Are Fracking Dangers Threatening to Invade a State Park Near You?

Imagine, if you will, you head out to enjoy a day in the park. Beautiful old stand hardwood trees are all around you in the picnic area. A gentle breeze is blowing. Birds are flying overhead. It's all very beautiful, but something is off. The peaceful beauty of the park is gone, sold to the highest bidder by your state's elected officials.

The sound of fracking rigs hums constantly in the background. Semi's chug in and out every few minutes. Occasionally the breeze brings the overpowering stench of chemicals and burning diesel fuel from the frac trucks. You give up on enjoying the day in one of Ohio's formerly pristine parks and head for your car only to notice it is covered in gritty silica sand dust.

A report in the Columbus Dispatch, State catalogs shale holdings in parks, forests, explains that some of Ohio's state employees have been assigned the job of sifting through Tier 1 eastern ohio property records to find public lands ripe for frackers to consume. They have even prepared maps with some prime locations marked for potential drilling sites.

Five state forests are included in the Tier 1 marked sites:

1. Beaver Creek
2. Fernwood
3. Harrison
4. Sunfish Creek
5. Yellow Creek

According to the report in the Dispatch, Tier 2 reviews are slated begin next.

So, not only is the state giving away public lands against the will of the public, they are using public tax dollars to pay state employees to do the oil & gas company's research work for them.

Can You Protect Your Family From the Threat of Fracked Drinking Water and Food?

Of all the things that have caught my attention since I began researching the environmental effects of the hydraulic fracturing natural gas drilling method, the most striking part has been the fact that no matter how much people ask for help, no matter how many experts stand up and present data about their research, and no matter how many government agencies publish data indicating the dangers of fracking (wow, sorry about that run-on sentence) the industry marches ahead and does pretty much whatever it wants to do.

So, in light of that, I have to ask, can you protect your family from the threat of fracked drinking water and food?

I'm not being facetious, here, I really want to know. Do you feel safe?

I know some pro-frackers are going to pop in here, munching on their M&M's and popping Advil while drinking their tap water, to say something like "Yeee Haaa, I shore nuf can keep muh famly safe cuz there aint not no threat from frackin. Drill, babee, drill." But I want to know what the people who have done actual research have to say.

Even if you buy bottled water and do not drink your tap water, where do you think the bottled water comes from? There is fracking done in every state in the country (Ooh, except, I believe Vermont recently banned fracking - kudos Vermont) and in almost every country in the world, so what do you tell yourself about the safety of your drinking water and food supply?

Do you have any assurance that fracked water is not used to grow your produce or feed the livestock that produce your meat, eggs, and dairy products? No?

I truly wish I could wind up this post with an assurance that water and food purchased from #### place #### would be safe (come on, just one safe place, please,) but if fracking is everywhere, and there is no science and research-backed way to assure its safety, then there can be no assurance. I wonder if Vermont could supply enough frack-free water and food to supply the rest of the nation, or at least the families who care about the dangers of fracking???

Fracking Bad Karma: Now They're Fracking Elementary Schools?

Months ago, I sarcastically joked, after learning of a gas company fracking a cemetary, asking if elementary schools were next.

I did not think any company would stoop so low, I guess I should have known, now one of them is fracking by an elementary school.

Now THAT is seriously, seriously LOW, and everyone involved in the decision to frack that close to children deserves to have some seriously BAD karma headed their way.

The Things Kids Say... About Fracking

A post on Facebook's Protest Shale Gas Fracking page led to a cute spoof of a gas company's commercial made by two clever young men. (Well, the gas company getting spoofed might not think it's cute.) Like the post said, kid's know the ads are BS. (Makes you wonder why some adults fall for the propaganda.)

If you click on the embedded image below the video will play on the kid's (or their parent's) You Tube channel.

Fracking's Effect on Air Quality

If you have been following the water-related issues from fracking, you might also be interested to hear about air quality issues caused by the process.

According to an article on Mount Vernon News, an expert, Dr. Deborah Cowden M.D., recently spoke at a Stewards of the Land information session, desscribing the air quality effect of fracking activity.

The source for at least part of Cowden's presentation was a study performed in Colorado by the Garfield County Health Department. Garfield has a heavy concentration of fracking wells, making it an ideal location for such a study.

The Assault on Air Quality

Forms of fracking pollutants:

• Dust (from truck traffic and mining process)
• Silica (used in the mining process)
• Smoke (casued by fires and explosions)
• "Volatile organics from condensation tanks, compressor stations, rogue gas and evaporative pits.
• Diesel fumes from drilling engines, large fracking pumps and truck traffic." (Quoted from Mt Vernon News, 6/8/ 2012 to ensure accuracy)

One interesting point, if you drive past one of the fracked sites, you will not see or smell the "volatile organics affecting air quality with the naked eye. You have to have an infrared camera to see this type of odorless air contaminant.




Cowden: Fracking an assault on air quality http://www.mountvernonnews.com/local/12/06/08/cowden-fracking-an-assault-on-air-quality.php#ixzz1xIuxnWAL

The Role of Fracking in the US Economy

I recently picked up a pro and con Congressional report about fracking at the local library. I was actually kind of surprised to find something like that in my little town's library.

As I read through it, one thing really caught my attention, well there were a lot of interesting things, but especially this one.

One of the document's authors wrote that the economy of the United States hinges on the success of the natural gas industry.

Think about that a moment, because it's huge.

One industry, that according to some has the potential to destroy our eco-system, according to what I read in this congressional report (you can get a copy for $19 if your library doesn't have one), carries the burden of repairing the American economy.

So, if that author is correct, our only hope of rebuilding America to the point where the "American Dream" is possible for the average Joe, is to allow the fracking industry to proceed at will.

I'm going to hold my own thoughts about this and ask you, "What do you think?"

MWCD Halts Water Sale to Frackers

This past week, the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District decided to temporarily halt the sale of water to oil and gas drillers.

While it has been all over the news, One recent report came from the Mansfield News Journal. According to the information provided, the moratorium is only temporary, but it is in response to concerns expressed by the public.