tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102011983044483938.post2119789269868725730..comments2023-07-05T04:03:55.212-07:00Comments on BillHustonBlog: How many acres of forest lost in PA due to Marcellus wells? How many trees?Bill Huston 1http://www.blogger.com/profile/15288627254805985954noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3102011983044483938.post-85641013361647414082018-03-15T12:38:00.444-07:002018-03-15T12:38:00.444-07:00This information is valuable and sobering. To some...This information is valuable and sobering. To some, the large amounts of money to be made make fracking "worth it." Besides forest loss, fracking consumes huge amounts of water drained from Pennsylvania's streams. Fracking also contaminates water underground and elsewhere with various damaging chemicals. There are other adverse environmental impacts as well. I suppose it depends on your point of view. If you look at the damage to our environment and to nature--and care about it--I think fracking is NOT worth it. (Disclaimer: I use natural gas in my home and so I contribute to this environmental destruction. It seems all forms of fuel have negative environmental effects, while of course solar and wind power probably have the least undesirable effects.) <br /><br />I wonder why you repeatedly state that the forests are lost forever. It seems this may well be correct. (I am no expert, just interested in the issue.) However, the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR) is studying ways to restore fracking sites. They are learning, but the studies don't guarantee any success. The time it takes to restore forests is also an important consideration. I think it's correct that restoration after most of the state's forests were stripped for logging has taken about 120-130 years, and surely the forests today are not "equal" to the virgin forests that once covered 99 pct of the state (in about 1700). Restoration from fracking, if even possible, could take much longer. Consider--trees gone vs. trees gone, pollution, AND underground damage to rock formations. Maybe <i>forever</i> is correct.<br /><br />Thank you for your calculations.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08445211562075807099noreply@blogger.com