Gaby Petron, an atmospheric scientist with NOAA, stands in front of a natural gas well. Several years ago, Petron stumbled upon data suggesting northern Colorado's natural gas production fields were leaking surprisingly high levels of methane into the air.This government funded agency has only measured methane at one site in northern Colorado. The results together with widespread reports--which are not mentioned--of water contamination from families living in areas of fracking operations should alarm people sufficiently to demand much more extensive monitoring of these wells. So, why isn't there more action?
As you can see, the report is limited only to atmospheric concerns. There is no mention of public health concerns from the toxic chemicals used in fracking operations. The reporter implies that only monitoring by the fracking companies is possible, and they don't want to do it only for the lame reasons cited in the article, not for the obvious reason that the capitalist One Percent insist that the public and the ecosystem be damned--no one can be allowed to interfere with their pursuit of profit and the energy needed to fuel their industrial engines to produce more profitable stuff.
