I would like everyone to watch my informative puppet show movie Puppetgas: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPtwfHVp624 and then visit http://www.DamascusCitizens.org for all the facts we have collected in 3 years that brings us to the conclusion that there is no safe or clean way to obtain or use natural gas by current unconventional means.

The financial records accompanying this article pretty much tell the whole story, and it can be summed up in one sentence: Politicians and industry are willing to poison people and the planet because they love money more than life itself.

If only those politicians who continue to take contributions from the gas and oil industry and support hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells had to bath in and drink the contaminated water created by this process.  Maybe then they’d think twice about putting profits before people.  This is truly the poisoning of America.  When will America wake up and put a stop to this?

Is this really the best representation we Americans can get? 

First of all, our elected reps willingly sell us out for peanuts. 

And then, the ones that don’t sell us out are so impotent, that the best they can do is to pretty please ask big oil to tell us what chemicals they are using to poison the water supply.

Why should one industry be different than another. Most of you with investments don’t want the government to regulate the investment companies. Do You? How many of you don’t want any reguls\ations on the big banks that have just been given billions of taxpayer dollars? The bankers and wall street brokers can do what they want as long as you can gain from it but you want the government to guarentee you safe water.

This is why campaign finance reform is so critical. With officials receiving contributions of this magnitude from companies, government is just a formality. We may as well save time and hand our legislation over to the cooperate sector directly.

The best politicians money can buy.

  Oh, and don’t forget the oil and gas industry also has the best college/university consultants money can buy.

  Stan Scobie, Binghamton, NY

As I have said for years the 2 single events that have occured with in the past 50 years that have un-done this country.

1. formation of Political Action Committees

2. public employee unions

A quick question - How much drilling occurs in forests or grasslands managed by the U.S Forest Service, and will Agriculture Secretary Vilsack mirror any decisions made by Interior Secretary Salazar?

your article says one thing about about the money dan boren was given while the chart says another…

Another thing I cannot get disclosure on is if Carrizo adds radioactive tracers to their fracking sand to see if the detonations reached their zone.  They did dislose that they do NOT use Lamnipipe (for a less radioactive flowback).  I understand it is a common industry practice to add radioactive tracers…can anybody comment on this?  They are fracking very close to my sons school.  The Haliburton employees wear respirators (painter’s mask) to protect them, but the students outside do not get to wear these and I have asked our city council in an environmental rap video during the city council meeting to have a supply of these masks for the students…it is at the end of this video..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHw2SLx3kTY&feature=related

The Supreme court said corporations are people. The power of the people belong to the individual ,not groups.These groups can be foreign investors. If the Taliban or Al Queda said they could poison an aquifer or municipal water authority, the National Guard would be called out to protect it. If these same people poisoned the aquifer by owning a major oil and gas drilling company, it would be OK , because they were investors. Where is the military when you need them?

Not only the Senators and congressmen take protection monies from oil and gas companies.  In Wyoming, many in the Judiciary are heavily invested in energy companies and do NOT recuse themselves in matters of litigation.Any suits against the industry are directed to these judges, and any challenge to their CONFLICT OF INTEREST, circles the wagons to protect the guilty. EPA and DEQ are complicit in that protection, and the hiding of evidence that would certainly bring public ire. Under the RCRA program, the public gets the privelege of paying ALL costs for govt. investigation of accidents, as well as the medical damages incurred by the affected populace. ALL records of costs get classified and disappear from view. The perpetrator skates, It’s a freebie…...... Oh happy day, aren’t we lucky

Ridiculious!!! Poison us you greedy bastards, that’s all it is a about is $$$ In your pocket…. Selfish politicians!! I am once again disgusted!!

In answer to John Linko’s questions the Bureau of Land Management in the Department of Interior manages the subsurface mineral estate on all federal lands including the National Forests. The Secretary of Interior’s decision will impact National Forests. The Forest Service makes the decisions on surface management but BLM ultimately decides on operational issues related to drilling practices and subsurface management.  These issues are normally negotiated between the two agencies but it is not required..

In Flower Mound Texas, where there has been extensive damage by oil and gas, the politicians against gas drilling have been elected by a wide margin. Keep this list. Vote the politicians who want to poison us out.

Annie
Chenango County, NY

“Traditionally, the exact recipes of chemicals used in the fracturing process have been kept secret by the companies to protect their competitive advantage, and the fracturing process itself is exempt from federal regulation under the Safe Drinking Water Act.”

This sounds like the same issue as the use of the disbursants in the Gulf: just take your governments word for it, it’s safe, even though we will not make them disclose the ingredients.

