Gas Wells Are Not Our Friends

Fracking at Wood Gas Pad in Dimock

2013-06-08T16:04:00.000-04:00

by Vera Scroggins 6/6/2013

This is the Fracking Stage and see all the sand dust in clouds above the site and hear all the noise and see the huge , above-ground impoundment/pool for water for the fracking where the trucks unload their water.

New Pipeline: Silver Lake Township, Susquehanna County, PA

2013-06-08T15:56:00.001-04:00

Published on May 21, 2013
Taped 5-20-13. I was coming home yesterday from a funeral and saw this on the road to my home in my township. Ground broken open, trees cut down, 100 ft. swatches cut open and scraped to the ground, mounds of earth dug up. Shocking for me and disturbing. More compressor stations will be coming besides the 21 being built and permitted right now in our county of Susquehanna, Pa.. More pipelines will be coming also. These pipelines connect the gas pads with multiple wells in my area, within a mile of my home.

Video by Vera Scroggins, Independent Journalist/Videographer

"Who'd have thought that people would allow this?"

Dr. Sandra Steingraber: To Drill Or Not To Drill

2013-05-30T19:16:00.000-04:00

Published on Apr 16, 2013

Recorded Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at Grace Episcopal Church, Elmira, NY

Dr. Sandra Steingraber is a biologist, author, and Distinguished Scholar in Residence in the Department of Environmental Studies at Ithaca College. Her research and writing focuses on environmental health and, for the past two years, has explored the health and environmental impacts of shale gas extraction. Steingraber has served as a science advisor for several state, federal, and international initiatives, including the California Breast Cancer Research Program, the National Action Plan on Breast Cancer, the President's Cancer Panel, and the Health and Environmental Alliance in the Europe Union. In 2011, Steingraber received a Heinz Award for lifetime achievement and donated the prize money to the anti-fracking movement in New York State, thus becoming a founder of New Yorkers Against Fracking. She is also a founding principal of Concerned Health Professionals of New York.

Decisions related to fracking should be considered with the safety and well-being of Elmira and surrounding area residents in mind. We encourage you to attend this key presentation to hear leading experts discuss the economic, health, environment, and socio-cultural effects that the gas industry has on communities. Those who attend will have an opportunity to address questions and concerns directly to the presenters. The forum offers a rare opportunity for Elmira and area residents, elected officials, and spiritual leaders to become more informed so that they can better answer the question for themselves: To frack or not to frack.

Dr. Janette Barth: To Frack Or Not To Frack

2013-05-30T18:08:00.000-04:00

Published on Apr 16, 2013

Recorded Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at Grace Episcopal Church, Elmira, NY

Dr. Jannette Barth is an economist with Pepacton Institute LLC in Croton-on-Hudson, a research and consulting organization. Since 1974, Dr. Barth has been estimating regional and local economic impacts in the United States and the United Kingdom. As an example of her work, Dr. Barth was retained to estimate economic impacts of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. Former positions include Chief Economist, New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority, and Consultant, Chase Econometrics/Interactive Data Corporation. Barth has lectured and written extensively on the economic impacts of shale gas development, including a recent peer-reviewed article in the journal, New Solutions.

Decisions related to fracking should be considered with the safety and well-being of Elmira and surrounding area residents in mind. We encourage you to attend this key presentation to hear leading experts discuss the economic, health, environment, and socio-cultural effects that the gas industry has on communities. Those who attend will have an opportunity to address questions and concerns directly to the presenters. The forum offers a rare opportunity for Elmira and area residents, elected officials, and spiritual leaders to become more informed so that they can better answer the question for themselves: To frack or not to frack.

Professor Ingraffea: To Frack Or Not To Frack (April 2013)

2013-05-30T18:01:00.000-04:00

Published on Apr 16, 2013

Recorded Tuesday, April 9, 2013 at Grace Episcopal Church, Elmira, NY

Dr. Tony Ingraffea is the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering and a Weiss Presidential Teaching Fellow at Cornell University. He did R&D at Cornell for the oil and gas industry for 25 years, specializing in hydraulic fracture simulation and pipeline safety, and twice won the National Research Council/U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics Award for Research in Rock Mechanics. He became a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers in 1991 and Co-Editor-in-Chief of Engineering Fracture Mechanics in 2005. He won ASTM's George Irwin Medal for outstanding research in fracture mechanics in 2006, and in 2009 was named a Fellow of the International Congress on Fracture. Recently, he has been deeply engaged in informal education regarding the topic of this lecture with over 100 public presentations. He is also President and a founding Member of the Board of Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy, Inc. TIME Magazine named him one of its "People Who Mattered" in 2011.

