No, it’s not a clean way to frack. Fracking, but whatever it means, does nothing to improve the environment. New York should ban it.
Families Dislocated
I’ve observed that fracking does nothing good for the locals. Here another story that gives a face to the research statistics.
Fracking and Premature Births
Canadian researchers may have found link between fracking and premature births
According to a new study from the University of Calgary, there could be a link between oil and gas operations and health risks for pregnant women and their babies in those areas. “There is very little research about fracking as it relates to the health of pregnant people and children living near these sites,” Amy Metcalfe, a co-principal investigator and associate professor in obstetrics and…
Radioactive?
Justin Nobel asserts that radiation levels at some oil and gas facilities within small American towns are higher than those at the exclusion zone around the site of the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
CO2 Fracking?
It would seem an obviously bad idea to use a greenhouse gas for fracking, wouldn’t it?
Evidence of Harm
It’s not news to us, but the evidence continues to build that nothing good comes of allowing fracking. Here’s a report from our Bucks County Courier Times, that adds to the irrefutable evidence.
Study shows links between Pa. fracking, health of kids
More asthma, cancer cases found near plantsMarc LevyASSOCIATED PRESS H
The industry continues to assert that fracking can be done safely. Still, the evidence shows that profit-driven businesses are not up to the task and often lobby to prevent authorities from holding them accountable. I should not need to remind readers that taxpayers are paying to close hundreds of thousands of abandoned wells. If fracking can be done safely, then every case of leaks, venting, water degradation, and well abandonment is a case of negligence–is it not? I don’t see the industry stepping up to take responsibility for the damage it has done through past negligence. Nor are they lobbying for rigorous enforcement to keep marginal operators in line and to fund the mitigation of damage done.
Why Closing Orphan Wells Matters
“A new peer-reviewed study from PSE suggests that prioritizing plugging wells closest to people may bring extra health benefits. Gas leaking from wells is known to be mostly methane, a potent climate pollutant. Scientists tested gas from 48 abandoned wells in western Pennsylvania and found that gas leaking from wells can contain benzene and other volatile organic compounds, suggesting that leaked gas from abandoned wells is also a health hazard.” ~ PSE Newsletter
Abandoned Wells Will Cost Us Billions
They are orphans because the people who profited from them left it for the rest of us to be responsible and close them. It looks like even $4.7 Billion won’t be enough to plug the orphans.
Irresponsible
The ongoing and expensive problem of orphan wells should remind us NOT to allow environmental costs to become “externalities” in the energy economic model. The industry continues to exploit it’s political power and economic dominance, leaving the rest of society to clean up the mess and suffer the health consequences. Fossil fuels are killing us slowly and will for generations to come.
“DRILL AND DITCH”
Lest you be lulled into thinking that energy companies have seen the light and turned over a new leaf, this was just published by Spotlight PA:
A new report by Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection says conventional oil and gas drillers improperly abandoned thousands of additional wells here between 2017 and 2021 — often with impunity.
Abandoned wells leak the greenhouse gas methane, which contributes to climate change, and drillers are required to report and plug them.
Otherwise it falls to the state, “the plugger of last resort,” which already has an estimated 200,000 wells to close at an average cost of $30,000 a piece.
“The industry’s recent record of compliance is troubling and requires DEP’s Office of Oil and Gas Management to explore new techniques for deterring violations and encouraging compliance,” the report says.
Read more (click here)