demand 24 TCF. The demand only recently started to slow and supply is getting closer to demand.
1.2 trillion wells. Not trillion cubic feet, but, wells are destroying the land in the USA and air quality is very poor as a result of wells. People have died in the USA from water and air contamination. This is not a minor issue.
Now, mind you this technology was only needed in 1500 wells in 2005. Even with current demand there is no justification for more and more fracking wells. Now the petroleum industry wants to pollute our national forests and national parks with their technology that will destroy the land, kill the trees and pollute the aquifers.
The petroleum industry is marketing something in a political season that is a very dangerous technology. They don't bother telling the electorate they have plans to destroy our forests and park lands. They want everyone to believe they are supplying a necessary technology and while they might apologize for the pollution and deaths, they purport this is all necessary for national security of the USA.
IT IS A LIE!!!!!!
This is about profits to Wall Street and no other reason.
One might ask why there is a chronic shortfall of TCF from fracking with 1.2 wells in service?
Why?
Because the emissions from the wells into the troposphere is significant. So, while the industry is showing greater amounts of production to attempt to meet leveling demand, there is all that much more methane entering the troposphere. If there were productions from emissions on these well, the 1500 wells in 2005 would STILL be all that is needed.
The petroleum industry is out of control and is causing a great deal of damage to the country and imposes health risks no American should face. This has to halted. It is greed and not necessity at work. Americans should not have these problems with an industry, but, it does. People have to oppose this technology in their cities and towns. That is why Beth Ann is correct. Besides their towns water supply and air quality being at risk, the American National Forests and National Parks are now the next target.
Probably for the first time in history, the logging industries have common ground with the American people. The fracking technology will damage the forests forever. The private logging industry is allowed to harvest trees from the forests to reduce leaf litter and make for healthier trees and the opportunity for new growth from the forest floor.
This is exploitation by the petroleum industry and it should not be tolerated today or in the future.
