We read and hear almost daily mainstream media reports celebrating the new energy bonanza that shale fracking is providing our nation. We rarely hear anything about the hazards associated with this new industry. People in communities located near fracking operations have been fighting back against such practices and appealing to official representatives, regulators, environmental organizations, media, etc; however with little success. Why is this?
Energy is vitally needed to fuel the engines of capitalism in order to supply the One Percent with their addictive drugs--wealth and power. It seems that nothing will stand in their way to obtain their drugs--not extremes of wealth and poverty throughout the world, not the health of people, or not the health of the planet. They will go to any lengths to block any opposition to the practice of the system, capitalism, that supplies them with these drugs. They bribe legislators, install their own people in regulatory agencies, throw money around to local officials and environmental organizations, and more:
The industry started pouring millions of dollars into advertising campaigns and building highly disciplined PR operations. Gas companies believed they were fighting an insurgency. As a result, they hired former U.S. military psychological operations, or psy-ops, experts comfortable in dealing with localized issues and local governments.I watched Steingraber's interview with Bill Moyers on his program over the weekend. I was very impressed with this very knowledgeable, articulate, and dedicated activist, scientist and mother. She spent Earth Day in jail for her opposition. In the interview she covers a lot issues and her activist activities in relation to shale fracking. This article gives you quite a lot about her background and her struggle against fracking without proper regulation and health studies. In both the article and her TV interview she gives clear explanations about the hazards of associated with this industry.
"Before it is sent down the borehole, the fresh water used to fracture bedrock is mixed with inherently toxic materials. These include known and suspected carcinogens, neurological toxicants, and chemicals linked to pregnancy loss,” she explained. “At least one thousand truck trips are required to frack a single well. These trucks—along with earth-moving equipment, compressors, and condensers—release or create soot, volatile organic compounds, and ozone. Exposure to this kind of air pollution has demonstrable links to asthma, stroke, heart attack, cancers and preterm birth."Because I am very conflicted about which I should post on this website: her TV interview or the article, I decided to let you choose which or to opt for both. Here is the 46:16m TV interview: