Fracking is SAFE! Just ask the “Energy Citizens”!

Last night, Rachel Maddow had actor Mark Ruffalo on last night to talk about fracking in New York and Pennsylvania. By now, you’ve surely seen the scene from “Gasland” where the guy lights his tap water on fire. This is due to fracking wells that pump chemicals and water into the bedrock shale to fracture it and release the natural gas. As Maddow points out, the fracking is done several thousands of feet below where the aquifer is which, apparently, leads to ignitable tap water.

According to Ruffalo, the Delaware River Commission is getting ready to put upwards of 30,000 wells in there.

Meanwhile, the “Energy Citizens” group, an astroturf group promoting status quo for clean energy sent me a very interesting email recently.

First, here’s Rachel’s segment with Ruffalo. The guy lighting his tap water is shown around one minute in.

RACHEL: …the most incredible thing. they don’t have to tell us and it’s our drinking water. it’s everybody’s. it’s one big aquaphor out there.

RUFFALO: Where I live, that’s the watershed for 19 million people. We have the cleanest water in the country coming into New York, Philadelphia, and parts of New Jersey. 5% of our population could have their water poisoned or contaminated by this process and there’s no way of regulating it.

RACHEL: Amazing.

RUFFALO: The Delaware River Commission, charged with keeping the watershed safe of the Delaware River, is on the fast track to begin drilling asap. they want to put 30,000 wells in there.

30,000 new wells. 30,000 FAST-TRACKED new wells. With that kind of profit on the line, you can very, very sure the petroleum industry is not going to let anything get in the way, right?

Right.

Here’s an emails I got from the “Energy Citizens” last month:

From: “Energy Citizens”
Date: September 9, 2010 6:28:39 PM EDT
To: eclectablog
Subject: TELL THE EPA: Natural Gas Works for America; Hydraulic Fracturing is Safe
Reply-To: “Energy Citizens”

Dear Chris,

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) could lead our nation in the wrong direction when it comes to developing our own energy resources.

Please TAKE ACTION NOW to tell the EPA you support increased natural gas exploration—and the use of hydraulic fracturing: a time-tested, safe process that helps us access more of our own reserves!

Hydraulic fracturing—which uses water pressure to create fissures in shale to access natural gas—has been used safely and effectively for more than 60 years. But a proposed EPA study could end up placing restrictions on the use of hydraulic fracturing despite consistent evidence that the process is safe.

Our nation must take smart steps to address our long-term energy challenges. Learn more and tell the EPA that you support hydraulic fracturing and the American jobs it helps create.

Thank you,

Deryck Spooner
Executive Director
Energy Citizens

Got that? Fracking is safe! Nevermind the contamination of the watershed. Nevermind ignitable freaking tap water. Natural gas is CLEAN! It’s natural! And fracking, that’s just water we’re using.

If you go to the Energy Citizens website, it’s clear that they are nothing more than a shill for the petrochemicals industry. Their big push now is to be sure we don’t add any more ethanol to our precious petroleum-based gasoline.

Here’s what they claim:

Energy Citizens is a movement made up of tens of thousands of Americans all around the country who are committed to finding real-world solutions to our nation’s energy challenges. We want to have an honest debate, share our concerns, and demand more from our leaders. Energy Citizens is supported by the American Petroleum Institute and welcomes all voices to our discussion.

They may claim to “welcome all voices”, but when you look at their list of supporting members, it’s clear what they are about. I won’t list them here, it’s too long a list. But you can see it HERE at SourceWatch.org.

Want to take some REAL action to stop this destructive mining process? Rather than becoming an “Energy Citizen”, I commend your attention to the website of Frackaction.com. Click on the Action tab at the top of Frackaction.com’s website for actions that you can take.

C’mon, anything that Pete Seger gets involved with has got to be the cat’s pjs doesn’t it?

I’m just sayin’…