Natural Gas Does That!
The fracking industry's standard promises of jobs, energy-independence, and environmental-stewardship have all fallen flat. Now they've launched a new campaign with a new talking point; "you need us."
Last month the Marcellus Shale Coalition - along with The Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania, the Friends of Natural Gas PA and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association - launched a new web video that extols the benefits of natural gas by giving it credit for the creation of "everything from life-saving heart valves to toothpaste" ... and just about every OTHER thing the average American family might think to use in their home.
In the pre-promotion of the video, outgoing Marcellus Shale Coalition CEO Kathryn Z. Klaber said: "It is really remarkable to look around at the items we rely on every day – from eye glasses and credit cards to clocks and medicine bottles, along with those necessities of summertime, including fishing rods, lawn chairs, and sunscreen – and realize that they are all available to us because of the work we’re doing right here in Pennsylvania to responsibly develop a resource that plays a role in the manufacturing of many goods and products." The implication is, of course, that without fracking we would be forced to live in a world without zippers, handcuffs, and bed pans. Klaber goes on to say that the video "will be a valuable educational tool for teachers and families everywhere."
The artfully animated, cheerfully scored video called “Natural Gas Does That” targets a younger audience (The theme song alone is enough to make you want to go out and buy a Volkswagen). It can be viewed at http://youtu.be/KT8CkDRFKnM.
But it neglects to depict the TRUTH (and the consequences) of natural gas extraction. Left out of the colorful animations and whimsical graphics in this new "outreach" tool are the REAL images of what fracking for natural gas does here in Pennsylvania, and around the nation. Marcellus Protest in Pittsburgh, PA suggested the creation of a series of photos to expose the truth and several people across PA volunteered their skills.
With the help of others, we're going to help fill in the gaps with a new series of memes. Starting Monday, August 5, 2013, Marcellus Outreach Butler will post a new meme that illustrates the REAL consequences of toxic fracking in our communities.
Last month the Marcellus Shale Coalition - along with The Associated Petroleum Industries of Pennsylvania, the Friends of Natural Gas PA and the Pennsylvania Independent Oil & Gas Association - launched a new web video that extols the benefits of natural gas by giving it credit for the creation of "everything from life-saving heart valves to toothpaste" ... and just about every OTHER thing the average American family might think to use in their home.
In the pre-promotion of the video, outgoing Marcellus Shale Coalition CEO Kathryn Z. Klaber said: "It is really remarkable to look around at the items we rely on every day – from eye glasses and credit cards to clocks and medicine bottles, along with those necessities of summertime, including fishing rods, lawn chairs, and sunscreen – and realize that they are all available to us because of the work we’re doing right here in Pennsylvania to responsibly develop a resource that plays a role in the manufacturing of many goods and products." The implication is, of course, that without fracking we would be forced to live in a world without zippers, handcuffs, and bed pans. Klaber goes on to say that the video "will be a valuable educational tool for teachers and families everywhere."
The artfully animated, cheerfully scored video called “Natural Gas Does That” targets a younger audience (The theme song alone is enough to make you want to go out and buy a Volkswagen). It can be viewed at http://youtu.be/KT8CkDRFKnM.
But it neglects to depict the TRUTH (and the consequences) of natural gas extraction. Left out of the colorful animations and whimsical graphics in this new "outreach" tool are the REAL images of what fracking for natural gas does here in Pennsylvania, and around the nation. Marcellus Protest in Pittsburgh, PA suggested the creation of a series of photos to expose the truth and several people across PA volunteered their skills.
With the help of others, we're going to help fill in the gaps with a new series of memes. Starting Monday, August 5, 2013, Marcellus Outreach Butler will post a new meme that illustrates the REAL consequences of toxic fracking in our communities.