Decisions related to fracking should be considered with the safety and well-being of Elmira and surrounding area residents in mind. We encourage you to attend this key presentation to hear leading experts discuss the economic, health, environment, and socio-cultural effects that the gas industry has on communities. Those who attend will have an opportunity to address questions and concerns directly to the presenters. The forum offers a rare opportunity for Elmira and area residents, elected officials, and spiritual leaders to become more informed so that they can better answer the question for themselves: To frack or not to frack.

Hagy Fracking Lawsuit: February 2013

2013-05-30T08:14:00.000-04:00

Published on Feb 19, 2013

Pictures & a taped call admitting guilt tell 1,000 words. This movie illustrates how fracking's "catch-22" shields natural gas companies and allows landowners to become collateral damage. The Hagy family in West Virginia had lived for 20 years on 81 rural acres and their water well was tainted and the family became sick after 3 "fracking" wells were drilled in 2008. The family has since vacated their property. SHOW THIS MOVIE TO YOUR ELECTED OFFICIALS and ask for smarter state fracking regulations that level the playing field for all parties involved in fracking.

Read the article HERE.

“We just want our day in court.”
Dusty Hagy of Romance, West Virginia
"In 1989, Dusty and Tamera Hagy bought 81 rural acres in Jackson County, West Virginia. Twenty-one years later, the Hagys sued 4 natural gas drilling firms alleging the natural gas wells drilled on their property in 2008 contaminated their drinking water and caused physical harm."

HUMAN COLLATERAL DAMAGE!

IS THIS OK WITH US?

Video by Laura Peltier. Many thanks, Laura.

Frackalypse in Pennsylvania

2013-05-22T10:33:00.001-04:00

Published on May 21, 2013
Gas fracking companies revealed in a private PR conference that they're using military psychological warfare tactics (Psyops) on U.S. soil, and described citizens concerned about fracking's threat to health, water and the climate as "an insurgency."

With apologies to Francis Ford Coppola, welcome to Frackalypse Now.
For more information, visit www.DeSmogBlog.com/Fracking

Also check out MarkFiore.com.

Who's Funding the NY League of Conservation Voters?

2013-05-20T06:50:00.000-04:00

Look who is funding and sponsoring the NY League of Conservation Voters for its gala this week:

http://nylcv.org/2013_Gala_Sponsors

A few notables:

Chesapeake Energy Corporation
Con Edison
Edward Cox
CSX Transportation
Roz and Richard Edelman
Christopher Elliman/Open Space Institute
Paul Elston and Frances Beinecke
Environmental Defense Fund
Barbara J. Fife
FMC Engineering, P.C./Greg T. Felner, P.E. and Edward T. McCune, P.E.
Lorance Hockert Esq.
Arthur and Marian Imperatore/NY Waterway
Kohn Pedersen Fox Associates
New York State Laborers/James Melius MD
NRG Energy
Structure Tone Inc.
Waste Management

SUPPORTERSAECOM
Cablevision
Carter Ledyard & Milburn LLP
Ann Davlin/Carbon War Room
Dewey Pegno & Kramarsky LLP
Dragados USA
The Durst Organization
Entergy
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Gardiner & Theobald Inc.
General Contractors Association
Gensler
Gibbons P.C.
Hank and Karoly Gutman
Marjorie and Gurnee Hart
Robin and William Hubbard
IUOE Local 94
JPMorgan Chase & Co.
Kasirer Consulting, LLC
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP
League of Conservation Voters
Liberty Natural Gas LLC
Evan Mason and Garrard Beeney/Sustainable Yards
McKenna Long & Aldridge LLP
National Grid
Nixon Peabody LLP
Nouveau Elevator/Robert Speranza
NRDC
Glenn Pacchiana/Thalle Industries
The Pataki-Cahill Group
Gail S. Port/Proskauer Rose LLP
Roux Associates, Inc.
Sims Metal Management
Spectra Energy
Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Damien Tener/Tener Consulting Services LLC
Tishman Construction, An AECOM Company
Tonio Burgos and Associates, Inc.
Transmission Developers Inc.
United Water
Verizon
Walentas Foundation Ltd.
Edward C. Wallace/Greenberg Traurig LLP
Earl D. and Gina Ingoglia Weiner
Weidlinger Associates Inc.
Williams

Something doesn't look right here.

Read more here.

A Beautiful Day In the Neighborhood?