According to David Hawkings at ROLL CALL, This morning Pres. Obama signed an executive order telling all agencies to look for Federal Health and Safety regulations that are TOO BURDENSOME on businesses and that might be ROLLED BACK or REPEALED. Current practise of compartmentalizing different factions of the rules and regulations has led to inneffective, if not criminal lack of oversight and enforcement by EPA, DEQ, RCRA NRC, ETC.  This practise by FDA,USDA and others has allowed a breakdown in public protections that is unscionable. Inquiry invariably results in, “Our office doesn’t handle that part”, the referral says “that isn’t our purview”, the next says, “you can try this office” , eventually you come full circle,as ignorant as when you started. No one is held responsible for the action or lack thereof. Unanimous remedy from all agencies is, “You’‘ll just have to change the law.” IF the goal of this latest development is to consolidate the rules and regulations under one agency with stringent accountability measures in place, it has promise.  However, considering the calibre of state legislators and the end runs around existing laws these businesses have enjoyed; and due to unpunished judicial misconduct, sex and drug parties, payoffs, and backroom consent decrees with regulators, shifting costs to the victim/ taxpayers,(Medicare/Medicaid)  this step could quite conceivably give them Carte Blanche exemptions. Virtually NO rules to reign them in, no accountability whatever,  and ever increasing profit margins.

There is little mistake about the intent of what has and is happening with polluting Americas water supply and air, and poisoning our people.  It sickens me to think about where this industry and politicians are taking our country. If there is any question in your mind of the truth, see the documentary GasLand produced by Josh Fox.

President Obama should Arrest these Politicians who are taking money to prevent the Oil and Gas Drilling Industry from telling the truth about the Toxic Drilling Muds they are Using, and try them for corruption!

Money aside, the oil and gas industry has done a poor job of addressing this issue. If people can start their drinking water on fire, those folks and the surrounding countryside need fixing. That has nothing to do with fracking or the chemicals used during drilling, completions, or gas/oil production. Focusing on this single chemical issue does not address the big picture about drilling for oil and gas. It has little to do with fracking, although that it is part of it.

If there was something to concentrate on it would be overall lifetime well integrity from top to bottom, containment (and proper treatment) of all produced water for the complete life of the well, and continuously transparent maintenance and treatment records for all wells, producing or not. In fact, many states have regs in place to specifically address that exact issue, most do not quite go quite far enough but it is a start.

This focus on chemicals injected well below any water tables misrepresents the problems. If you have “produced water”, the naturally occurring water in the gas or oil formation, containing ZERO added frac/drilling/well maintenance chemicals, contaminating your potable water—-then your water contains significant concentrations of salt, metals, hydrocarbons and a host of carcinogenic aromatic compounds, along with a variety of other deep ground constituents. The water that comes out of an oil and gas well, regardless of any chemicals added during its life, is NOT potable water! On the surface, uncontrolled releases, improper containment, poor water treatment, old tanks, and open ponds all pose significant hazards.

For those that continue to want disclosure, perhaps they have missed the list. Halliburton published and is maintaining a list of the chemicals right here…
http://www.halliburton.com/public/projects/pubsdata/Hydraulic_Fracturing/fluids_disclosure.html

Ignorance is bliss.  Daspot’s reply is the most intelligent post I’ve seen regarding this topic. Prior to replying, do a little homework.

With gas prices predicted at $4.00 per gallon by spring there will be more oil companies eager to drill for oil using hydraulic fracturing.  There has been some disclosure on the chemicals being used previously.  Visit:  http://www.getthefrackout.com/2011/01/resources-on-hydraulic-fracking-chemicals/

Daspot,schnets,... I thought Halliburton was refusing to disclose, claiming propietary concerns.  Or is that just in certain areas?  I did peruse the site above, but question their forthrightness. The last I heard they were willing to resort to court action to even exclude EPA.
One of my concerns has long been, the weakening of rock stata and the possibility of not only rupturing water wells, but with the massive number of wells being fracked, will this not increase the possibility of eathquake hazard? It seemed no one was considering that aspect, I thought I was alone in that area, until I just watched the James Northrup video, at the Damascus Citizens site. Certainly am glad to know I’m not alone, and not just a whacked out alarmist with no factual basis. This too, SHOULD be a consideration. With the close proximity to Yellowstone, and it’s increased activity over the last 15 years, argument that nothing has happened yet, so it probably won’t, would be of little value,.... after the fact. How far the fracturing parameters extend is not an exact science. that can go unquestioned. Just how much weakening needs to happen before an unforeseen event is triggered? When it does, will any of these companies curtail activities, or will the blame be deflected so they can carry on with no thought of consequences or repercussions? Or just maybe, it will be too late to ask that question.
  Another point of reference, and includes the plan to resume in situ uranium mining in Wy. and S.D., once an aquifer is contaminated, they don’t have the technology to remediate it, despite lofty claims to the contrary, and promises all around. Clean water is not an infinitely renewable commodity tthat we can afford to squander.

There is an answer to corporate control of the government we rightfully own.  take a few minutes to visit:

http://www.12dependents.com

and help us all take our place in history.

Why is this still a conversation? Even when the facts are delivered; eg. this article in the Denver Post clearly outlines the misrepresentations that continue to circulate in such films as Gasland:
http://www.denverpost.com/carroll/ci_17222056, no one is accepting the truth that natural gas is America’s way forward for energy independence.

Well, I hope the money that was taken will cover the lawsuits filed on behalf of the lives that have been ruined because of hydraulic fracturing.  According to the New York Times diesel fluid was used by the oil companies. 

http://www.getthefrackout.com/2011/02/breaking-news-diesel-use-by-gas-drillers-cited-as-risk-to-water/

If you’re in favor of hydraulic fracking—how would you feel if your land was drilled?  Would you drink the water afterward? 

Ben

http://www.getthefrackout.com