So, in case you haven’t heard North Carolina has been passing some pretty awful laws over the last few months. The Amendment One Crusade was followed by House Bill 819, the bill that has made science illegal when it comes to rising sea levels on North Carolina Coasts. Last Friday, the House passed a bill that would make fracking legal in North Carolina within the next few years. It passed in a 66 to 43 vote. The bill will return to the Senate today where it will likely pass.
I think I’m most upset because many North Carolinians don’t know what fracking is, yet it is a process that is being voted on that could affect some of the most densely populated areas of the state. Fracking—also known as hydraulic fracturing--is the process of extracting natural gas from shale that lies deep below the surface of the earth…like a mile deep or more. Fracking uses vertical and horizontal drilling to reach the shale basins deep in the ground and then water, sand, and “other components” (language used on pro-fracking websites because companies are not required by law to publish what chemicals they use while fracking) are pumped into the ground at high pressure which creates fractures in the rock. (This fracturing is where fracking gets its name p.s.). When the cracks are formed in the shale, the natural gas is released into wells that have been built to collect it.
Fracking isn’t rare. It is used to extract natural gas in 90% of the wells in the US. And it isn’t new. It began in the 1940s. But as this article points out (really well), there are different types of fracking, and it highlights two: conventional and unconventional. Conventional fracking is the type that has been going on for years. It’s the same concept but companies aren’t drilling in such hard to reach places, or horizontally. It is these conventional situations that most proponents of fracking refer to when they are speaking on behalf of fracking. Unconventional fracking is the type that is recently on the rise. It is mining in areas that were previously unobtainable, but technological advancements in seismic imaging and new methods of horizontal drilling have allowed companies to access these shale deposits. And it is this unconventional fracking that is causing so many problems. (Not saying that conventional fracking is great...but it isn't as bad).
photo cred: The Week
Anyway, if you live in North Carolina and you are really tired of your state legislators embarrassing you and putting you at risk, please give good ole’ Beverly Perdue a call today or email her. Encourage her to veto the bill that allows fracking in your beautiful state. We need to demand that our legislators become more proactive and use their time, energy, and resources to find alternative and sustainable energy sources. And also remind them of the definition of the world constituent (the fourth definition down)...and also ask them to quit being such giant ass-bags.
I think I’m most upset because many North Carolinians don’t know what fracking is, yet it is a process that is being voted on that could affect some of the most densely populated areas of the state. Fracking—also known as hydraulic fracturing--is the process of extracting natural gas from shale that lies deep below the surface of the earth…like a mile deep or more. Fracking uses vertical and horizontal drilling to reach the shale basins deep in the ground and then water, sand, and “other components” (language used on pro-fracking websites because companies are not required by law to publish what chemicals they use while fracking) are pumped into the ground at high pressure which creates fractures in the rock. (This fracturing is where fracking gets its name p.s.). When the cracks are formed in the shale, the natural gas is released into wells that have been built to collect it.
Fracking isn’t rare. It is used to extract natural gas in 90% of the wells in the US. And it isn’t new. It began in the 1940s. But as this article points out (really well), there are different types of fracking, and it highlights two: conventional and unconventional. Conventional fracking is the type that has been going on for years. It’s the same concept but companies aren’t drilling in such hard to reach places, or horizontally. It is these conventional situations that most proponents of fracking refer to when they are speaking on behalf of fracking. Unconventional fracking is the type that is recently on the rise. It is mining in areas that were previously unobtainable, but technological advancements in seismic imaging and new methods of horizontal drilling have allowed companies to access these shale deposits. And it is this unconventional fracking that is causing so many problems. (Not saying that conventional fracking is great...but it isn't as bad).
photo cred: The Week
The biggest environmental concern with fracking is water contamination. Cracks in the casing of the wells allows some of the water used to fracture the shale to escape and leak into other ground water supplies. And since we know that energy companies don’t have the best track record when it comes to avoiding and stopping leaks, this isn’t an issue that should be overlooked. And it really wouldn’t be an issue if companies were only using water, but they are also putting chemicals in that water that help with the fracking process. Since companies are not required to explain what chemicals they are using, it’s impossible to know what exactly could be (and is being) leaked into drinking water supplies. Some companies that have published what chemicals they use list methanol and hydrochloric acid…which are obviously not okay to drink. In fact, in some areas where unconventional fracking is allowed, many locals have found themselves without safe drinking water. Check out what this guy can do to his tap water. And this guy. And this guy. And this lady. And this guy. (I could do more, but I think you get the point).
The shale basins that interest fracking companies in North Carolina are located in the central part of the state, one of the most densely populated areas. We are passing laws in Wake County (that borders the area where most of the natural gas is located) that could put people’s drinking water at risk. We’ve already put our coastal communities at risk with House Bill 819 that refuses to address the problem of rising sea levels over the next 100 years. So now we are making our Piedmont families vulnerable, too. I don’t know why I’m surprised. Capitalism and environmentalism rarely coincide and these environmentally devastating decisions seem to be what happens when you back a desperate economy into a corner.
More than likely this law will pass in the Senate today. More than likely What-Ev Bev Perdue won’t veto this thing even though she has 10 more days to do so. North Carolina legislators are portraying fracking as a logical economic boost that would provide 300-400 jobs in the state. Republican Mitch Gillespie who represents McDowell and Burke County in the House was quoted in the Raleigh News and Observer saying “I know of no common-sense person who is opposed to this…We’re getting ready to put North Carolina on the map of energy consumption in the years to come.” This claim is deceptive considering North Carolina’s natural gas reserve is relatively small compared to other parts of the country. Geologists think our reserve would only provide 5.6 years of statewide consumption which would mean that even if we allowed companies to use fracking in the state, it wouldn’t put a dent in the real problem of dependency on finite resources. This unconventional mining is becoming more popular because we are running out of natural gas resources; we’ve had to dig deeper to find more resources. Allowing fracking in North Carolina wouldn’t help stop our dependency on foreign oil (another major argument for fracking advocates) or on nonrenewable resources in general. It would simply prolong it. Another bandaid fix for this perpetual problem.
And since our natural gas reserves are so small, the jobs created by North Carolina fracking mines would be temporary. It would be wham-bam-thank-you-ma’am drilling and companies would leave as quickly as they came in once the natural gas was gone. The fact that it costs between three and nine million dollars to dig and construct one of these wells makes me question Gillespie’s definition of “common-sense.” These unconventional wells also don’t have the longevity of a more shallow, conventional well (that cost about $400,000 to build) which means companies would be building a more expensive well that will only be used for a shorter amount of time. That seems like the opposite of common-sense to me.
If you talk negatively about fracking or talk out against it, you'll normally get lots of "professionals" and "scientists" and "businessmen" who talk about how safe it is and how they are progressively fixing these water problems.
ReplyDeleteWeird.
Nate