Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Holly Robinson Gardner on June 25, 2010 at 6:42

Gilbert, Bet you got those little curly cue CFL light blubs in your home also. Well guess what, they contain mercury and cannot be made in the USA. You guessed it MADE IN CHINA. That is because they are outlawed as dangerous and there is an EPA warning concerning them. Put big companies in this country out of business and lost many, many jobs of American families.

Ramblings from the Right,
Holly

Permalink Reply by carolyn johnston on June 25, 2010 at 13:19

I am going to jump into this discussion, although I suppose someone is going to label and judge me - yes i have read the condescending and biased comments towards folks who question fracking or show concern for the environment. Skip states: "there are land owners on both sides of the equation. Those who fear the unknown and would forgo the economic benefits to feel safe and those who would like to receive those benefits and manage the risk." Well skip I bet that there are many sides to this issue - not just the black and white scenario you suggest. Me: I am more afraid of the "known" than the "unknown." I also enjoy receiving the benefits, and want to manage the risk - but I do not trust the govt. regulators or the oil/gas companies or most of you folks posting to manage the risk in a way that I would consider a safe risk for people or the environment. I should put my trust in the oil/gas companies and the government regulators? Pshaw! I own a beautiful piece of land in east texas that I inherited from my mother. I loved the rolling hills, open green pastures and tossing hay from the back of a pickup for the cows. Now this land is dotted with gas wells - a blessing and a curse. I appreciate the income from the gas royalties, and am a supporter of natural gas. But I do have concern over the ecological impact of the chemicals used in fracking. I have been doing research for some time to find unbiased & reliable information (is that possible?) about drilling. I learned that the gas companies are not required to disclose the chemicals used. I do not believe everything in the movie Gasland - there is a strong anti-frack bias and the movie gives the impression that problems with water are happening everywhere. But it is difficult to swallow the industry and government's pat on the head..."Don't worry about those chemicals little missy, they are perfectly safe." Uh huh. I support responsibility, accountability and transparency in the energy industry, a well as in any other industry - food, farming, manufacturing, etc. I support the Frack Act (SB 1215). Personally I want to know what chemicals are being pumped under the surface of my land. I consider it my responsibility as a landowner to be a good steward and my responsibility as a natural gas royalty owner to expect the gas company to do business in the safest way possible.

Permalink Reply by essay on June 25, 2010 at 14:05

they don't want to make public what chemicals they use because that is proprietary information that cost them money to obtain, not because you would understand what they were and be rightly afraid of their usage in your vicinity.

nobody here will disparage you for being concerned and asking questions, but be careful what you support legislation-wise if you enjoy royalties and hope for more in the future.

Permalink Reply by Gilbert Hetherwick Jr on June 25, 2010 at 23:57

And you think it's OK to NOT tell the public what is being put under their land? Should we take all labels off food? So no one should support any legislation that might protect your drinking water because everyone wants to "enjoy their royalties and hope for more in the future"? How horrible would your environment have to be to give up the money? Cancer? Farm animals dying? I'm not saying these things are happening in Louisiana but it's amazing just how blind people can be when they are earning money. Do you actually live on your land that has wells on it? Do you drink your well water? And did you actually EARN your land through work or did you inherit it? If the answer to these questions is YES then you have my utmost respect for your decision to drill.

Permalink Reply by sesport on June 26, 2010 at 0:48

I found the "Nobody here will disparage you..." part particularly humour ... no, hilarious. 80)

The difference between the depth of our gas source and our ground water is significant, about 8,000 feet (if I remember correctly) and it is not the same as that of the Marcellus area. However ... HOWEVER, we have already experienced one instance of having to evacuate a semi-urban area because of casing problems.

It really shouldn't matter, either how much or how little land one owns. These kinds of accidents affect everyone regardless. If the Dutton well near me has problems, they'll be evacuating a university, apartment complexes, nursing/assisted living homes, small & large businesses as well as more than a few densly populated neighborhoods. Traffic flow on several major thoroughfares could be impacted. The upside is that the operator has a good drilling safety record, so I'm not as anxious as I would be if it were another.

80)

Permalink Reply by essay on June 26, 2010 at 10:46

i gave you all sorts of chances, she gets a pass for being new. gilbert gottfried over there is getting my nerves though.

Permalink Reply by sesport on June 26, 2010 at 14:26

You gave me chances to what???? Conform to the majority opinion as Spring demonstrates with his comment below? If one isn't of the "right persuasion," they're not allowed to post anything?

