Will Fracking Impact My Family?

[Rick Rowlands]

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But technically, assertions that fracking is safe are largely true. That's because

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industry and government regulatory agencies

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use the term "fracking" only as it relates to the actual process of pumping fluids into the ground to break apart rock. So when they make claims about fracking safety, they don't include what happens while drilling, constructing the well, setting off explosions, dealing with blowouts or well fires, storing waste water in open containment basins, vapors emitted from condensate tanks, open flaring to burn off gasses, transporting waste, injecting waste water into deep disposal wells, or at any point in the future when the wells may leak.

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That's convenient, because a University of Texas study found that these are the activities actually contaminating air, water, and soil. So both sides are "right" in the fracking debate. The industry is correct when they say that fracking is largely safe because of their limited definition of the word. People concerned about the environmental and health consequences lump all activities associated with the process under the term "fracking," making their claims of risk correct too."

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Yes I have noticed how the anti drilling crowd has taken the fracking term and now applies it to the entire oil and gas exploration process.  Words mean things, and proper words should be used to avoid confusion.

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Overall, a somewhat reasoned article, although I don't think the writer really understands how much water is on the planet.  Injecting hundreds of millions of gallons of water into the earth won't make a dent in the trillions upon trillions of gallons of water on the globe. 

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In the grand scheme of things, oil and gas exploration has the least impact of any fossil fuel recovery process, and a lot of people are reaching financial security because of it.  We are all concerned about the survival of the middle class, and at a time when good jobs are scarce being able to make some extra money off your land is a great help. 

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[irishbobcat]

A good read.

http://www.wired.com/geekmom/2012/07/fracking-my-family/