Drive from Nesquehoning to Lansford, and you get a visual reminder of the damage coal mining has done to our area. The results of gas drilling for Marcellus shale will be far worse. First of all, much more of the state is involved in gas production than in coal mining. Secondly, gas drilling puts chemicals in the ground, in the air, and in the streams and rivers. Acid mine drainage pollutes the water, but it can be mitigated. Strip mines can be revegetated. Subsidence is localized.
Gas drilling will cover half the state, it involves radioactive waste, and once the chemicals are in the ground water, they may be there for centuries. We don’t even know what chemicals are being used.
Pull up the Sunday, Feb. 27, New York Times and take a look at the article entitled “Regulation Lax as Gas Wells’ Tainted Water Hits Rivers.” This article, a full two pages, is one of the most sobering and frightening accounts of the problems of the gas industry. Most of the article relates to what is happening in Pennsylvania. The author, Ian Urbina, points out just how bad Pennsylvania is in regulating the gas industry compared to other states.
Environmentalists are often accused of being alarmist. If you think we are crying wolf, please read the article. Please.
Here is the link to the NYTimes article.
ReplyDeleteSorry, here is the link!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.nytimes.com/2011/02/27/us/27gas.html?pagewanted=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=tha23