Upstream, The International Oil & Gas Newspaper, did a short profile of me for their February 22 issue, Vol 18, week 8. It was written by Noah Brenner who reminds me of an old-time journalist–real reporter not a stenographer–who strives to put aside any personal bias and report with fairness and accuracy.
For the article, “Fossil foe states her case against shale,” (subscription required) Brenner contacted Chris Tucker from Energy In Depth for comment because that group “has often been a traget of Wilson.” Tucker “claims the attention she attracts has little impact on the issue she is passionate about.”
Here’s the quote from Tucker:
“I think if you’re judging professional activists like Sharon and professional pressure groups like Earthworks based on the number of blog posts they produce and the number of drive-by press hits they generate from time to time, they’ve been successful,” he says. “But, if your’re judging them based on the number of wells they’ve actually prevented us from drilling, their score isn’t quite so high.”
How about we judge the opposition movement as a whole? Fracking is now a household word, there are numerous peer-reviewed health studies that link drilling and fracking to health impacts, fracking is in the news everyday. Let’s take a close look at the drilling that has been prevented.
See this press release from April 29: Press Release – First County in U.S. Bans Fracking and all Hydrocarbon Extraction – Mora County, NM
HERE is an impressive list of bans and moratoria as of 4/28/2013.
That’s what I call success!
UPDATE: Fracking Ban Stands in New York Town; Victory for Local Communities
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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In Flower Mound we stopped 4 out of 5 urban wells. So, we get a B and industry get’s an F.
The ABCAlliance stopped at least 100 more wells in their communities, including a commercial injection well. They saw other wells get plugged. The original operators are gone — sold the lot, including that compressor station, and left town.
Keep up the good work TxSharon! The GasHoles will say anything so as to get their way.
Hmm…last time I checked, 100% of HVHZHF shale wells have been on moratorium in NY for almost 5 years.
Zero. None. Nada.
So… how would Mr Tucker count all those?
Stanley R Scobie, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, Physicians, Scientists, and Engineers for Healthy Energy
too bad most of the opposition relies on disproved information. the only reason why there is a moratorium on drilling in NY state is because Cuomo is bending to the noiese emanating from the enviros while ignoring scientific evidence.
pak152,
I think New York, and every other community who believes in the precautionary principle, has the right idea. Better to figure out those health effects and cumulative impacts from a distance.
Sucking on secret chemical flow-back from the comfort of your home is overrated.
“WASHINTON TOWNSHIP — Officials in Wyoming County have confirmed a fluid spill from a natural gas well site.
The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) says about 9,000 gallons of flow-back fluid spilled from a site along Sickler Road outside Tunkhannock Tuesday morning.
The fluid that spilled flowed onto a miniature horse farm and into a farmhouse basement, along with a garage across the road.
A second home was also affected.
DEP says a faulty hose broke loose from a tank.
Carrizo Oil and Gas is the company drilling at the site.
Fluid spilled from another Carrizo well site in Wyoming County in March.”
http://wnep.com/2013/04/30/spill-on-wyoming-county-road/
pak152, please provide links to the peer-reviewed studies that prove fracking is safe and the peer-reviewed studies that show exposure to hydrocarbons, toxic and carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting chemicals is safe.
Thanks!
Clearly, Chris Tucker, Paid Liar, who makes a living from an organization 100% funded by Industry is resorting to the tactics of a desperate man. He must take his cue from Phelim McAleer.
As of my post, checking the EID website, there are currently 5 Blog posts and supposedly 11 comments between them. I checked to see what the comments were, and more than half are from the writer. I also saw that not all of the comments are posted. For example, in one post, it shows 4 comments, yet only two are actually posted. Where are the other two comments?
Oh, that’s right, Energy In Depth doesn’t let anyone post comments that doesn’t agree with their ‘facts’ or their narrative.
Sharon, on the other hand, gives her critics all the room in the world. Personally, if it were my blog, I would have blocked Pak152 for the same reason I would block most of Industry; They’re too afraid to use their real name, but have this expectation we believe every word they post. For an Industry who claims to do so much good, it doesn’t make sense why they hide behind screen names.
But, while we debate for hours on personal courage or the lack of when commenting on blogs, please provide those links to the peer reviewed studies you must have readily at hand there, PAK.
I kind of like pak. He/she is amusing.
I guess when I said to put up or shut up on the links, he/she/it shut up. *****crickets*****
Don’t see it on the List, but the City of Grand Prairie, TX (Southwestern Dallas County, TX) also has a Moratorium on drilling within 3,000 Feet of any water retention structure in the city limits owned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. Chesapeake drilled and fracked 850 FT. from Joe Pool Lake’s USACE Dam in late 2010, early 2011.
XTO also drilled and fracked and has wells in production since around 2008. The Army Corps tells us they never knew about any of these sites.
USACE is completing a nationwide study on drilling and fracking near their Dams and Levees that they recently said may be out by January 2014. USACE has had the Exclusion Zone Rule in place since 1996. Even so, mineral leases were signed with thousands of our neighbors for these well sites that lay within the 3,000 FT Exclusion Zone.
We need L-A-W-S. Hello Texas Legislature! Anyone home?
Oh, and what does the regulatory agency for Oil and Gas in TX (Railroad Commission) have to say about any of this? Did you guess “Nothing” ? You are correct. As anyone with a 5th Grade Education knows, RRC needs new LAWS for all the NEW kind of drilling in the shale.
WCGasette recently posted..We Will Not Forget West, Texas.
I am sure in TX as in NY and lots of other places, laws are enforced by authorities with discretion. For example, we are told that should a Town not enforce its own zoning ordinances it would take a citizen lawsuit to compel compliance.
So the best and toughest regulations and laws, as many states now like to brag, are just a start. Enforcement is key. Systems are complaint driven and often there is a statute of limitations – so dont wait too long.
Stanley R Scobie, Ph.D., Senior Fellow, PSE Healthy Energy.
Agreed on all those excellent points.
Carrizo’s Whitespot wells are forever in legal limbo defeated in Austin after 5 years, being flipped from Reichmann Petroleum who gave up the battle and filed for bankruptcy. The Dean/Neece well was dependent upon the completion of the Whitespot to be tied together with common pipeline, it was never fracked and put on line. I call that success times 5(wells) thank you very much!