Fracking Fluids in the Flood
The airplane banked right, bucked around from turbulence, and then I was blasted with freezing air as the pilot opened the window so that the CNN cameraman could get good footage of the flooding South Platte. I moaned. The fact that I was up there at all was a near-impossibility—perhaps we all are allowed one irrational fear, and mine is small airplanes. But a rational fear of mine is much larger and looming, and I wanted to see one of the few things that frightens me more—the effect Colorado’s recent flooding has had on the hydraulic fracturing, or fracking sites, in my home area.
Regardless of one’s views of fracking—a method used to break shale rock with millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals to release natural gas or oil—the fact that at least 10 oil and gas spills have occurred in the past few days of flooding is alarming. I live in the foothills of Colorado, 20 minutes from Weld County, which is the epicenter of fracking in America. Weld County has 20,000 active oil and gas wells—not only the highest density of operating wells in Colorado, but in the entire nation. Of Colorado’s 62,000 oil and gas wells, about 1,900 have been shut down since the flooding thus far, mostly in this area.
...much more at link
http://www.onearth.org/articles/2013/09/a-view-from-above-shows-how-the-colorado-superstorm-damaged-fracking-facilities
Read more OnEarth coverage of the Colorado floods.
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By the way, our mayor is totally in the pocket of the oil companies. Just as the flooding was at its worst he sent this invitation to a re-election campaign fundraiser hosted by one of the drilling companies. Small wonder he has been a massive stone wall against our efforts to mitigate the impacts of fracking within the city limits.
And my response:
