In 2011, the EPA started making a big deal about a process called "fracking" which allowed gas and oil companies to extract more gas and oil from the ground than ever before. The claim was that fracking contaminated ground water, and should be immediately stopped.
Since 2011, the EPA has been unable to actually prove that claim because...well...it's a bogus claim. So, you would think that the EPA would issue a report saying that they have studied the issues and that they've found no connection.
At the time, Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead called the study "scientifically questionable," an opinion buttressed by the facts and the EPA's announcement on Thursday that it will not produce a final report or have outside experts review its claims of environmental harm. It told its story two years ago and is sticking to it. The story is bogus.
So instead of just admitting the facts and getting things cleared up, the EPA has decided to just end the investigation.
No final report, no peer-review, no nothing. The EPA is doing this because the report would directly and conclusively show that fracking has no effects on groundwater. And they can't have that kind of truth getting out there. They would have to admit being wrong. Our government can't admit facts.
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=methane-in-pennsylvania-duke-study
ReplyDeleteThis article talks about how scientists have recently provided evidence through isotope analysis that ground water is being contaminated by methane, propane, and ethane from nearby fracking sites.
The scientists don't specifically criticize fracking but note that the well integrity involved with the process could pose a problem. "if the wells aren’t properly sealed, then gas can leak into the groundwater." OR "If the casing ruptures, fracking chemicals can also enter the water supply."
Either way our ground water is what is at risk. What are those "chemicals" they shoot into the ground anyway. Weird how they don't provide that information.
Good find. Sounds like an issue with sealing the wells themselves, not the process. As far as the chemicals used, the best I could find is a wikipedia entry. Take it for what it's worth:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing#Fracturing_fluids