Please join a broad coalition of concerned citizens, business leaders, local elected officials and people of faith Wednesday, June 27, at 6:15 pm, across the street from the Governor’s Mansion, 200 North Blount Street in Raleigh for a rally and press conference.
Many will speak to the technical, safety, regulatory, environmental, health, and economic reasons that the ban on fracking should be maintained in North Carolina.
As people of faith we recognize our duty is to a higher authority by honoring the creative handiwork of God, who gave us this beautiful earth to keep and protect. We demonstrate our love of God by protecting the purity of our water for our children and for all generations to come.
Your presence at the rally will demonstrate to Governor Perdue our determination to see her veto this bad bill.
–Richard Fireman, NCIPL Pubic Policy Consultant
Please keep in mind fracking has not caused any environmental problems. None. This is the truth, will somebody consider the truth? Here is a good video called Truthland. Fracking will bring jobs and low energy costs to NC.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTJaaeiuzSU&feature=player_embedded
The safety of fracking is not well studied and far from proven. What studies have been done have mixed results. There is concern over the possibility of ground water contamination, induced seismic activity, and methane leaks into the atmosphere that can make fracking more damaging to the environment than burning coal or gas. The chemicals used in the fracking water are substantially undisclosed so their safety or toxicity to the environment and people can neither be assessed nor assumed. Methods of safe disposal of the millions of gallons of chemically contaminated fracking fluid have yet to be developed.
In terms of employment, the experience in other states with fracking has been that it creates either extremely temporary jobs or jobs that are given to skilled workers from out of state.
Contamination of water due to fracking can happen at any point along the drilling pathway, not just from the horizontal portion. Leaks and failures in the shaft are possible and there are documented examples of contaminated water in other states. Once water becomes contaminated with industrial chemicals or gas, it is extremely complex and costly to decontaminate it – if it is possible at all.
Regarding gas production, the latest estimates from the USGS are that there is at most 5.5 years worth of gas at current NC usage levels in the state. Furthermore, natural gas is already extremely inexpensive. The potential damage of legalizing fracking while there remain serious questions about safety and inadequate technical safeguards is not worth the small amount of natural gas NC might harvest.
NCIPL supports aggressive energy conservation and rapid development of clean, renewable energy as part of a healthy 21st Century energy economy. Lifting the legal ban on fracking without fully exploring the risks is not consistent with caring for human health or the environment.
Dr. Kathy Shea, Co-Director, North Carolina Interfaith Power & Light