Hey there!
Like all you earthy enthusiasts, we have been tuning in to what is going on in Denmark, and stand in solidarity with all those in Copenhagen fighting for LIFE!
"I was born in 1992, the year you started negotiating. Since then, my home island is now in danger of disappearing. You have been negotiating my entire life. The time for talking is over. We need action now." - Christina Ora, Solomon Islands
Like our comrade Christina, we are losing patience with "negotiations" when so many blatant life-threatening examples are available to confirm devastation along this path. Green Guerrillas are still ona move challenging the natural gas boom taking over 31 states... and we need your help!
We are still in "negotiations" of sorts here in Haudenosaunee Territory as the public comment period for the Draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (dSGEIS) ends on December 31st, and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation decides whether or not it is equipped to regulate slick water, high pressure hydraulic fracturing in the Marcellus Shale (our backyard).
What can you do?
Get informed and get involved! We are all in this together... whether we live in NY or PA or OH or TX or WY... in rural areas or in cities... on grid or off! Our collective resource use, over-consumption, and dependency on fossil fuels has led us down this path... ANOTHER WORLD IS NECESSARY! Help us make it happen!
Dark Side of a Natural Gas Boom
Buried Secrets: Gas Drilling's Environmental Threat
ENVIRONMENT1
1. Water Use: According to New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s draft Supplemental Generic Environmental Impact Statement (SGEIS) “2.4 million to 7.8 million gallons of water may be used for a multi-stage hydraulic fracturing procedure,” which would either be pumped from sources nearby or delivered by truck. New York State estimates that fracking could use “28 million gallons per day” from the Susquehanna River alone.
2. Those Frackin’ Chemicals: Using the “Halliburton loophole” in the 2005 Energy Policy Act, drilling companies have refused to release information on chemicals used in fracking because they are “trade secrets.” The SGEIS listed more than 260 chemicals used in fracking, many of which are known carcinogens and endocrine disrupters that can endanger animals and humans at very low levels. In the last six years, hydraulic fracturing has been linked to more than 1,000 documented incidents of water contamination in the western United States. These chemicals are stored on site, leading to other associated risks such as explosions.
3. Natural Gas Migration: Fracking loosens natural gas deposits and leads to leaks into surface and groundwater. In a handful of instances, homes have been blown up by methane escaping through well water, resulting in three deaths in one case.
4. Disposing of Wastewater: Wastewater from Marcellus shale wells will contain not only the “briny” water produced by the rock layers, but also heavy metals such as lead, arsenic and barium and fracking chemicals. This fluid is considered hazardous and must be treated at a local treatment plant. Most plants in New York State say they cannot handle both the concentration of salts and chemicals present and the quantity of waste. Fracking in Pennsylvania produces nine million gallons of wastewater a day. The state’s first plant to treat “Total Dissolved Solids” in the wastewater won’t be operational before 2013 and will be able to handle less than 5 percent of the current waste stream. Currently wastewater is dumped in waterways or treated in sewage plants unable to process the chemicals.
5. Fragmenting the Landscape: A single site can require dozens of acres for the drilling pad, equipment and chemical storage, waste pits, pipelines and access roads. Many wells in one area could fragment wildlife corridors and agricultural areas, and lead to an increase in soil erosion and flooding, and provide pathways for invasive plant species.
HUMAN HEALTH
1. Endocrine Disrupters: These are man-made chemicals that mimic hormones or block hormones and disrupt the body’s normal function, even in very low concentrations. They have been linked to infertility, ADHD, autism, diabetes, thyroid disorders, and childhood and adult cancers.
2. Just Irritations or Chronic Illness?: Most fracking chemicals can cause skin, eye and respiratory irritations, but over time can lead to gastrointestinal problems, chronic headaches, brain and nervous system disorders and respiratory disfunction. Others are linked to immunity disorders such as Lupus.
3. Air Quality: Drilling may produce airborne pollutants such as arsenic, mercury, methane, benzene, toluene, nitrous oxides, hydrogen sulfide, volatile organic chemicals, radioactive materials, ozone and excessive diesel exhaust. This pollution contributes to asthma as well as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
Sue Smith-Heavenrich is a reporter in the Finger Lakes region and blogs at marcelluseffect.blogspot.com.
For the last several weeks we have been sharing what is happening to the south of us in Dimock, Pennsylvania. Here’s what folks in Broadview Heights, Ohio are dealing with…
Other options?
Join over 6,000 concerned folks in demanding the WITHDRAWAL of the dSGEIS...
... you can also sign the Petition to BAN Hydraulic Fracturing in NY and/or join Philadelphians working to Protect Our Water on December 10th at 7 PM
Lastly, for all of you in to zombie flix... find out what would happen in our area if we allow our water to be fracked! Frac Attack PREMIERES in Ithaca TOMORROW:
Frac Attack Teaser from Shira Golding on Vimeo.
Check these sites out for more information, meetings, movies, and movement... let's spend less time on false solutions and put more effort in to a RENEWABLE FUTURE FOR ALL!
December is a month for action... the need for CLIMATE JUSTICE is paramount. What are you up to?
1 Drilling Deep Into Controversy, The Indypendent, 10-30-09
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