We’ve lived so long under the spell of hierarchy—from god-kings to feudal lords to party bosses—that only recently have we awakened to see not only that “regular” citizens have the capacity for self-governance, but that without their engagement our huge global crises cannot be addressed. The changes needed for human society simply to survive, let alone thrive, are so profound that the only way we will move toward them is if we ourselves, regular citizens, feel meaningful ownership of solutions through direct engagement. Our problems are too big, interrelated, and pervasive to yield to directives from on high.
—Frances Moore Lappé, excerpt from Time for Progressives to Grow Up

Monday, February 20, 2012

Tighten fracking regulations, scientists urge US officials

Click here to access article by Ian Sample from The Guardian.
The independent review of fracking by senior academics at the University of Texas in Austin said that the development of shale gas was "essential to the energy security of the US and the world", but that the process had become mired in controversy after claims that fracking causes damage to health and the environment. [my emphasis]
Contrary to this statement, I believe that development of shale gas is essential for the prolongation of capitalism and it growth imperative. Because of this, I fear that there can be no "independent" evaluation of fracking to produce shale gas as long as societies are governed by capitalist elites.

See also this article entitled, "Fracturing natural gas wells requires hundreds of tons of chemical liquids".
A federal health expert on Jan. 9 at a conference in Alexandria, Va., called for a moratorium on fracking because medical experts don’t know enough about the potential risks from fracking liquids, said Dr. Vikas Kapil of the National Center for Environmental Health at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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