Do you think the fractivists will drop it? Something tells us they have other motivations. The Associated Press (7/19/13) reports: “A landmark federal study on hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, shows no evidence that chemicals from the natural gas drilling process moved up to contaminate drinking water aquifers at a western Pennsylvania drilling site, the Department of Energy told The Associated Press. After a year of monitoring, the researchers found that the chemical-laced fluids used to free gas trapped deep below the surface stayed thousands of feet below the shallower areas that supply drinking water, geologist Richard Hammack said.”
Bud Weinstein is the man. The House Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade (7/19/13) reports: “Yesterday, the House Small Business Subcommittee on Agriculture, Energy and Trade held a hearing to examine how small businesses would be affected by the President’s Climate Action Plan. The witnesses overwhelmingly agreed that the plan is an unnecessary attack on American energy and jobs. Dr. Bernard Weinstein, Professor, Southern Methodist University: The fact that America is rich, the fact that we’re abundant in energy, the fact that we have cheap energy is somehow a bad thing, and in fact, the availability of abundant and cheap energy is the basis for our international competitiveness. So why do we constantly talk about policies that are going to drive up the cost of energy.”
They can’t let the facts get in their way, otherwise we’d have nobody to beat up. The Associated Press (7/22/13) reports: “In the debate over natural gas drilling, the companies are often the ones accused of twisting the facts. But scientists say opponents sometimes mislead the public, too. Critics of fracking often raise alarms about groundwater pollution, air pollution, and cancer risks, and there are still many uncertainties. But some of the claims have little — or nothing— to back them. For example, reports that breast cancer rates rose in a region with heavy gas drilling are false, researchers told The Associated Press. Fears that natural radioactivity in drilling waste could contaminate drinking water aren’t being confirmed by monitoring, either.”
What happens when you can’t flip the switch and get the power you need? Reuters (7/19/13) reports: “New York State’s power grid operator said power usage on Friday broke a record set in 2006 as consumers cranked up their air conditioners to escape sweltering six day-long heat wave. The New York Independent System Operator (NYISO) forecast consumer demand use peaked at 33,955 megawatts on Friday, up from 33,450 MW on Thursday, breaking the state’s all-time record of 33,939 MW set in 2006. One megawatt powers about 1,000 homes. NYISO said it was possible that demand could continue to rise and the record peak load could change later on Friday.”
