[CRNMC] [CRNMC-media] Dangers of fracking & a note about the legality of the ordinance

[doug mckenty]

Nice work Karina,  thanks.

Doug

On Saturday, October 4, 2014, karinajoy <karinacotler at gmail.com> wrote:

> Anyone who wishes to use all or part of this for the roadshow or anything
> else, please feel free.
>
> I gave this short talk at the Willits event and it was well received.
>
> Karina
>
>
> Dangers of Fracking
>
>
> So what is fracking?  Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing is a process of
> drilling deep into the earth,  past the aquifer and into a layer of shale,
> then drilling horizontally for thousands of feet, and pumping a mixture of
> water, sand and chemicals at such high pressure, it fractures the shale and
> releases the methane gas that’s trapped within. Millions of gallons of this
> fracking fluid is injected into each well. Each well uses millions of
> gallons of water and 40,000 gallons of chemicals, none of which they are
> required to disclose, but include arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, lead,
> mercury, hydrochloric acid, radium and uranium... The only thing they are
> prohibited by law from using is deisel fuel.
>
> The fracking industry, thanks to Dick Cheney, is exempt from the Safe
> Drinking Water Act, and the Clean Air Act and has loopholes in many other
> laws that were intended to protect us from exactly this kind of threat.
>
> *What are the dangers of fracking, in short?*
>
> * First, only 25-50% of the fracking fluid is recovered. The rest stays in
> the earth and can slowly seep up into the aquifer over time.  The recovered
> fracking fluid is stored in lined pits, which evaporate and can leak - or
> it’s injected deep into the earth and is suspected of causing over 1000
> earthquakes in states which rarely experience them. *
>
> * 2nd, the released methane not captured by the well pump, can rise up
> towards the surface thru the fissures and into the aquifer - and then into
> people’s wells. Methane is an explosive hazard (meaning your house or the
> well itself could explode), and it’s toxic to humans. I**n Gasland 2,
> using** a special camera, one can see huge clouds of methane pouring from
> the fracking wells*.
>
> 3rd, the fracking drills are encased in cement and according to the gas
> industry, over 5% of all these cement casings fail immediately and after 30
> years, at least 50% will have failed and leaked. So if there are 1000 wells
> in the county, within 30 years, at least 500 of them will be leaking
> methane and some undisclosed chemical soup into the ground and into our
> water.
>
> Especially in a time of drought, diverting water from agriculture to
> fracking is a really bad idea.
>
> And the health consequences are equally bad and only beginning to be
> studied. So far, it’s been documented to cause low birth weight and an
> increase in birth defects, nosebleeds, severe headaches, rashes and lung
> problems. 15 million Americans now live within a mile of a fracking well
> and one million new wells are planned in the next decade. In Illinois,
> there is a housing development where many of the homes have fracking wells
> in their back yards!
>
> We should all be aware that not only will our home owners insurance not
> cover us, in the event of a fracking “accident”, but if you consent to have
> a well on your property, you can be held personally liable for any damage
> caused by the fracking operation, once the gas company leaves.  A Texas
> rancher, who has to haul in $1000 worth of water each month because his
> well is full of gas, is being sued for defamation by the gas company! So,
> if we don’t stand together to ban fracking, each one of us harmed will have
> to stand alone and defend ourselves.
>
> *********************************
>
> Regarding the issue of these ordinances being illegal: We have inalienable
> rights by virtue of being born human. These rights were not given to us by
> government, nor can they be taken away - that is why they are called
> inalienable. The Declaration of Independence states that it is the function
> of government to protect those rights. Therefore any “law” which takes away
> our fundamental right to protect the health and safety of our families and
> communities is an illegitimate law, and we have every right to repudiate
> these so called “laws” - in fact, I believe it is our duty as human beings
> to do so, just as our forebears did in 1776. The great American Revolution
> has been highjacked - mostly by the courts. Isn’t is time to stand up and
> reclaim our fundamental, inalienable Rights? That is what measure S does.
>
>
>
> On Oct 4, 2014, at 4:28 PM, Beth Brenneman wrote:
>
> *To send me the frack speech.  Soon.  Thanks, Beth*
>
> --
> "The trouble is that once you see it, you can't unsee it. And once you've
> seen it, keeping quiet, saying nothing, becomes as political an act as
> speaking out. There's no innocence. Either way, you're accountable.” Arundhati
> Roy <http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6134.Arundhati_Roy>
>
>
>
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