2013-05-18T09:54:00.000-04:00

Published on May 18, 2013

All this happening on Turnpike Rd., Brooklyn, Susquehanna County, Pa.. Flaring on the Teddick Gas Pad and see the fire damages at the Williams Compressor Station. I gave a Citizen Gas Tour for a group from NJ , who are with the Food and Water Watch Organization and they toured with their placard-decorated Anti-Frack Mobile....

From Vera Scroggins, Independent Media/Journalist

Anti-Fracking Mobile

Fracking: Another Spill in PA

2013-05-10T12:34:00.000-04:00

In the span of two months the same gas drilling company, Carizzo Marcellus, has had two accidents in Wyoming County and spilled thousands of gallons of fracking fluid. After the first accident on March 13 released more than a quarter million gallons of fluids and forced the evacuation of three homes, the state Department of Environmental Protection asked the company to halt all operations within the state. But the DEP allowed Carizzo to resume work just a few weeks later, before the agency’s own investigation was complete. Now Carrizo has spilled another 9,000 gallons at a different well site in Wyoming County.

Read the article here.

Flaring a Gas Well In Susquehanna County, PA

2013-05-01T16:13:00.000-04:00

Video by Frank Finan. Can you imagine living near this? The peepers are beautiful to listen to, but the roar of that flare and the bright fire ball spoil it. Flaring is harmful to air quality.

Vera Scroggins: Grandmother Superhero

2013-04-29T14:42:00.000-04:00

Vera Scroggins, a resident of Susquehanna County, PA, and a tireless, courageous, persistent journalist, has devoted a big part of her life to the education of the public and the pursuit of greedy gas drillers who put profits before human life and the environment and our future generations. Will our grandchildren have a planet to live on which supports a healthy life?

Fracking Teddick Well in Susquehanna County, PA

2013-04-26T23:17:00.000-04:00

Published on Apr 25, 2013

Turnpike Rd., Brooklyn, Pa., Susquehanna County, Pa.. Cabot Gas Site; Fracking several wells. Look up www.marcellusgas.org for any particulars like amounts of waste from every gas well and pad, production amounts, violations; gathered and organized from the DEP site.

Vera Scroggins made this video yesterday. She knows this area very well and tells us the names of the families who have farms and homes there. She points out a dairy farm right next to the well pad. The noise and chaos at this site gives you a very realistic sense of what an industrial site is like. What if this were next to your home? It is insane.

Run! Run! Run!: A Letter From the Mayor of Dish, Texas

2013-04-22T17:57:00.002-04:00

Our Family Summer Home in Bradford County, PA

"Run for your life! Run for the lives, health, safety and well-being of your family members and loved ones! Run for the value of your estate! There are billions of dollars under your feet, and people are coming to get it. They do not care who or what they have to run over or through to get it. It is an underground gold rush, with you or your property in the way."

"In September of 2011, I visited Ithaca, New York. Two thoughts kept running through my mind in the several days I spent there. One, I was glad to see this area up close before it gets destroyed. Two, these people do not have any idea how much their world is about to change."

Read the entire letter here:

http://www.neogap.org/neogap/2012/07/08/the-flowback-the-costly-consequences-of-hydrofracking/

Happy Earth Day 2013

2013-04-22T17:53:00.000-04:00

Earth Day 2013: A Letter From Jail

2013-04-22T11:56:00.000-04:00

Happy Earth Day!

Sandra Steingraber, biologist, ecologist, writer, cancer survivor, mother, and poet, is sitting in the Chemung County Jail today, Earth Day 2013. Read her letter from jail here. It starts like this:

This morning – I have no idea what time this morning, as there are no clocks in jail, and the florescent lights are on all night long – I heard the familiar chirping of English sparrows and the liquid notes of a cardinal. And there seemed to be another bird too – one who sang a burbling tune. Not a robin–wren? The buzzing, banging, clanking of jail and the growled announcements of guards on their two-way radios – which also go on all night – drowned it out. But the world, I knew, was out there somewhere.

Sandra Steingraber

CALL GOVERNOR CUOMO TODAY
ON EARTH DAY. TELL HIM TO PROTECT THE HEALTH AND SAFETY OF NEW YORK CITIZENS. BAN FRACKING IN NEW YORK STATE.

1-866-584-6799

Oil Pipeline Bursts, Oil Flows Into Yellowstone River April 13

2013-04-15T11:25:00.002-04:00

Latest news from Montana: The ExxonMobil oil pipeline below the Yellowstone River burst late Friday night leaking oil into the river and contaminating the local waterway.

Alexis Bonogofsky, who lives on the river and has a farm, said she could see, "birds trying to take off that couldn’t because of oil on their wings. I saw a spiny soft shell turtle dive into a glob of oil."

