The public is outraged over the BP oilspill while there are hundred's of reports around the 'States that natural gas is coming out of people's drinking water, and this has been happening for years.

I watched it, and it was very unsettling. I own a farm and I'd be very upset if this was happening in my area... I always try to watch with "There are always two sides to a story" but it seems the only other side is "We need it, what are we going to do to get it." ...Worth the watch.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dZe1AeH0Qz8

 

Wow. I had never heard of this. I'll have to check out the show.

 

Yep, checked it out about a month ago. I really feel for those families affected by this. It's pretty bad. I couldn't believe some of these people were able to light their tap water on fire.

 

They make it sound like "Fracing" Is new or something, when it has been used for decades, since approx (1950). So this claim of its now " becoming wide spread" is ridiculous it has been wide spread for a long long time now, there have been hundreds of thousands of wells completed with this technique. It is terrible that some people have had this happen to them, but the number of people that have had bad experiences is tiny compared to the number of people who have wells on their property that have had zero problems. This like most other environmental documentaries takes a small problem and tries to make it look like something that is going to affect everyone if we don't do something right now. There are 3 wells on my land, 2 of them within a quarter mile of our water well, they have been there since 1975 and all 3 have been hydraulically fractured, we have had zero problems with our water. I would have no problem with there being another well or two on my property.

 

Cool! Free Natural gas!

 

I understand your point and I did know Frakking(sp?) was not a new way of doing things but I think you'd feel very differently if you drew the short end of the stick and had your land polluted.

There was more then just toxic wells. The movie goes on to find people claim to have toxic vapour clouds surround there property from time to time. They find streams that bubble natural gas all day long and found area's where they could put a cone on the ground and light it like a tiki-torch, and the flame wouldn't stop until you put it out. There's been hundred's of animals killed by this (the documentary claims) as well as the peoples own health is at risk in there own home...

Regardless I just think its a scary situation. I bought land thinking that you leave the bad stuff in the city, but nature can still be ruined so quickly.

 

I have to add, one of the guys trying to defend the current system goes to say "If you weren't able to do this hydralic fracturing, how much more would we be dependent on foriegn oil... And terrorism."

I had to laugh when I heard that.