Illuminate Your Night Sky
Without warning or predictability the darkness and silence of night are pierced by a flame spewing radioactive material, hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds, and other toxins into the air and down onto the homes and schools around it. Flares come from not only remote wells in national parks and farmland but also from processing plants and compressor stations located along the pipeline and distribution centers. Some wells in Butler County have flared for over a month. To get an idea what flaring looks and sounds like visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LGqmwc4bGJY and www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NI4nTS_rXc |
Making your Tap Water More Entertaining
A recipient peer reviewed Duke University study that looked at 141 private water wells found that the average methane concentration was six (6) times higher in well within one (1) kilometer (km) than those at a distance over one (1) km. You can read the full study here: http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/news/higher-levels-of-stray-gases-found-in-water-wells-near-shale-gas-sites |
Providing New Vistas in State Forests
Parks and forests have been a popular target for the fracking industry for a variety of reasons. The clear cutting of forests for well pads, pipelines, and compressor station has had an undeniable impact on the quality of the land and the use for which these areas were intended. Forest fragmentation, truck traffic, flaring, and other gas extraction activities, have had an impact on biodiversity (http://www.science20.com/news_articles/assessment_shale_gas_fracking_biodiversity-114862), star gazing (http://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/adventure-ethics/Watchdog-Group-Says-Fracking-Threatens-National-Parks.html), and tourism (http://www.stcplanning.org/usr/Program_Areas/Energy/Naturalgas_Resources/STC_RumbachMarcellusTourismFinal.pdf) |
Creating Innovative New Beverages
Fracking has become synonymous with groundwater contamination. Whether through surface spills, failed well casing, methane migration, or the release of previously trapped naturally occurring toxins and radioactive materials during the process, the confirmed number of cases of water contamination continue to rise. Although the fracking industry continues to tout their oft-echoed mantra that there has never been a case of water contamination associated with fracking, the PA Department of Environmental Protection has confirmed at least 161 cases of groundwater contamination caused by fracking. (http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/sunday-times-review-of-dep-drilling-records-reveals-water-damage-murky-testing-methods-1.1491547) A study of water quality in the Barnett Shale region of North Texas has found elevated levels of arsenic in wells that are closer to natural gas extraction sites. (http://www.texastribune.org/2013/07/30/fracking/) A recipient peer reviewed Duke University study that looked at 141 private water wells found that the average methane concentration was six (6) times higher in well within one (1) kilometer (km) than those at a distance over one (1) km. http://www.nicholas.duke.edu/news/higher-levels-of-stray-gases-found-in-water-wells-near-shale-gas-sites These study paint the picture of an extraction process that has real impact on the water quality in the area where it is performed. |
Acting as a Good Neighbor
The advent of fracking to squeeze natural gas out of tight formations and the industries ability to steamroll local zoning laws has made it possible for large scale fracking operation to pop up just about anywhere they can get a lease. And a new law passed in PA allows them to use what is called “forced pooling” to set up operations ever where NO LEASE HAS BEEN SIGNED. Read more about forced pooling and one pending lawsuit here: http://triblive.com/opinion/editorials/4454386-74/law-eqt-landowners#axzz2bKKB5uWz |
Sharing Community Spaces
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Adding New Sounds to Quiet Rural Life
The industrial processes surrounding natural gas extraction produce excessive noise with has a profound effect on residents and wildlife. Here a decibel meter is seen registering 84.9 dB several hundred yards from the site. Many experts use 85 dB as the cut-off for dangerous noise levels. And it isn’t just flaring that creates disruptive noises. A story by WDTV reporter Zach Maskell gives a glimpse of what life is like for those people. Here’s his interview with Leanne Kiner who lives in Harrison County, West Virginia. http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BfYeRr6gIAA |
Sharing Local Roads