What did Exxon say to the property owner? Exxon officials told Alexis that she should not document the effects the spill has on her property and that she should stay from the oil "just to be safe." They told her "off the record" that she should move her livestock away from the parts of the farm affected by the spill.

When is this nightmare going to end? Old pipelines are in need of replacement. They are failing, bursting, wreaking havoc.

Read the horrifying story here.

Natural Gas Pipeline Explosion in Mexico (26 killed)

2013-04-12T18:23:00.000-04:00

Published on Jan 23, 2013

Incredible vision has emerged from a natural gas pipeline explosion in Mexico that killed at least 26 people, showing just quickly the inferno ripped through the plant.

An accidental leak is thought to have caused the September 18 explosion at the Pemex natural gas distribution plant in Reynosa which caused a wall of three-storey high flames to rip through the distribution centre in a the blink of an eye. Footage shows trucks and workers coming into the plant on what appears to be a routine day. The plant, situated near the US border is operated by Mexico's state-owned oil company, Petroleos Mexicanos and the centre distributes gas to a processing plant next door which produces fuel. Eyewitnesses said the ground shook briefly before the pipeline exploded. These moving images show the impact of the blast which is followed by a cloud of thick black smoke and fire which engulfs the entire site in a matter of seconds. "We had to climb the wall from that side because the fire, the heat was reaching us," 18 year old worker Vazquez later told The Seattle Times. Towards the end of the one minute and thirty second clip, a worker can be seen crawling on his stomach under the flames as he attempts to move towards an outbuilding in an attempt to reach safety.

At least 26 people died in the explosion and the fire which followed and another 46 were injured in the blast. Ranches and homes within five kilometers of the site were evacuated, though emergency workers managed to bring the blaze under control before it could spread to the neighboring gas plant.
While gasoline and diesel pipelines are routinely tapped by thieves in Mexico, officials said it was rare for natural gas pipelines to be targeted by robbers.

Videos from PSE Healthy Energy

2013-04-12T12:40:00.001-04:00

Here are some terrific videos compiled by PSEHealthEnergy concerning many aspects of the negative impacts of gas drilling.

About PSEHealthyEnergy

Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy is dedicated to supplying vetted resources and solid scientific information on issues surrounding unconventional oil and gas production, other novel forms of energy production, and the transition to renewable energy portfolios.

PSE Web site

DEMAND ACCOUNTABILITY!

In memory of Karen Korell

This was her mantra.

Wastewater Treatment in Standing Stone, PA

2013-04-12T00:12:00.001-04:00

Standing Stone, PA
Susquehanna River

According to Eureka Resources, LLC, the new frack wastewater treatment plant in Standing Stone, PA, will not endanger the environment. The gas company is planning to ~~dump~~ discharge up to 200,000 gallons of water a day into the Susquehanna River. Supposedly the discharged water will be clean enough to meet the standards for drinking water. I take a really dim view of this opinion. The types of water the plant will treat include "flowback water from hydraulic fracturing of gas wells and water that comes out of the well bore later on."

I thought this was interesting: Eureka was planning to discharge treated water into King Creek, a tributary of the Susquehanna River that flows through the property where the plant is being constructed. But residents that attended an informational session informed the Eureka officials that this creek dries up at times. OOPS!! So the company went to Plan B. It seems to me that the fact of the creek running dry would already be known by a company looking for a source of water to dump treated wastewater into. Why did this come as a surprise? It makes me wonder what else they have not adequately researched.

I would like to see all the top executives of Eureka drink this "drinkable" water exclusively for a month and see how they make out with it. Good luck!

Dr. Tony Ingraffea: The Connection Between Hydrofracking and Climate Change

2013-04-09T09:28:00.001-04:00

Published on Apr 8, 2013

Dr. Ingraffea is the Dwight C. Baum Professor of Engineering at Cornell University, and has taught structural mechanics, finite element methods, and fracture mechanics at Cornell for 37 years. Dr. Ingraffea's research concentrates on computer simulation and physical testing of complex fracturing processes. He and his students have performed pioneering research in using interactive computer graphics in computational mechanics, and together they have authored more than 250 papers in these areas. He has been a principal investigator on more than $35 million in R&D projects from the NSF, NASA, Nichols Research, AFOSR, FAA, Kodak, U. S. Army Engineer Waterways Experiment Station, U.S. Dept. of Transportation, IBM, Schlumberger, EXXON, the Gas Research Institute, Sandia National Laboratories, the Association of Iron and Steel Engineers, General Dynamics, Boeing, Caterpillar Tractor, and Northrop Grumman Aerospace. For his research achievements he has won the International Association for Computer Methods and Advances in Geomechanics "1994 Significant Paper Award" for one of the five most significant papers in the category of Computational/Analytical Applications, twice won the National Research Council/U.S. National Committee for Rock Mechanics Award for Research in Rock Mechanics (1978, 1991), and the George Irwin Medal form the American Society for Testing and Materials (2006). He was named a Fellow of the International Congress on Fracture in 2009. He is Co-Editor-in-Chief of the premier journal in his field, Engineering Fracture Mechanics.

