Gasland director Josh Fox is back with a must-watch new short video taking a look at the controversy in New York where Governor Andrew Cuomo is considering plans to lift the state's moratorium on hydraulic fracturing (fracking) for unconventional gas.
But it's much more than just a local story. Fox goes into some great details - including in interviews with former Pittsburgh City Councilman Doug Shields and Merchants of Doubt co-author Naomi Oreskes - looking at the irresponsible journalism practice of 'he said, she said' reporting of issues where reporters don't bother to parse fact from industry propaganda.
Fox also details the facts behind the 'tapwater on fire' scene from Gasland and the extreme efforts by industry to attack Gasland on this point. It's a must-watch takedown of the industry's slippery PR efforts to distract the public from the real threats that fracking poses to our drinking water and health.
These are just a few highlights. It's really impressive how much great information is packed into this 18-minute video. Please watch it and share it widely. Otherwise, “the sky is pink” might actually turn into a reality for New Yorkers and everyone else being lied to by this reckless industry.
Watch Josh Fox's new production, The Sky Is Pink:
Check out the coverage of the new video by Jeff Goodell in Rolling Stone as well.
Democracy is utterly dependent upon an electorate that is accurately informed. In promoting climate change denial (and often denying their responsibility for doing so) industry has done more than endanger the environment. It has undermined democracy.
There is a vast difference between putting forth a point of view, honestly held, and intentionally sowing the seeds of confusion. Free speech does not include the right to deceive. Deception is not a point of view. And the right to disagree does not include a right to intentionally subvert the public awareness.
This week, New York Governor Cuomo announced that his state would ban fracking, due in large part to concerns about impacts on public health. But right across the border in Pennsylvania, one of the fastest-moving shale booms in the country still proceeds at breakneck speed.
While Governor-elect Tom Wolf campaigned on promises to tax...
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Previous Comments
The Sky is Pink and the air smells like gas
Great summary
http://blog.shaleshockmedia.org/2012/06/20/the-sky-is-pink-and-the-water-smells-like-gas/
The stuff Ingraffea says is spot on.
Think about how hard it would be to measure a well’s integrity. Currently the industry uses a variety of techniques to take measurements down hole, the most common of which is the caliper which notes deformations in the surface. The most reliable is the ultrasound. (Neither will guarantee the well isn’t leaking.)
These sensors do find failed casings down hole. Its not just for environmental concerns… high pressure zones will ‘leak’into low pressure zones. If both are gas\oil producing zones in the well, then they loose money, and or damage future production.
But hey… Do you really think they are planning to measure check, and double check all those wells with natural gas prices dropping like a rock? They aren’t. The wireline companies that are measuring those wells will move over to more profitable pastures.
So what exactly are the industry standards required for these measurements, and frequency of testing? (Its a patchwork of rules and regulations that has probably been driven by lobbiest interests.)
I wonder how many will leak in 100 years.
Leaking Downhole..
I thought a few people might like this video of downhole leak detection. Just an FYI, but ‘fishing’ is the retrieval of equipment that has been lost down hole. Perforations are how we get the oil into the well casing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZzDrheWDhGw
At 3 minutes in you can see one leak caused by equipment failure.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5diKdBZ8EOI
About 3:50 in, you can see a an actual frack, where the customer was concerned about the chemical build up in the well bore.
(Note: This technology does not work in all situations. fibre optics require extremely expensive cables, which are not common, and high temperatures play havoc with certain electronics. The industry itself is aiming 175C to 250C, while video is aiming for 125C.)
In the Sky is Pink video, Ingraffea is talking about unintended leaks which do occur. There are complete collapses down hole as well. But probably one of the biggest concern is H2s which is highly highly destructive. It eats stainless steel. Furthermore (depending on well conditions) most wells start sweet, and turn sour (producing H2S). This is because we introduce surface bacteria downhole when producing a well.
H2S is responsible for 4% of the all of Alberta’s oil pipeline failures. It causes the metal to be become extremely brittle. I’ve honestly never seen anything like it. I saw one circuit board which had been exposed to a high concentration of H2S. You could easily break resistor wires with your fingers.