This is an interesting article. A group of Yale economics graduates did a cost benefit analysis of shale gas, and even after including the damage of a hypothetical 100 wells being polluted per year by fracking, the overall benefit of using shale gas is between 200 to 400 to 1 over not using it. This proves that the risks are truly worth the reward.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/06/22/the-arithmetic-of-shale-gas/ (http://www.forbes.com/sites/christopherhelman/2012/06/22/the-arithmetic-of-shale-gas/)
The problem Ricky is that the fracking folks refuse to pay for clean-up....citizens have to drag them to court and pray that the judge hasn't been bought off by fracking donations.....heck, fracking companies have damaged water wells and won't even buy the homeowners bottled water. The true arithmetic is damn the environment....just let me make a buck....
Like in any court case, there is a burden of proof to be met. You have to have baseline water quality measurements so the court can determine that contamination was caused by drilling operations.
And I am sure the land-man and the fracking companies tell home owners up front in big BOLD letters and in loud and clear terms that they should pay for baseline quality measurements up front before signing a fracking agreement. I am sure the fracking companies tell
homeowners that such tests can cost hundreds if not thousands of dollars up front.....
What? They don't? oh I get it......I guess the fracking companies live by the slogan "buyer beware"....
It is up to the people signing the leases to do their due diligence and to inform themselves beforehand. A simple Google search will reveal in about five minutes that there are allegations of water quality risks and that a water test should be done to protect themselves.
Rick,
The lease you signed is very succinct wherein the lessee pays for the water test and all and any damages therewith.
So basically, homeowners today are no better off than peasants were in the middle ages.....they are stilling buying a pig in the poke.....the frackers know water wells and land can be poisoned, but they don't have to inform homeowners of that fact.....again, talk about the shady way frackers and the land man go about making money from the public.....how do these people live with themselves knowing they are not being upfront with homeowners just because they operate "inside the law"? How sad is that?
People who sign leases are assumed to be adults and can adequately represent themselves. The landmen represent the interests of the drillers. The property owners must be equally vigorous in representing their own interests. A prudent person should never put the protection of their best interests in the hands of anyone but themselves. Remember, there is no requirement to sign and oil and gas lease. It is voluntary. A landowner must make that decision for himself, are the risks worth the reward. In my case, since in Youngstown it is illegal to drill you own water well and our drinking water is surface water, there really is no risk to me or anyone else in the MVSD.
Go Marcellus Shale is an excellent site and there are plenty of discussions there about the risks and rewards of leasing. Wonderful place to begin learning.
I think that this thread exemplifies the left wing view of people vs. the right wing view. The left sees people as helpless, uninformed, ignorant, irresponsible and in constant need of help to make it through life. The right sees people as intelligent, informed, responsible and capable of handling their own matters well.
Here is a conversation between a conservative democrat (which was most of Youngstown before the brain drain) and an entitled Taker:
Consevative Democrat; "I finally got my cows in before the storm, my corn has plenty of rain now and I just got my bonus check from the oil and gas company. Finally I can breath a little easier now been working all my life struggling to pay off the farm."
Entitled Taker: "You evil 1%, PIG, you use genetically modified corn killing us all, you and the other farmers are responsible for the Taal Volcano erupting and the Japan Tsunami because of your fracking. You're a money grubbing Capitalist Pig!"
"Btw, thank you for paying off your delinquent taxes, my SSI check had a hold on it because they didn't collect enough taxes this year, strange I thought the printing presses were broke. Oh, can I have a little gas to put in my 1970 big bloc V 8 to get home to my urban house it is cold out here, I'm used to my 90 degree house; thank God HEAP pays for my natural gas."
First, the web site Go Marcellus Shale is the most bias pro-fracking site I have read which tries to pass itself off as "informational".
The site was developed by pro-frackers to spin and put a positive light on the fracking industry.
It's a wonderful site to learn about the positive spin put out by pro-fracking forces.
I just find it sad that the land man and fracking companies know that there are potential dangers to land and water through the process, yet don't volunteer that information during their attempts to buy land. Yes there are accidents with concrete casings at well sites that do pollute water,streams,and lands. Yet these companies won't compensate land owners for damages unless the homeowner takes it upon themselves to have water test samples before hand and then has to prove it in a court of law.
I look at it this way. I have had friends who have been admitted to the hospital and have been consulted by doctors that they would like to perform surgery to correct a problem. The doctors then explain the procedure, why it is necessary, and what are the consequnces of having the surgery, not having the surgery, and the rewards and risks involved in the process.
Why can't the land man and fracking companies do the same? Is that too much to ask?
The doctor is working for the patient The land man is not.
Rick, thanks for making my point. The land man and the fracking companies don't care or give a damn about the homeowners. They just care about the money they can make from the shale. Screw the homeowners if my drilling process poisons their land and water. Screw the homeowners if their water wells are poisoned and they can't get a nickel selling their property after my toxic chemicals make the land unsellable. It's their tough luck.....Yes, the land man and fracking companies are just cold-heart
sob's.....
Why should the landmen and drillers care more about your private property than you do? It is up to you and you alone to protect your property. The landmen are going to come to you and make you an offer, but it is up to you to decide for yourself whether it is in your best interest. There is no excuse for a property owner not to be informed before signing an oil and gas lease.
Again, Rick, thanks for proving my point. The land man and the fracking companies don't care about the homeowners private property... The land man and the fracking companies don't care if their procedure poisons the land and water. They are only here to make a buck from the homeowners no matter what fracking may do to private property. In a sense, the land man and fracking companies are no better than a drug dealer. The drug dealer comes to you with an offer to sell you crack, and you decide if you want to buy it. The drug dealer doesn't care about your health or if the drugs will mess you up, they just want your money. same as the land man and the fracking industry. Again, you pro frackers don't give a damn if the process poisons water or land. As long as you make a buck, so be it. And if it does posion land and water, the frackers will fight homeowners tooth and nail in court not to clean up the mess they caused. Talk about a racket. You are all like the Tin Man from Oz.....no heart....
You don't seem to care about the wellbeing of the drillers, so why should they care about you?
Because I am not poisoning the land and water of the drillers. Again, Rick, you and your pro fracking cronies are nothing more than
crack/cocaine drug dealers....
The drillers should care about when their mistakes and accidents again place poison toxins in well water, streams, and soil of homeowners. Drillers have a responsibility to pay for the damage done including fully compensating homeowners whose property
becomes worthless and unsellable.
The pro fracking folks and drillers should care about homeowners if their fracking process destroys land and water....unless you guys are truely uncaring individuals...and you have basically answered that question with your replies....so be it....continue to screw homeowners without a care or concern in the world. The good lord will judge you one day.
As usual you completely misunderstand the point that I was trying to make.
I did? you asked why should drillers care about me?
Well, drillers are "providing" a service which can poison waters and streams....
I believe they should care if they cause a physical damage which the homeowner or
the general public will have to pay to clean up.....
I would hope they would care about that....