Not sure how many and how much people out there know about the nat gas drilling in western to central PA, but i'd be really interested to hear what people do know about it??? I've only heard bits and pieces, but from what I gather, drilling companies are drilling for nat gas.. good, right?...NOOO!!!
As a result of how they're drilling (using chemicals and water) there is no reasurance that suplies of drinking water won't be contaminated. They are not taking their time to research long term effects. I've already heard of a guy who had his water tested prior to drilling (which 'they' won't tell you to do or do for you) when 'they' started drilling and his water was contaminated, he got paid off. But had he not tested his water prior to the drilling, for comparison purposes, he never would have been paid off!
People, BEAWARE!! I didn't know about this till someone told me! And the things they did tell me were really scary!! I'm not a 'super eco-environmentalist' but i'm not stupid and i enjoy woods, creeks, fields, parks, .. nature. If we don't start becoming more aware and voicing out we're not gonna have woods, n creeks, n parks, let alone clean drinking water!
I'd love to know what others think and know about this.
The whole thing is a real shame. I'm most bothered by the concept of 'minieral rights' and the short-sightedness of the previous generations that sold whatever make believe thing it is that allows these companies to do what ever they want on the surface of others' property.
Thanks for the water test tip, probably a good idea these days to have an annual or twice a year test and keep it on the shelf just in case.
Drilling and hydraulic fracturing is not as bad as it seems. Do some of your own research and come to your own conclusions, and don't believe everything that you hear on tv. I will agree with you that its a horrible shame that some landowners do not own the mineral rights under their land, but this is not the fault of the oil and gas companies, its the previous owners fault for selling them or it the new owners fault for not discovering this before purchasing properties. I work in the oil and gas industry and by no means am I stating that they do everything right, but please just make up your own mind and do your own research. Oil wells have been drilled since 1859 (first well drilled right here north of Pittsburgh) and hydraulic fracturing has gone on since the 1940's. I would venture to guess that 90% of all wells in the US are fractured, and have not been contaminating water wells all over the country. Please just take what you hear on the news as someone’s opinion, not necessarily as a fact. We all know that what makes the news is not always factual, it just makes a good story and keeps viewers interested. Also keep in mind that natural gas (methane) in water wells is a natural thing, there are methane seeps all over PA and the world, its a naturally occurring gas from the decay of natural materials (i.e. coal decomposition)
See the documentary intittled "Gasland". See all the people whose water wells were contaminated as a result of natural gas drilling. It's NOT as harmless as the industry would have you believe, and people should be concerned about their water.
Keep in mind that the creator/writer of the Gasland movie is an artistic film director. If anyone is interested in reading about the other side of the gasland movie, please look at the link below. Well the gasland movie is very intriguing, it doesn't do the best job of showing the whole story. Also on a side note I lived in Colorado when the family discovered that they could light their water on fire (Ft. Lupton Colorado, Weld County), the film leaves out the results from the investigation, it was determined that the family's water well was drilled to deep, and once they had produced enough water, the hydrostatic pressure within their well was lowered enough to allow the natural methane to come out of the underling coal (the well was drilled into a coal seam).
I encourage everyone to learn both sides of an issue before making your own conclusions, I'm not saying that gasland was completely wrong, but there are a lot of holes in his points/story.
Ts, there's plenty of evidence out there in addition to the movie. You've got to understand also, lkie everything else in this country, when there's a profit to be made, the industry will start pouring on the propaganda. Look at the tobacco industry all those years, lying about cigerettes. Ratchelle Carson and the chemical industry. Look at all the resources the industry threw at her and her book, "Silent Spring" to discredit her work. I can submit a great deal of evidence on this too. The natural gas industry does pollute, even if a film director tries to demonize the practice. In my opinion, if Mr Chaney or Haliburton was involved, there is more than likely corruption involved.
I (we, (my family)) too am involved in the natrual gas boom. The documentry Gasland is nothing more then a playwright , who has no prior film experience, and his hollywood friends attempting to make a buck. I would encourage you to do your OWN research before coming to conclusions, by looking at the exact wording of the laws, and studies and research by other credible individuals. The current way drilling for natural gas is carried out IS safe, and is not portrayed correctly in Gasland at all. Josh Fox fails to mention the advancing technology of pneumatic fracking that would eliminate hydraulic fracking. He also fails to cite the individual laws, or sections of the laws in his "debunks of the debunks" on his website. He does not provide hard copy sources for "research", and only makes statements, which some people sadly think are facts.
The real problems with contaminated wells, and other problems, comes from irresponsible coal mining in the 1800 and early 1900's, long before there was ever a such thing as the EPA, and before the government really cared about how we got our energy and its environmental impact. Natural Gas drilling has now become the scape goat, and a physical person to point a finger at, since the coal mining companies of yesteryear, who are to blame for not mining responsibly, are long, long gone.
If anyone, who truely wants to dive into the real topic before jumping to conclusions, I would encourage you to visit, and sign up on gomarcellusshale.com, which is a group of landowners and third-party companies related to the industry in a non-biased manor (water testing companies, independent geologists, etc.), talking, discussing, comparing notes, and independently researching all things Marcelluss, from fracking to leases.
I'm most bothered by the concept of 'minieral rights' and the short-sightedness of the previous generations that sold whatever make believe thing it is that allows these companies to do what ever they want on the surface of others' property.
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