"Fracking will cause irreversible harm"

          
Hey, I've been saying it all along. But, as one reporter from a Harrisburg newspaper offered..."you just have a BS." In other words, I'm not an expert. Yep...but I had some outstanding professors and was lecturing on NEPA's geology over 30 years ago.

To that point, here's an article that I think you should read. It's not anything I haven't already said, but maybe it'll finally convince a few more folks about the incredible threat that hydrofracturing poses to our drinking water supply and our future for generations to come. Thanks to Bluedaze for finding and posting this link.
  
In closing for today, here's a little cartoon from the New York Times to put things in perspective.

    

Ice House Public Seminar - 3/5/2011

       

I attended and spoke at a seminar yesterday along the banks of the Lehigh River in Bethlehem, PA. It was held in a large former "Ice House" on River St. on Sand Island, and as settings go, it was pretty darn cool.

There were, according to the host Sierra Club, 128 people in the (initially) standing-room-only crowd. By the time I was able to take photos, a good portion of the crowd had moved to the overflow seats on the stage, or had begun to leave. However, for an overcast Saturday afternoon, it was a good showing.

There were six scheduled speakers, all bringing a different perspective to the event. Don Miles, the Lehigh Valley Sierra Club's chairman, did an excellent job putting this event together and keeping the speakers on schedule. I was a last minute add-on, and I went first. The reason I was "last minute" was twofold; I had only learned about the event a few days earlier and not one of ~three professors ( PhD-types ) that were invited to attend were willing to come and speak about the hydrofracturing process. Not one.

Wonder why?????

Anyway, quite a few folks came up after the speakers were done to thank me for what I did, comment on my presentation, and ask questions. As I started to work on my PowerPoint presentation at 5:30 a.m., and got home ~5:30 p.m., chalk another 12 hours to the cause...and it was well worth it.

Thanks to Don Miles and all of the event's sponsors. Great job!

I'll close today's post with the following observations:

1. One elderly woman left in tears after hearing about what had happened to some pristine woodlands in upstate PA in a presentation by one of the landowners. At one point before leaving, she said something to me like: "You think we would have learned our lessons by now. I can't believe this is happening."

2. One rather large gentleman is really PO'd at Penn State University and Dr. Terry Engelder. I mean really PO'd. I won't repeat anything said. Too many frack-bombs.

3. There are some very, very angry people out there. If I were an elected official, especially one speaking in support of the natural gas industry and/or against enacting ( or repealing ) legislation to further protect the environment, I would allocate additional funds to hiring security escorts whenever attending a Marcellus-related public event, and I mean that in all sincerity.

As most visitors know, I've been doing this for a long time. I was lecturing on the geology of eastern North America over 30 years ago. I've had a website/blog since October 1999. I've been a fully engaged river activist for well over a decade.

Having said all of that, I'm close enough to the front lines on this issue to be able to sense a shift in the attitude and energy of the anti-fracking movement. And I have no doubt it is both significant and sustainable.

To that end, if anyone wants to host a similar public information seminar in their neighborhood, give me a holler.  I'll get the speakers, you do the rest.

Here are a few additional pics from my wild Saturday adventure.

The Lehigh River @ Sand Island

Enjoy the rest of your weekend.
   

A.O.H. - Attack on Harrisburg

    

As my views on PA's Team Tom-Tom and his cast of cronies are well known, I won't waste your time with more of the same.

I fully support Peter Buckland, and I ask that you do the same.

Spread the Word. Pennsylvania is coming to Harrisburg.

+ + +

Dear Friends and Allies,

As I wrote to some of you before, I will be riding my bike ~110 miles to Harrisburg from my house in Pine Grove Mills to do my own small part to stand up to Corbett and the gas companies. It just seems like the right thing to do.

I will be joining an existing event on Wednesday, March 9th that PennEnvironment has organized. It is a protest of Corbett's budget and its utter lack of accountability around natural gas in general and about the severance tax in particular. Several organizations active on the issue will be there. It is at 1:30 pm (see and circulate attached flier). I should note that what I am doing is not intended to supercede that event in any way. Nor is what I plan to do after the event in any way sponsored by PennEnvironment or any organization. But it is a good place to meet other concerned citizens who might want to go with me one small step further.

