The Dangers of Fracking
The Dangers of Fracking – What it is and why we need to speak out now. Join Robert Redford, Yoko Ono and other artists in banning this dangerous practice.
Seeing is believing, and there’s no better way to learn about fracking than to watch this 30 second commercial that Yoko Ono made addressed to Governor Cuomo
Click here to watch Yoko Ono’s TV message
Several states that have allowed fracking, including Texas and North Dakota, are now facing serious, long term problems with their drinking water and the air that they breathe. In Texas, you can ignite the water from a garden hose, and in North Dakota the fires in the fracking fields are visible from space. www.dangersoffracking.com
Hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”, is the process of drilling and injecting fluid into the ground at a high pressure in order to fracture shale rocks to release natural gas inside. Gas companies argue that the process is efficient, not dangerous, and provides jobs. Opponents point out the long term consequences and possible permanent damage to our water table and our atmosphere.
In order to reach the shale rock, drills must pass through the “aquifer,” the underground layer of earth where we get our drinking water, and water for our crops. If the drills explode or leak — and they sometimes do — this vital source of water is contaminated by chemicals. According to a Congressional investigation in 2011, fracking products contain 29 carcinogenic chemicals that are components of more than 650 different products used in hydraulic fracturing. Each gas well used in fracking requires between one and eight million gallons of fresh water. Critics say that this water is contaminated by “chemicals, remnant oil and naturally occurring radioactive materials” that sink into communities where people work and live. Studies have shown that fracking can significantly increase air pollution, due to methane gas leaks as well as emissions from the diesel- and gas-powered equipment used in the process. All of this, say the experts, breaks down in the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gasses. Those who oppose fracking also warn of its global consequences. As the method continues to be employed, they say, more and more natural gas will be brought to market, then piped to the coastlands and sold overseas. In effect, we would be exporting immeasurable environmental damage around the world.
Click here to sign the petition to ban fracking in New York