Chesapeake Energy Gets Award: It's just wrong

Last fall the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce awarded Chesapeake Energy this plaque for Outstanding Steward of the community.

The irony of this award defies description.  Chesapeake Energy represents an extractive industry which turns rural and urban areas into industrial zones, often called "sacrifice zones."  Every gas well pad becomes a superfund site when the well is closed down.  Water, air, and soil pollution occur on every well pad, sometimes ruining aquifers, rivers, lakes, and streams.  The health costs to local residents are great.  People have died from illnesses caused by toxic chemicals introduced into the environment by the process known as hydrofracking.  This is not a company or an industry that deserves in any way an award for being good stewards.

What is stewardship?