Ask anyone about living in the shalefields and one of the first things they’ll talk about is the traffic. According to the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, each fracked well requires approximately 6,790 truck trips. http://www.nyelectedofficials.org/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Elected-Officials-Accompanying-Release-Documents.pdf Others estimate the number as low as 750, but whatever number you use, the traffic is more than just an inconvenience; it’s deadly. Not convinced? Visit our blog post “Spill Baby Spill” and take note as to how many accidents, spills, and deaths take place on public roads to and from well sites. http://www.marcellusoutreachbutler.org/2/post/2013/06/spill-baby-spill.html In Fort Worth, TX a 14-year old was killed in a hit and run when a frack truck ran over him on his bike. The diver claimed he didn’t notice the accident and was held harmless. http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2013/08/14-year-old_boy_killed_in_hit.php Although other industries require truck traffic, there are four reasons that fracking traffic crisscrossing our rural roads to and from well pads is more dangerous than other traffic; the trucks contents, volume of traffic, weight, and use of rural roads. Contents: Many of the ingredients that are used in fracking fluid are highly toxic. In July, a Halliburton truck spilled hydrochloric acid, closing part of Interstate 70 for four hours. http://triblive.com/news/westmoreland/4396738-74/county-department-interstate#axzz2ZjO0Bhug Additionally, according to the PA Department of Environmental Protection, the number of waste trucks setting off radiation monitors had a fivefold increase between 2009 and 2012. Radiation alarms went off 1,325 times in 2012, with more than 1,000 of those alerts just from oil and gas waste. Read more: http://triblive.com/business/headlines/3945499-74/gas-radiation-radioactivity#ixzz2TEBQkYyB Volume of traffic: Estimates as the number of trucks required to prepare, drill, frack, and haul the water away from a well range from 750-7,000 per well. This is probably due to the fact that each pad can hold a different number of wellheads and would require more or less water. Even if the true average came in closer to the lower number, it is more heavy truck traffic in just a few weeks than most rural roads normally see in a year especially if you consider that these are round trips. Weight: The weight of trucks carrying sand, water, and other drilling equipment far exceed the weight of other truck traffic leading to more damage to the roads and more accidents. See video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKDzVKllyVM Use of rural roads: Much of the fracking takes place in rural areas where the only access roads and bridges are not constructed to handle the loads. While the roads are bonded and will likely be repaired at some point, how does that help us now? They didn’t bond our tires or shocks so we’ll be paying to replace those. Also the nature of windy roads and heavy load make traversing them more dangerous. https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=651706148178795&set=a.583048385044572.150502.206661562683258&&theater |
Reinventing Your Water Sources
According PA DEP’s own documents there have been at least 161 cases of groundwater contamination caused by oil and gas development between 2008 and the fall of 2012. This information became public through a Right-to-know Request filed by the Scranton Sunday Times. Why was this information withheld from the public and why did the DEP fight the request in court? http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/sunday-times-review-of-dep-drilling-records-reveals-water-damage-murky-testing-methods-1.1491547 Clearly, public agencies are hiding the dangers from the people of PA. The DEP has publicly denied any cases of groundwater contamination caused by oil and gas drilling in PA. Former secretary, Michael Krancer told the Federal Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment “the myth that terrible chemicals are getting into the groundwater is completely myth. It is bogus.” http://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2011/11/17/krancer-idea-fracking-polluting-groundwater-is-bogus/ Well casings fail at alarming rates over time. Publicly, the industry “ensures safety” through newer and better well casings. However, their in-house documents recognize an engineering problem that they have been unable to fix. Simply put by Archer, an industry leader in well services, “wells fail.” In a presentation titled “Better Well Integrity,” they state that integrity issues affect 35% of wells on the planet and include diagrams of leak flow (leaking horizontally from the interior of the casing to the exterior) and annular flow (vertical migration up and down the cement annuals of the casing). These, according the presentation, are the two main types of well integrity issues. http://www.naturalgaswatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/well_integrity_failure_presentation.pdf Southwestern Energy also acknowledges the problem. They refer to them as “leak through casing” and “cement channeling.” http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/documents/assessmentmethodsforwellintegrityduringthehfcycle.pdf In an article published in Oilfield Review, a graph analyzes the number of wells with sustained casing pressure (an indication of casing failure) by age. Five percent of the wells fail immediately. When you reach the 15-year mark, almost 50% are failing. At 27 years the rate is 60%. http://www.slb.com/~/media/Files/resources/oilfield_review/ors03/aut03/p62_76.ashx Well casing failure rates are not improving. During our conversation, you suggested that groundwater contamination has become a thing of the past because the industry is improving its casing. I strongly challenge this assumption. The rate of casing failure has remained steady over the past 3 years in PA. According to DEP data, 6.2 percent of new gas wells were leaking in 2010, 6.2 percent in 2011 and 7.2 percent in 2012. A quick search of DEP records shows 26 mentions of casing violations so far in 2013 alone. |
