A few months ago my family and I purchased a lovely mid century ranch home in the Catskills. No, it’s not in that trendy, hippie area, but one that is considered one of the poorest counties in New York state. We invested in an area where the homes are well built. In fact ours was purchased from the original builder’s family and it’s as well made as the home I grew up in which, similarly, was constructed by my grandfather and father.
Did I mention that our cottage that has privacy? Our cell phones barely have a signal, our neighbors can’t hear us and it’s a more common sight to see a tree, deer or hawk than it is a person. It’s actually quite divine after spending a work week in the noisy city to have a quiet retreat. It’s as peaceful as you can imagine, and it’s as close to nature as I’ve been in a long time.
We also bought a place that had immediate access to water. Our kids would be able to swim, fish and row around a beautiful, spring-fed “lake” (or glorified pond) for months on end and we’d be able to give them the piece of Michigan we left behind when we traded in and traded up to live in metro New York. Aside from the immediate access to water, our drive up to the cottage includes several miles along the Delaware River. It’s unbelievably serene and beautiful, as much as it is from a distance in the mountains as it is literally a few tens of feet away at 30 miles per hour. We regularly pull over to watch the river run and marvel at nature.
And some are more man-made, but environmentally friendly nonetheless:
If you’ve followed me on Twitter over the past few months, you know that I have become a passionate citizen of the Catskills. We explore the geography but also the history of the area. We read the local blogs and take in the issues that our new neighbors are facing on a daily basis. One such issue is that of hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking”. One of our new neighbors (not literally, of course) up in the ‘Skills has a great documentary out about the gas industry and its efforts to retrieve natural gas from the New York area. Here’s a preview of it in case you haven’t seen it:
Scary stuff huh? John Fox points out that six states have documented over 1,000 cases of ground water contamination. Six. Not one, not two – but six. This means that in six states the property value for these cities, if not counties, is now in the gutter. Do you know what it also means? That two of the three New York City sources of water are directly in line to be contaminated by fracking. That’s right, the Catskill Mountains and Delaware River both supply New York City with its drinking water. And oil companies from here and abroad want to come in and literally poison us in the name of dirty drilling practices and profit. We can’t allow this. We can’t.
Having grown up in Michigan and seeing what Dow Chemical did to the Tittabawassee River, I can tell you that the folks along the river can’t sell their homes. And they’ve developed health issues, much like our friends in Colorado, Pennsylvania, Kansas and elsewhere have from hydraulic fracturing. Not enough to make you think “Wow, this is bad stuff”? How about these facts:
- 12 companies injected 32.2 million gallons of diesel fuel or hydraulic fracturing fluids containing diesel fuel into oil or gas wells over five years;
- Diesel fuel was a significant component of the diesel-containing fluids these companies injected. The companies used 10.2 million gallons of straight diesel fuel and 21.8 million gallons of products containing at least 30% diesel fuel.
- Not one hydraulic fracturing company sought a permit for diesel fuel use in hydraulic fracturing. According to these Members of Congress: “This appears to be a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act. It also means that the companies injecting diesel fuel have not performed the environmental reviews required by the law.”
- None of the companies could provide data on whether they performed hydraulic fracturing in or near underground sources of drinking water.
- Regulators seemed completely unaware of this use of diesel.
Source: http://switchboard.nrdc.org/blogs/amall/hydraulic_fracturing_has_used.html
Don’t believe it when these companies throw up a boat load of “Truth about” and “Safe fracking” web sites. It’s not only a litany of lies and spin but their way of trying to bottleneck the internet with a “fair” point of view. Except in this case, the only ones profiting from this are the PR firms helping to astroturf the web.
Given that the economy is given as a major reason in support of fracking, the big promise made to those receiving offers to lease their soon-to-be-useless land is that it will help them — and local officials who are looking to “help” the local economy claim there’s no alternative. So, will it prop up the economy? Maybe, while the oil companies temporarily move in, get what they need then leave deserted fields. The reality is that the local diner that is about to go under will go under next month, or it’ll go under in two years once the oil companies leave a trail of useless land and poisoned residents behind. My family and I intend to support these businesses to the best of our abilities. But remember — it’s not just about the folks in Sullivan County.
The biggest issue at stake is that, if like every other “whoopsie!” and finger pointing that goes on in the oil industry, we’re sacrificing our drinking water and the City’s water supply — and that seems like it’s hardly worth paying that price.
Are you with me yet? Good. Check out Gasland’s site and help out. And if you live in the Trenton, NJ area please submit your comments in person on Thursday, February 24th to the Patriots Theater at the War Memorial, 1 Memorial Drive between 12:30-5 PM and 6-9:30 PM. You have to register to speak but can attend without registering. They’re also accepting comments on the Delaware River Basin Commission online here. I urge you to send them your thoughts and please help spread the word.
