Public Discourse Statement: Fracking

Delaware River Basin, watershed from which 15.6 million Americans drink New York City, Philadelphia, New Jersey - out of the ground and into the kitchen sink Proposal for 20,000 more natural gas wells ; fracking, the extraction process used High-pressure injection of water, sand, and chemicals shatters bedrock Gas productions up - heres the bad news Another risk for water supply contamination Long-term impact of flooding a watershed with harmful chemicals - whos to say? But Im curious why Dick Cheney had fracking exempted from the Safe Drinking Water Act? Why the need for arm twisting at the E.P.A.? Cheneys loophole for natural gas companies; no need to report chemicals used Imagine telling the next seven generations you had blind faith in the oil and gas industry Insanity, incompetence, or willful negligence - the only valid excuse Fracking supporters claim inconclusive test results; not enough evidence of harm yet found Pointing to salt from roads, pharmaceutical waste, and septic systems Whats a few hundred more chemicals pumped into the ground? It reminds me of acid rain - what goes up, comes down far from home Fracking sends millions of gallons of toxic water down each well - up to 50% wont come up If this concerns you, youre not alone Water coming up contains radioactive nucleotides; special wastewater plants yet to be built See no evil, hear no evil, full steam ahead hide the crime, hard to assign any guilt In Ithaca, New York a plant took in three million gallons; deposited it in Cayuga Lake Toxic waste dumped a mile away from a community of 30,000 people and their drinking water intake Company in Trumansburg, New York; baker uses flour and water to make his bread Fields of heirloom wheat and rye surrounded by gas leases Poison the water, poison the food, poison the people - what more needs to be said? People are putting up resistance; prioritizing community health Fracking starting to be outlawed within city limits - redefining community wealth Promises of economic growth and jobs? Syracuse, New York has heard this before Onondaga Lake was the victim of the latest boom - toxins still washing up on shore Energy independence; its understandable Americans wants to produce more of our own gas But 37-percent of fracking chemicals are known endocrine-system disrupters Putting a hold on fracking, funding renewable energy solutions, pushing conservationism Doesnt seem too much to ask Using the word Ask doesnt even seem right; appealing to political & corporate morality an outdated model Community Bill of Rights stopped fracking in Pittsburgh; an example for Occupiers nationwide to follow Cancer at epidemic levels - could this, in part, be a consequence of poisoning the land? Will your loved one have to get sick from fracking; before you join the people in taking a stand? MCM 2011