Water on Fire! Blog Action Day 2009

Calling All Green Citizens 10/15/09

"Clean" energy sounds so very appealing, and a positive step to combat climate change. Well, we are being sold the biggest cover up in the name of replacing "dirty oil" with "clean" natural gas.

THERE IS NOTHING CLEAN ABOUT THE CURRENT PROCESS THAT IS USED TO EXTRACT NATURAL GAS. While natural gas burns cleaner than oil, that, is all that is better for us. The extracting process called, "fracking", boils down to this dirty little secret. It takes stripping the earth of all habitat at the well site, drilling 1-2 miles deep and sometimes horizontally from there, and, then fracturing the shale layer with a solution of more than 250 chemicals, sand and water. This explosive procedure not only releases the natural gas so that it can be extracted, it also releases methane that leaches out to the surface thru every crack and crevice of the surrounding earth to the extent that nearby residents can light there water on fire! Some have been advised to keep their windows open so that their home doesn't explode! The Energy Act of 2005 cleared the way for companies to use this outlandish procedure without any consequences. They don't even have to remove the chemical slurry from the site. There are numerous sites where the surrounding drinking water is poisoned for miles. IS THIS THE SOLUTION TO GLOBAL WARMING, NO!

Please follow some of the links below where professional reporters and concerned citizens are raising awareness about this scandal.

http://www.propublica.org/series/buried-secrets-gas-drillings-environmental-threat

http://damascuscitizens.org/

http://earthworksaction.org/PR_EPApavillionDrinkingWater.cfm

http://www.youtube.com/GasDrillingTruth

21 of 31 drilling states have no regulations specific to hydraulic fracturing

4 of 31 drilling states have detailed regulations guiding hydraulic fracturing

Only 10 drilling states require that fracturing chemicals be disclosed

Zero states require that the volume of fluid left underground after fracturing be recorded

Sources: State Oil and Natural Gas Regulations Designed to Protect Water Resources, May 2009, U.S. Department of Energy, office of Fossil Energy, National Energy Technology Lab, and the Ground Water Protection Council

Be Well, Behave and Be Green

Kim is on the Board of Directors for the Financial and Insurance Conference Planners association (FICP) where he is Vice President of Education. He volunteers on the, CIC's APEX/ASTM Green Meetings Events Panel. He is currently an Event Marketing Specialist with Guardian Investor Services LLC, NY, NY. Kim received the award of Greenest Meeting Planner of 2009 at the Green Travel Summit in March 2009.