20 Questions which need to be answered about Fracking

http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20121213/VIEWPOINTS02/312130046/Guest-Viewpoint-Too-many-questions-remain-about-fracking

Written by Ed Nizalowski

In spite of all the millions of words in defense of hydraulic fracturing, there are a variety of questions that still need definitive answers.

• If fracking is supposed to be so safe, why are the New York City and Syracuse watersheds granted special protection?

• If this is an issue that needs to be decided on the basis of science rather than politics, why has the science of health been marginalized?

• How can we keep the toxic water left over from fracking from working its way back to the surface?

• If a person should have the right to do as they please with their property, isn’t forced integration a violation of that principle?

• If the risks involving fracking are minimal, why doesn’t the industry voluntarily abide by the stipulations of the Federal Clean Air and Water Act?

• If everyone is so happy with fracking in Pennsylvania, why is Democratic state Sen. Jim Ferlo calling for a moratorium?

• Shouldn’t we be more concerned that the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has been accused of negligence regarding its water testing procedures?

• Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the radioactive radon present in the gas that is produced from the Marcellus shale?

• How can renewable/alternative energy sources compete when the subsidies to the fossil-fuel industry are 2½ times greater?

• Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the ecosystem that exists in the Marcellus shale?

• Shouldn’t we be concerned about the jump in accidents and fatalities among gas and oil workers?

• Shouldn’t we be concerned for the long-term health of the gas and oil workers whose exposure to the chemical hazards of this process is so much more direct?

• Shouldn’t it be better known that three of the wells on Shelly Depue’s property featured in the movie “Truthland” are under investigation?

• Shouldn’t the gas companies rather than individual homeowners be the ones that spend all the money necessary for water testing?

• Since it is relatively easy to find maps of where gas wells have been drilled, shouldn’t it be just as easy to find out where the water buffaloes have been placed?

• How can nondisclosure agreements be justified in matters pertaining to public health?

• Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the dangers of the silica sand used in the process of fracking?

• Are first responders and other emergency personnel being prepared for the inevitable increase in 911 calls once fracking is underway?

• Is New York prepared for the people that have taken the pledge of resistance to commit civil disobedience if fracking should take place?

• Shouldn’t we be more concerned about the sociological changes that take place in communities when fracking becomes a dominant part of the local economy?

Nizalowski is a Newark Valley resident and member of Residents Against Fracking Tioga (RAFT).