Operating in Harmony with Nature
Fracking for natural gas is often sold a “clean” and “environmental friendly” technology that will avert the climate crises. This is untrue. The latest science tells us that a transition to natural gas is not only unnecessary, it will actually accelerate global warming. Over a 20-year time horizon, fugitive methane emissions alone are 72 times more potent than CO2 as a greenhouse gas, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. When leaking methane reacts with certain atmospheric aerosols, its global warming potential could reach 105 times the heat trapping potential of CO2. With numbers that high, a mere one to three percent loss of methane into the atmosphere would make the switch to natural gas worse for the climate. A study by Robert Howarth published just last week in the peer reviewed journal, Climatic Change Letters found that leakage is somewhere from 3.6 percent to 7.9. Other studies push the number as high as 17%. At these rates fracking spells “game over” for the climate. |
Bringing Communities Together
After widespread protests, Pittsburgh became the first city in gas-rich Pennsylvania to ban natural gas drilling. Citing health and environmental concerns, city council members unanimously approved the measure Tuesday. The council received a standing ovation after voting 9-0 to approve the ban within city limits. City Council President Darlene Harris said her biggest concern was people's health. She said she had heard stories about people being sickened by water contaminated by Marcellus drilling. She said claims by the industry of the thousands of jobs being created wasn't worth the risk. "They're bringing jobs all right," Harris said. "There's going to be a lot of jobs for funeral homes and hospitals. That's where the jobs are. Is it worth it?" Before the vote, City Councilman Doug Shields, the bill's sponsor, talked about what he called the "arrogance of this industry" that he said puts money ahead of trying to figure out the health, environmental and municipal effects of drilling. "This is an important statement being made today, and it's not just the city of Pittsburgh," he said. "People are looking to this council and I think they are seeing something extraordinary here in that regard." Ben Price, a spokesman for the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (CELDF), said there are lots of communities considering zoning or other ordinances to regulate gas drilling. For a list of bans prepared by CELDF visit: http://www.celdf.org/section.php?id=39 |
Providing Exciting Summer Entertainment
In late July, a natural gas leak caused a drilling rig to burn out of control in the Gulf of Mexico, raising questions about safety improvements that were supposed to follow the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster. The rig is owned by Houston-based Hercules Offshore. The crew tried to shut down the well using safety equipment known as a blowout preventer, which are valves meant to seal off pipes leading from oil and gas reservoirs, according to Hercules. But workers didn't succeed in doing so. Probes into the Deepwater Horizon explosion three years ago found that the blowout preventer aboard that drilling rig failed to work properly, allowing millions of barrels of oil to leak into the Gulf in the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history. Investigators called for improvements not only to blowout-prevention equipment, but also to overall safety practices offshore. Earlier this month, nearly a dozen lawmakers urged regulators to seek input from the industry before proposing a rule, concerned that new technology requirements may force energy companies to retire their existing equipment prematurely. In response to the explosion, Mark Ruffalo, star of The Avengers, writes that enough is enough. It’s high time we kick gas to the curb. Read his remarks here: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/29/mark-ruffalo-on-the-gulf-gas-well-blowout-and-why-we-need-to-kick-big-oil-to-the-curb.html |
Relocating Communities
The Riverdale mobile home park used to sit on the banks of the Susquehanna River in north-central Pennsylvania. It housed working families with modest incomes. In 2012, all the Riverdale trailer families were evicted to make room for a pump station and pipeline that would move Susquehanna water to fracking sites elsewhere in the state. Read about their struggles to save their homes here: http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2012/06/pa-fracking-eviction |
Inspiring Civic Participation
In venues big and small, local residents have organized to protect their families and communities from the dangers of toxic fracking in radioactive shale. Some choose educational efforts and others engage with local, state, and federal policymakers. Whatever your interest or talents, there is a group out there for you. Check online for a group near you. |
Creating New Versions of Old Ecosystems
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