From Fox News: California is on the verge of a new gold rush. Expanded hydraulic fracturing -- or "fracking" -- at the Monterey Shale formation is sparking estimates that 15 billion barrels of oil could be accessed, along with millions of jobs and huge contributions to the domestic energy supply.
Even the state's green-friendly Democratic governor, Jerry Brown, says "the potential is extraordinary."
But standing in the way is a flurry of anti-fracking bills. At last count, 10 were on the table, all introduced by Democrats seeking tighter controls over the controversial technology.
Some of the measures take aim at how crude is extracted from rock layers beyond the reach of conventional drilling.
Others call for full disclosure of what chemicals are used in the high-pressure process, how they're removed, and where they're stored.
California State Sen. Fran Pavley, a longtime environmental activist, is pushing for a fracking moratorium until more studies are done on the potential risks, particularly to the groundwater supply.
"With hydraulic fracturing, hundreds of gallons of water, laced with chemicals, sand ... can go horizontally underground. ... We don't know enough," she said.
Fracking has been around in California for decades. It's a standard step in oil drilling, and while health problems have been reported in states like Colorado and Pennsylvania, the technology has a clean safety record in the Golden State. But critics argue it's virtually impossible to know exactly where, or how often, fracking operations are occurring.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2013/05/28/california-dems-push-anti-fracking-bills/#ixzz2UeUHZfWv
Apparently the brain dead Dumbocrats from California have not heard what is going on in North Dakota? All the fears the fraidy cats of California are not being realized in North Dakota. Tehre are some problems, like over population in a rural area of the State but they are not having the enviormental problems the fraidy cats in California are afraid of.
And for a state that has horrible unemployment rates, this will be a boon for them.
Idiots.
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It always surprises me that conservatives--supposedly cautious, restrictive, strict types--are willing to plunder the earth to squeeze it for every drop of fossil fuels (or other things) they can wring out of it, heedless of consequence, or potential problems it might cause.
ReplyDeleteWith fracking, we don't know the potential damage, but there have been odd and supsicious earthquakes, flammable drinking water, and other problems. They won't even disclose what chemicals are in the fracking fluid. With tar sands, you've got potential contamination of drinking water in addition to damage to the atmosphere. Oil of course pollutes and is almost impossible to clean up when there is a spill.
I don't have the answers, I'll admit. But the "drill, baby, drill!"-type attitude is just so ODD, coming from people who purport to be conservative. It strays so far from CONSERVATION. Care. Deliberation. Y'know?
Somebody's been believing those anti0-fracking faux documentaries!
ReplyDeleteSorry to burst your bubble, but fracking has been found to be safe. The flaming water is actually nothing new and certainly not from the fracking process. It's been reported for over 300 years from the east coast and the south. Ever heard of Burning Springs, Kentucky? Burning Springs, NY? Burning Springs, West Virginia? How do you think they got that name? It certainly wasn't frackers! The Indians even had stories going back further than that!
If only people would read the facts rather than trust Matt Damon movies!
I suppose Oliver Stone's version of events in "JFK" is what you use for reference on the asassination?