Yeah, let's cry about Constitutional rights being violated. You can post some ridiculous picture and Spring wants to admonish me about "not posting something useful."

Gimme a break!

Permalink Reply by essay on June 26, 2010 at 15:21

you know what i'm talking about. spare me the commiseration and victim posturing, if you're angling for sympathy because someone other than me is busting your hump, i've got lots of breaks for ya, want some examples?

me breaking up with my gf:

http://www.robswtfrant.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/break-up_note...

me going on break at work:

http://www.superpoop.com/051309/break-time-for-chip.jpg

my favorite tv show:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://pickypeainapod.files.wor...

and finally, what i like to do on weekends other than roll in the mud with a baldfaced progressive unionist in fence-sitter's clothing:
http://arcmusic.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/break_dancin_1.jpg

quadruple ridiculousness, cut, print, scoreboard.

Permalink Reply by Spring Branch,mineral owner on June 26, 2010 at 1:13

Gilbert, do you drink your well water? Did you inherit or earn your land? Do you live on your land? If the answer is yes then at least you have some skin in the game.

Permalink Reply by Dion Warr, CPL on June 26, 2010 at 19:24

Gilbert:

First of all, good to see you back.

Second, thanks for getting some issues out there to discuss. This forum does its best work through (sometimes spirited, if not heated) discussion, and is definitely not for shrinking violets if one is looking to actively submit comments. The fact that folks who have other things to do come on here, speak out, and stand on their own opinions and merits have helped to capture the attention of 14,000+ members and who knows how many bystanders.

That being said, it doesn't necessarily mean that we will agree, but please, keep dropping by.

I've watched the movie, and would say the biggest issue that I have with it is the characterization that this IS what happens when you drill. Not what could happen, not that there are any regulatory controls in place.

Additionally, for many of the uninitiated, this movie is only "truth" they see. You wouldn't know that Cabot is getting thumped pretty hard by the PA DEP for the Dimock debacle. You wouldn't know that the Louisiana footage shown with Wilma Subra near the coast is over a hundred miles from and south of the shale gas "Gasland" zone. No matter, it seems, as such facts would get in the way of the telling of the story.

In the "Gasland" world, it seems logical that after seeing Dimock, our happy-go-lucky filmmaker, shocked by the happenings in his backyard, is motivated into... going crosscountry. TX is "on the way home" from CO and WY on the way back to PA, that it is a revelation that fugitive gas emissions coming from petroleum tanks largely consist of natural gas and petroleum vapors, and that hydrochloric and citric acids are treated as ominously as benzene. And that is merely on the merits of this movie that a Debra Winger-produced movie that Robert Redford promotes somehow makes a big splash as Sundance.

Permalink Reply by Stevew on June 26, 2010 at 15:40

Guys, cool it. I appreciate a diversity of opinion - and I seem to recall a year or more ago on GHS when people wrote very critical things about the industry. At least let's treat each other with a little respect. What's happened in the Gulf could change all of our lives. I am concerned that regulations will be made with little regard to real science. I think most people here care about the environment and all of us are on edge.

The hard truth is that we are looking at more regulation in the wake of the Gulf disaster. Plus, there are a lot of articles on GASLAND coming out - look up the New York Times, Vanity Fair or Scientific American. These media reach millions of people - and so far the o&g sector has barely piped up. What will decision makers think? It will scare the hell out of them. The pro fracking side needs to organize a counter voice - with facts.

We need to follow the science and right now lots of news media think that Gasland is science. I hope it isn't, but I don't honestly know. The EPA will release a 2 year study on fracking in 2012. We will get some answers then.

My favorite book when I was a kid was Frankenstein. My favorite movie as an adult was Jurassic Park. Both of them are about technology that gets out of control and turns on its creator. We are seeing this in the Gulf and I don't want to see this in the HS.

I want to know what if any are the risks in the HS. I love the land I grew up on and I don't want to see it polluted. I have a responsibility to the land and future generations. Yes, I am leased, but I did not rent out my common sense :)

As always I really appreciate the info I find on GHS. We should try to get more people on here.

Permalink Reply by essay on June 26, 2010 at 15:50

we already have answers about fracking, good grief. the epa already signed off on it years ago, the technology has been around for decades. this is all politics, period, and an industry hatchet job done by a michael moore wannabe.

there is not one, not one documented instance of groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing.

lest i let myself become offensive, i'll wrap it up with, did you actually read this entire thread?

p.s., this is post #69 in the thread. coincidence? i think not!

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