Fracking And Rick Santorum And Big Oil And Money

Dear Madame L,

A conservative friend of mine says fracking is the new answer to our country's energy problems. He says it's completely safe and will provide jobs for thousands of people. But I've heard it's not so safe.

Can you tell me the truth about fracking?

Sincerely,

Want the Best for Our Country

Dear Want the Best,

We all want the best, but perhaps we all should have realized by now that "the best" energy solution is never going to come as some miraculous, trouble-free technology or method.

"Fracking" is the hydraulic fracturing of rocks which breaks them up, allowing drills to extract natural gas from layers of rocks beneath the surface. It has not been shown to be safe for anyone or any part of the environment. It causes mini-earthquakes, pollutes the water, sickens people and animals, and pumps dangerous and unregulated chemicals into the earth.

Gasland, The Movie  provides more information about fracking, including links to other sites (such as the Ohio Environmental Council) where you can take action to stop fracking and other actions damaging to Earth's health.

Dimock, Pennsylvania is the town where, because of fracking, according to Vanity Fair, "over the past two years, people’s water started turning brown and making them sick, one woman’s water well spontaneously combusted, and horses and pets mysteriously began to lose their hair.” These kinds of environmental damages have occurred also in Oklahoma, Ohio, Wyoming, West Virginia, North Dakota, Minnesota, Kansas, and every state in which fracking has been done.

Note that the town of Dimock is in Pennsylvania, Rick Santorum's home state. So why does Rick Santorum think fracking is so great? Three guesses, and...

You're right! He's being paid the big bucks by the gas and oil industry to say that, to say fracking is just "the new boogeyman..." It's just another way for environmentalists to scare people. But, Santorum says, "Nothing's going to happen."

Earth to Rick Santorum: Something HAS ALREADY happened, to the people of your own state and throughout the United States.

Fortunately Pennsylvania and other states are starting to pass legislation that would regulate the fracking industry, where it operates, the chemicals it uses, and so on.

Meanwhile, Rick Santorum (who doesn't actually live in Pennsylvania any more) still receives huge donations from the oil and gas industry---in the top 15 of the list of senators receiving donations from that industry, even though the last time he ran for the U.S. Senate was in 2006.

What does Madame L think you should make of all this? Madame L refuses to become a cynic in the face of this kind of politicking, but she does suggest that any time you, Dear Readers, hear of a politician who supports fracking or any other activity, you check to see how much money that politician is receiving from that industry. 

Madame L also suggests that you write to YOUR Congressperson and Senators to tell them YOUR opinion on fracking, even if you're not convinced, as Madame L is, that it represents current and future environmental and health issues beyond reckoning.

Health and Safety,

Madame L