The Corbett administration's actions for the gas industry are out of control. Two recent decisions pushed me to this point. The first was to yank DCNR's ability to assess potential impacts on state forest and park land and the second was gutting DEP's ability to monitor air quality from drilling sites. For me this is very personal because I love the forest. Every year I spend hundreds of hours in Rothrock, Bald Eagle, Moshannon, Tioga, Forbes, and Sprowl on my mountain bike, on hikes, and camping. Many of you have your own stories with our state forests.

It is also about the quality of our water and air and my hopes and fears as a father. Who wants to wake up and have your child bleeding from their noses because of toxic chemicals in their water. Who wants their neighbors sick from gas in the water. Who wants to breathe evaporating benzene? Not me.

I am riding my bike there because because it is better for the forest, for the person, for water, for air, for noise, for the climate, and for all of us than gas trucks, well-pads, natural gas, and frack water are. I am riding my bike because it means something better and brings me in touch with life and living. As a citizen of this commonwealth, the commonwealth's government should help me and my fellow common people to reach the common good.

So today I called the governor's office and asked to speak with Corbett. The staffer with whom I spoke was polite and listened to my grievances about shale drilling. I told her about the perception (some might say...fact) that Governor Corbett is governing for gas industry profiteers instead of for Pennsylvanians, their communities, their water, and our commonwealth's forests. She told me that all requests to meet with the governor have to be submitted in writing. I could not talk to him on the phone or just arrange a meeting no matter my concerns. I understand. You can't let just any yahoo in.

Okay. It will be delivered in writing.

After the budget protest I plan to go to the governor's office and request a meeting with the governor. Because I seriously doubt that they will just let me in to see the him, even if 5, 20, or 200 people went in with me, I will bring a letter requesting a meeting and submit it to the office. I will do this in person, with some insistence, instead of through the faceless email system or fax system. It will also be something of a prepared statement though i don't know that I will be able to read it.

The point, I suppose, is to put another real face to this. I am tired of this. I am worried. I am afraid. I am seeing and hearing too many angry and unheard people. I am also very motivated and believe that we must demand a better way for us, for water, for the forests. Letters aren't working. Protests keep failing. I write to my representative, Scott Conklin, and I get very short replies back and no solid action. My state senator, Jake Corman, is doing the gas industry's bidding. As I told the staff worker today, "We don't have the hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy access to governors or future governors. He HAS to talk with us. He is OUR governor."

So, I have to do what I have to do. If you would like to join the rally and then join me afterward to deliver my request for a meeting (and perhaps your own as well?), as individuals, I would love you to do so. It would be an honor to be joined by good people who deserve better. I suggest you bring letters requesting meetings too. Even if we have to walk away at the end of the day in Limbo, waiting for replies to our requests, at least we will have tried and started something new. Perhaps it will become something more. Maybe I'll end up looking like a complete fool.

I don't know. I just know that something must be done differently.

It is a modest goal. Please join me if you can.

Please forward this message to other concerned people and sympathetic press if you know any. People can RSVP to me here at peter.evolves@gmail.com

With great hope,

Peter Buckland

p.s. I will ride in rain or snow also. The only way I won't is if it's icy.


Go, Peter, GO!
  

Pennsylvania's DEP is Incompetent

    
Six months ago, some folks in Sugar Run ( Bradford County PA ) noticed the Susquehanna River was bubbling methane where it had never bubbled before.  I was out there three days later taking pictures and shooting video.

Three days after that, on September 8th, 2010, the following comments were attributed to the DEP in the Citizens Voice:

DEP believes the wells at the Welles site are also the most likely source of the new contamination, but that has not been conclusively proved. The agency and Chesapeake are investigating. DEP expects analysis of lab results to be complete within two weeks.

To refresh your memory, here's the full article. When I recently contacted the DEP for a status, I was told the source of the Susquehanna's bubbling was still "under investigation."

Seriously folks...six months?  What happened to "Two weeks?"

Post-post update: In today's ( 3/3/11) edition of the Rocket Courier comes the following:

As far as the methane in the river, he reported that “it’s still bubbling, even with the river as high as it is.” He said another location off the Tony Adams property where the methane had been bubbling this summer is not so evident now.

Here's the skinny: As a tax-paying resident and native-born son of the commonwealth of PA, the folks at the DEP are on my payroll. They may not quite view it that way, but that's their problem. I'm setting a deadline of Tuesday, March 15th for an update on where this investigation stands. After that, all bets are off. 

  
Six months? Getting kinda cranky here...



Bubbling Waters 2 - Susquehanna River from Don Williams on Vimeo.