We have a choice between shale gas emissions of methane and black carbon into the air we breathe and the effect this has on climate change OR wind, solar, and water power which does not pollute. We own the wind, water, and solar energies. We don't have to fight over them. And we have the technology to go in that direction right now. It is even economically feasible. So what is holding us back?

Gas Rush Stories: Part Five (Pennsylvania)

2013-03-30T09:14:00.000-04:00

Gas Rush Stories, part 5: A Neighbor from Kirsi Jansa Plus 1 year ago

Gas Rush Stories is a series of short documentaries about natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania. In the 5th chapter of Gas Rush Stories Pam Judy from Carmichaels, Greene County, tells about her family's experiences living close to a compressor station. Legal Director Joe Osborne from GASP, Group Against Smog and Pollution, explains about the air emissions coming from the shale gas industry.

Watch also: Gas Rush Stories Extra: Joe Osborne, GASP, vimeo.com/38794879

MORE INFO ON GAS RUSH STORIES: gasrushstories.com

Silica Sand In Wyalusing, PA

2013-03-17T19:07:00.000-04:00

Published on Dec 30, 2012 Welcome to the gasfields of PA. Silica sand is used as a proppent in the hydraulic fracturing process. The Wyalusing Silica Sand Transfer Station is located within a mile of 3 public schools and right next to a large daycare center. Silica dust caused silicosis, which is a fatal disease. Environmental scientist Dr. Yuri Gorby and retired UAW Health and Safety Officer Joe Shervinski are featured in the video.

Sean Lennon's Anti-Fracking Anthem: "Don't Frack My Mother"

2013-03-11T15:33:00.001-04:00

Music: Sean Lennon
Directors: Sarah Sophie Flicker, Maximilla Lukacs and Tennessee Thomas
Video Producer: Rebecca Fernandez
Editor: Maximilla Lukacs

The artists of Artists Against Fracking worked together to create this music video for "Don't Frack My Mother," Sean Lennon's very own anti-fracking anthem. This is the perfect time to celebrate our progress. In case you missed it, the New York State Assembly passed a two-year moratorium on fracking in New York. But this is also the perfect time to keep the pressure up! The bill's not a done deal. It still has to pass the State Senate and then get signed into law by Governor Cuomo.

Here's a list of all the artists who appear in it:
•Adrian Grenier •Alexa Chung •Ben Lee •Carrie Fisher •Daniel Pinchbeck •Devendra Banhart •Fred Armisen •Ione Skye •Joseph Gordon-Levitt •Josh Fox •Liv Tyler •Lindsey Wixson •Maggie Gyllenhaal •Mark Ronson •Melissa Auf Der Maur •Michael Skolnik •Natasha Lyonne •Penn Badgley •Reggie Watts •Sean Lennon •Susan Sarandon •Yoko Ono •Zoë Kravitz And band members from: •Au Revoir Simone •Black Lips •Cibo Matto •The Citizens Band •The Like •The Strokes •Wilco •Wild Belle

Issues: environment, energy, oil, gas, pollution, climate, climate change, new york, fracking, art, new york city, natural gas, artists, celebrities

Natural Gas Drilling: Resource Curse?

2013-03-09T09:53:00.000-05:00

"When it comes to long-term economic development, there’s ample
evidence to suggest that counties where drilling occurs will be in
worse shape down the road, and that even during the drilling and
producing phases, there will be a few winners and likely a whole lot
of losers, especially among lower-income individuals. Furthermore, the
areas targeted for drilling are often the ones already struggling
economically, which means less wealthy individuals and communities may
become further impoverished."

I have heard quite often, particularly from Bradford County (PA) residents who love gas drilling, that I should mind my own business, since I don't live in the county. They say gas drilling is the best thing that ever happened to them. They think it is selfish of me to want to block their economic advantage for the sake of environmental and health concerns. This article may cast some light on just how advantageous gas drilling will turn out to be, especially for poor, rural areas even though people there may see gas drilling as a way to prosperity in the short term at least. If the people who were visited by the landmen and women a few years back had been well off financially, would they have signed those gas leases?

Read the article here.