Andy Caldwell and other proponents of fracking ignore vital questions about the hazards of this new technology that extracts crude oil and natural gas.
New York State has imposed a moratorium on fracking, pending a state Health Department study of its potential health effects. More recently, New York’s highest court has ruled communities may ban fracking through zoning ordinances if the state ban should be lifted.
Besides health questions, is a surge of earthquakes in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas only coincident with the start of fracking operations? Oklahoma has experienced 145 quakes greater than 3.0 between January and May, compared with a long-term average of two a year.
Measure P on the November ballot would prohibit fracking in Santa Barbara County. Voter approval could be a bellwether for other counties.
Answers to the many questions about fracking should be determined before the controversial extraction work begins. That would be the intelligent approach to take.
This article appears in Jul 24-31, 2014.